A critic once said that an important part of an excellent literary work is the ability of the piece to produce a mix of delight and uneasiness in the reader. John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath produces a healthy confusion of pleasure and disquietude by means of the good and bad. Bonds were formed and broken and enemies created, thriving valleys and horrific deserts were come upon, and hope and strength were found even through the poverty and exploitation experienced by the Joads and every other migrant family in the Midwest.
In the Grapes of Wrath, many of the Joads" relationships grew, while many were torn apart, and several enemies evolved. The Joad family traveled thousands of miles together and their bonds strengthened as a result. The family had to work as one in order to survive the journey, but by the end of the book the team was diminished to only a small number of members. Granma and Granpa deceased along the way, and Noah, Connie, Reverend Casy, and Tom all headed off for their own causes throughout the voyage to, and through California. Not only were ties strengthened between the family, but were formed with folks along the way to the "promised land." Migrant families were all in hard times, and the travelers no longer put family first. The Okies were a confederation. They had to be. The nomads were forced to come together as a result of their common hardships, but the fusion of the people produced a strength. The Joads helped all that they could, while they were helped by all that could help them. The Joads formed an especially close relationship with one family, the Wilsons, whom they traveled with for quite a while until the Wilsons could no longer go on due to sickness in the family. In the .
government camp, and every camp the Joads called home, the family was part of a bigger family. In the boxcar camp, the Joads became close with the Wainwrights, who helped birth Rose of Sharon's baby.
