John Steinbeck's classic novel, The Grapes of Wrath follows the trials and tribulations of Tom Joad and his family, along with a supporting cast of characters which includes members of Tom's family, as well as local people. When Tom is released from prison after serving four years for the crime of manslaughter, he begins to return to his family's farm in the infamous "Dust Bowl". Eventually, he meets another main character in this book, Jim Casy, who is a former preacher who seems to value the importance of human contact as something quite holy. Tom and Jim together travel to the Joad's residence, only to learn that his family is at his Uncle John's house. There they are planning the long trip to California in search of jobs with high wages, as is promised by the handbills posted all over the Oklahoma landscape California land-owners. It is there that they feel their fiduciary troubles will end.
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Unfortunately for the Joads, California does anything but solve their problems. Tom's grandparents die en route, Tom's younger sister, Rose of Sharon, is pregnant and thinks she might lose the baby, jobs become difficult to find, and all the camps are full of people in similar or worse situations. This new wave of immigrants into California angers the already overcrowded population. Jim Casey is arrested by the local law enforcement because of an argument between them and Tom for which he gets blamed. Eventually, the Joads" find a government-run camp in which they pick fruit. The police attempt to stage a riot in order to justify breaking up the camp, but Tom helps the men diffuse the situation. After this, the Joads once again set out to find new work.
Again, Tom meets up with Jim along the way, who has been released from prison. He is now working to unite the migrant farmworkers into a solidified front commonly known as a union. They are discovered by the police and Jim is shot and killed by one of them.