Tom Joad is released from the Oklahoma state penitentiary where he had served a sentence for killing a man in self-defense. On his trip home he meets Jim Casey, a former preacher. They travel together to Tom's home but find it deserted. Muley Graves, a tenant farmer, discovers Tom and Casey and tells them that all the families in the neighborhood have left for California or are leaving. Tom's folks have gone to a relative's …
showed first 75 words of 550 total

showed last 75 words of 550 total
…he got in the fight. Ruthie discloses Tom's presence and Tom flees. The rainy season begins and a nearby stream begins to fill the boxcars. Rose of Sharon gives birth to a dead baby boy, and the family is forced to move by the rising water. They walk in the rain to a barn, where they find a boy and his starving father. Rose of Sharon feeds the man with the milk from her breasts.