Tom Joad’s life and it resolves Tom’s position in the story. Tom runs into Jim Casey after Casey is out of prison. Tom finds that Casey believes he can help the migrant workers have a stronger voice by organizing everyone. Unfortunately Jim is killed by the police. However, because of Tom’s encounter with Jim he decides to take on Jim’s work himself. This event is very improbable considering the number of migrant workers in California. 4.In Grapes, suspense is added throughout the novel as the Joad family loses its members and they encounter hardships in their search of work. My interest was not piqued beyond the point of “what happens next” in this novel. The plot and the whole story is basically all linear and easy for the reader to follow. There are no examples of mystery but there are several instances of dilemma. The entire journey of the Joad family is based on the harsh reality of the dust bowl during the Great Depression. This dilemma causes them to leave their home and pack their bags for California. Along the way the family endures the loss of several members. The most notable instance of dilemma occurs when Tom Joad meets with Jim Casey and finds that Jim is attempting to organize migrant workers against the greedy landowners. When the police show up Jim Casey is killed and Tom, in a fit of rage, murders a police officer. This event sends Tom into hiding, but soon Tom has found a new purpose in life as a result. Tom vows to take up Jim Casey’s cause and organize migrant workers himself. 5.There are no instances of surprise throughout this novel. Nothing seemed to happen in Grapes that was unbelievable. I have studied the Great Depression extensively in my American History classes and I was aware of the manner of which migrant workers were treated. However, this does not make the story worse in my opinion, in fact it makes the entire plot seem more real as there is nothing out of the o...
