First Impressions of the Entire Joad Family

Chapter eight of The Grapes of Wrath tells of Tom Joad arriving to his Uncle John's farm and meeting his family again after spending four years in prison. It was not as emotional as I anticipated his homecoming to be. His dad did not even recognize Tom at first, and upon second glance figured out that hey! My son is home. Then Tom went inside to his mother, who did not get a clear look at him either, as the sun blocked her view of him. Also, Tom's father tricked his mother so to speak by saying some men had stopped by and were hoping they could catch a bite to eat. Then, when Tom's mother did see Tom, she was in shock. I loved how everyone assumed that Tom had broken out of prison. The first thing Tom's dad asked Tom was if he was running from the law and needed to hide. Then his mother asked him the same thing. Therefore, Tom's parents seemed quite concerned about him being in trouble, as they should be. I think my favorite character Steinbeck described was the grandfather. I personally found him hilarious. Both him and his wife have fought their entire lives together, and do not seem to get along unless they are fighting. But, the grandfather walks into the house with an unbuttoned shirt and fly, and he cannot seem to get the buttons just right. This to me illustrates the old age of the grandfather and how he is slightly losing his mind. However, when he saw Tom he just said, hey Tom! You're home. Now where's the food? I could also tell the family did not care for Al, Tom's brother much. The impression I got was jealousy, just because he was out exploring the country while the rest of the family stayed and worked. However, Al is just a teenager, and should not be expected to work. But I guess back in those days, everyone had to work to survive. So all in all, the Joad family is very caring, but extremely chaotic. It will be interesting to read on and see if they all stick together when they head out to California.