Main Characters
Tom Joad - The protagonist of the story who works hard in any situation he is given. He was put into prison for killing a man but does not let the long time he was away from his family change anything. He is a strong leader and for that he is admired by his parents and others around him.
Ma Joad - She is the mother of the Joad family and is the epitome of the word mother. She tries anything to hold the family together and keep everyone strong.
Pa Joad - The father of the Joad family who’s name is Tom. He is an Oklahoma tenant farmer who was evicted from his land. His ways are plain and simple and often let Ma Joad take the upper hand in the family during the roughest times.
Jim Casy - A former preacher who has lost his faith but still talks as if he were preaching. He is a friend of the Joad family and accompanies them of their trip to California.
Rose of Sharon - Ma and Pa Joad’s oldest daughter, and wife of Connie. She is a immature, romantic young women, who is carrying her first child in her belly along the journey to California. She is a dreamer who is very concerned about her future life.
Minor Characters
Grampa Joad - Tom Joad’s Grandfather who founded the Joad farm. He is an old, violent man who loves to argue and shock others. He is very connected to his land and cannot survive without it.
Granma Joad - Tom Joad’s Grandmother who believes strongly in religion, is an old women who lives to put up with her husband. She has bad health and dies on the road shortly after Grampa’s death.
Uncle John - Pa Joad’s older brother, who in the beginning of the novel lets the rest of the Joad’s live in his house after then got evicted off theirs. He is a man full of sorrow and sin, after taking the blame for his wife’s death,.
Al Joad - Tom Joad’s brother who is a typical maturing boy, who loves cars and girls. He looks up to Tom and throughout the book slowly learns more responsibility.
Noah Joad - The oldest Joad son who leaves the family on their journey to California. He has a strange personality and Pa Joad believes he injured him at birth.
Connie - Rose of Sharon’s husband who has big, impractical dreams for his future. He abandons the Joad’s after they reach California, upsetting Rose of Sharon greatly.
Ivy and Sairy Wilson - A couple who are also traveling to California like the Joad’s. The Joad’s meet them along the highway before Grampa is about to die and the Wilson’s provide a place for Grampa’s final hours. These two families combine their things to make the trip easier but part after Sairy gets to sick to move on.
Ruthie Joad - The younger daughter of the Joad’s. She is wicked and ruthless to her younger brother who are very competitive. She causes Tom’s life to be in danger after she told an older girl that he had killed a man and was in hiding.
Winfield Joad - The youngest Joad child. He is always competing with his sister which causes Ma Joad to worry about how he will grow up.
Floyd Knowles - A migrant worker that Tom and Casy met while staying in a camp. He is outspoken and starts a fight with the police, leading to Casy being arrested.
Muley Graves - A neighbor of the Joad’s when they lived in Oklahoma. He refuses to leave his land and stays in the dusty field living out doors.
Agnes Wainwright - Lived with the Joad’s in a boxcar and becomes engaged to Al.
