Tom Joad is the protagonist of the novel
Grapes of Wrath, which takes place during the great depression. He was described as a man who appeared to be under thirty years old. He had extremely dark brown eyes and high, wide cheek bones with strong creases that went down his cheeks and around his mouth. His teeth protruded and his long upper lip stretched to cover them. We learn that he was in the McAlester prison for four years for killing a man with a shovel who stabbed him while they were both drunk at a party. His original sentence was seven years, but he was let out on parole. Combining that with the fact that "his hands were hard, with broad fingers and nails as thick and ridged as little clam shells", and that "the space between [his] thumb and forefinger and the hams of his hands were shiny with callus" leads us to think that he has lead a hard a life, perhaps even before he was sent to prison. Therefore, it is safe to assume that he has a fit, if not muscular, build.
When we meet Tom's mother, Ma Joan, we realize that she is the motivation for not only Tom, but her whole family to stay together through the hard life of living in the Great Depression. Almost immediately after the whole family moves to California in search of jobs because they were evicted from their farm, they are harassed by police officers and have to try even harder to stay together as a family.
Unfortunately, Tom Joan does not remind me of any characters from other literature, movies, or television shows. That may be because I have yet to finish the book, therefore I'll come back to this question when I do finish.
Great job Kitty,
ReplyDeleteYour vivid descriptions of Tom Joad have reminded me of a character we studied last year. Caliban! Like Caliban, Tom posses that "beast-like" quality that is shown when he unleashes his act of violence that cost him jail time. Tom's wild looks with protruding teeth, wide cheekbones and intense dark brown eyes also give him a more animal-like appearance.
Another similarity between Tom and Caliban is their mutual motivation, their mothers. Caliban's drive to reclaim the island he believes is rightfully his fuels his pronounced hate for Prospero, whom he believes stole ownership of the island from his mother Sycorax. If not for their mothers, both Caliban and Tom would be aimless, petering through life!
Sounds interesting! This reminds me of Frank Abagnale Jr. in the movie Catch Me If You Can (which is a true story). The first reason I connect the two is because they are both criminals. Frank is a professional counterfeiter who tricks many through his multiple jobs as an agent, lawyer, and others. Another reason is because Frank is actually set free on the basis that he helps the FBI, which I link with his "noble reason" after his consequences.
ReplyDeleteI think that the character of Tom is not as easy to relate as we have not committed any major crimes. However, I do believe many can relate to the fact that our love is one of the true motivations in life.