Tom Joad

Hello, my name is Tom Joad. Times are tough now, cause' of the depression goin' on. I just got out of jail for killin' a guy. It wasn't my fault though. We was drunk at a dance, and he got a knife in me, so I grabbed the closest thing (which happened to be a shovel), and knocked his head plumb to squash. Since he got the knife in me first, I only got seven years. But I was paroled three years early. So after gettin out, on my way home I ran in to my old preacher, Casy. We got to talkin, then the both of us continued on toward my house. Turns out that my folks wee kicked of their land, and went to live with my Uncle John. So when we arrived at his house, we got a flyer that said help was needed in California. So we headed to Cali. This was a big decision for me cause' if i went I'd be breakin' my parole; but I went anyways. On the trip out there we lost Granpa, and our dog, then Granma. Then that little weasel Connie left Rosaharn. He wasn't good enough anyways. Well then this deputy killed Casy, and without time for me to think, I grabbed a club and killed the deputy. Now I was in for it. Soon enough I left the family, not only cause' I didn't want to get them in trouble, but cause' of what Casy told me. I wanted to do what he was tryin' to do, before he was killed. After I left the family, they moved, settle into a boxcar, but then had to move out of that. The last I heard from them they were staying in someone else's barn, and, Well, Rosaharns' baby was born, dead. She's real upset about that. And well, here I am!