The questions I am going to be answering are "Who is the "hero" in this book and what are some of his/her traits? What does he/she accomplish, and how is he/she portrayed? Does the hero represent an abstract idea such as goodness, truth, courage or evil?" from the book Grapes of Wrath. The hero, or the protagonist, in the book is Tom. His full name is Tom Joad and he come from a small farm home with his family. He left his home at a fairly young age but managed to get into a lot of trouble. So much trouble that he got himself in prison for killing a man. This doesn't sound like much of a hero but that is what makes him an abstract hero. He displays qualities of heroism many times throughout the book. Although sometimes his ways of making things right might not be exactly what the law permits. The hero accomplishes his goal of giving his family a life in California. Although he has to leave them and is a criminal, he still did the heroic acts to get his family to that point. He is portrayed to be kind of like there Robin Hood. Except he is mainly only helping his family and close friends by doing the criminal acts. He shows a big heart in the book by helping those in need even though he is in need himself. His mother said "Learnin' it all the time, ever' day. If you're in trouble or hurt or need- go to poor people. They're the only ones that'll help-the only ones." (Steinbeck, John, and Robert J. DeMott. p. 376), which is exactly what Tom Joad is. He is poor himself but he is one of the only ones helping the poor people out. This is probably because he relates to the poor people because he is one. Tom Joad is the Robin Hood hero for those who are close to him, except in the end he is not as fortunate as Robin Hood because he doesn't get that fairy tale ending.
Steinbeck, John, and Robert J. DeMott. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.
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