Grapes of Wrath(Chapters 1-7)

The story begins with a truck driver finding a hitchiker on his truck. After the hitchiker discusses why the truck driver should take him, the truck driver gives the hitchiker a ride. The hitchiker's name is Tom Joad, and he just got out of prison for killing a man. Once the truck driver dropped off Tom, Tom starts heading out towards his family's house. Along the way, he picks up a land turtle to give to the kids. Tom becomes tired as the sun continues to beat down on his back, so he stops at a tree with a little bit of shadow. The shadow is already taken by a man though, a man by the name of Jim Casy. Jim Casy used to be a preacher, and Tom remembers him from his preaching days. Casy continues to tell Tom of why he is no longer a preacher and what he is pondering about. The two set off for the Joad's house afterwards. Tom soon sees the house and what has happened to the house. No one lives there anymore. The house has nothing in it, and the house is broken down partially. The fields are now filled with cotton, and Tom cannot figure out where his family has went. Muley Graves, an old neighbor, shows up and tells Casy and Tom what all has happened since he has been gone. The big guys are taking over the fields and kicking out farmers. Muley stays because he is stubborn and does not want to be forced off his family's land. Tom and Casy cannot believe that Muley would stay while his family goes off to California, like the rest of the farmers kicked off their land. Tom and Casy soon find out that Tom's family moved to Tom's Uncle John's house before they move on to California. Tom and Casy plan on heading for Uncle John's house the next morning, but they must get some sleep first.