Chapters 16 - 19 (F) *

Tom Joad has two main beliefs that lead him through life.  One of these is the idea of putting one foot in front of another, which he adopted from his time spent in Mac (the jail he was incarcerated in for murder).  He states “I’m jus’ puttin’ one foot in front a the other.  I done it at Mac for four years, jus’ marchin’ in cell an’ out cell an’ mess in an’ out mess.” (173). While in Mac, and when he was first released, it was clear Joad only cared about himself.  However, as the book progresses, and as he becomes closer to his family, he starts to become a family man, having to think about others besides himself.  On the Joad’s journey west, Tom has to make many decisions that he would not have initially made if it were not for his family’s accompaniment.  When cornered by the native westerners who called the Joad’s “Okie[s]”, Tom almost made the rash decision of attacking them with a jack handle, but with Ma’s encouragement, he turned his judgment around, for the better of the family (and not his own, shown later one by how he forgot his parole regulations).  By his changing motives, it is clear that being surrounded by his family has changed his position in life, and because of that his believes have changed, from a single sole to the figurehead of the family.  This change is the cause of a reality check for Tom.  When he gets out of prison, he is at first all on his own, and eventually finds Jim Casey and Muley, who help him get to his old house.  During this time he still had not reconnected with his family, but when he does, his ideas are shifted from self to group, showing a change in personality as well.