Grapes Of Wrath Community Analysis

The novel, The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck was published in 1939 and seemingly took place in the time during the great depression. After reading the book, I can think that the main point of the novel would be to show the impact of a community. In the novel, we see all of the hardship the people go through; however, in the sections when the people of kin come together as one, it seems that things turn up. Without one, they seem at the mercy of the others around them. It just would seem that Steinbeck put lots of emphasis on the point that as one with others around them, the Joad family was able to overcome any obstacle they came upon.
In the beginning of the tale, we find that the protagonist, Tom, is locked up for a 'crime' he could not help. He is released, classified as a
This doesn't last long as they don't earn enough money and soon decide to leave to find better work. They run across a man who tells them of a peach picking job and they decide to take it. They make it to the workplace but are met with a car line caused by 'Reds'. Ignoring the crowd, they sign in, and immediately begin to pick the fruit and earn money. Tom explore, eventually leading himself out of the gate and into a reunion with Casy, whom is leading the strike after learning some things from the jail. This doesn't end well due to cops finding them, killing Casy, and injuring Tom. Tom escapes and makes it back to his family, but now he must hide, and his family must leave, in fear of them having to separate once more. They find a box car to live in and arrange their new lives in cotton picking. Their new community makes it fine until rainy seasons, Rose had given birth to a dead baby, and they split up once again leaving Ma, Pa, Uncle John, Rose and the kids to find another place. They take shelter within a barn, meeting two