Summary

Chapter 1. In the plains of Oklahoma, plows dig into the ground. The last rains come and do not heal the damaged soil. Then the wind comes and stirs up the dust, stirs it up into a storm, and drowns the crops in its suffocating clouds. The dust covers everything; men, women, and children hide in their houses, cover their faces with handkerchiefs to keep the dust from their mouths and eyes. The crops are ruined. Wives watch their men to see if they will break in the face of their ruined livelihood; they know they themselves can survive only if their men remain whole. The men crouch in the dust of the ruined land, and they try to think.

Chapter 2. In the midst of this desolate land is a truck stop, where a truck-driver chats with the waitress. Outside, a man named Tom Joad, dressed...