Entry 1: The Assumption of Tom Joad

At the beginning of this book, Tom gets out of prison. Being imprisoned for manslaughter, I figured he was a bad man. I quickly assumed that he would only cause problem in the plot of the book. I shrugged off any feelings of sorrow for this man just because of his past. As the book progressed, my mind did not change its assumption for quite some time. The only thing that changed in the early chapters is that I now feel bad for him. After finding his old preacher, together they went back to his old farm. I feel bad for him because he came to see his family after being imprisoned and they weren't there. Not only were they missing, but their farm was theirs no longer. After reading further into the story, I have realized that Tom may not be such a bad guy after all. He has a family that he is fleeing with. I feel even worse for him since he does not have a home to go to after prison. After his grandpa passes away, I wonder if he will ever get a break. Other bad things happen throughout their journey such as their friend's car breaking down, being told that the rumors of work were not true, and there is probably more bad news to come. My assumption of Tom being a bad man has completely disappeared. I no longer think this at all. Instead, I think of only the present. The present being his struggles to save his and his family's lives. This just goes to show that you cannot judge some one until you know their story. I wrongly judged Tom, but now I realize that he is a good hearted man. He could have just not found his family and started off fresh. They did not even recognize him, so I do not think it would have been much of a problem. He could have had an easier time traveling alone, catching rides from lonely truck drivers like before. He would also get to choose his own path. Maybe he could try and stay and train to be a blacksmith or some other profession. But he chose to be a part of his family and help them throughout their journey to California, and for that I realize that Tom is a good man.