Hero essay "Grapes of Wrath"
English 11 Honors
Grapes of Wrath
When the house is on fire, the firefighter leads the way in. When the enemy is bearing down on the homeland, the soldier leads the fight against. When the going gets tough, he who steps up to the plate to lead the way shows true heroism to me. When times prove to be difficult, Tom Joad is the one who steps up to that plate. Leading his family west across the country from Oklahoma to California, Tom encounters many hardships which he must prove strong throughout to keep his family on their feet. Tom also being the leader develops a better sense of maturity in his decision making. Sometimes the hero has to make decisions based on what’s best for the people around him, rather than what’s best for himself.
When the Wilsons car encounters problems with the conrod bearing, Tom and the preacher stay back to fix the car. Risking the possibility that the scrap yard may not be open, may not have the part, or not being able to fix it, they still make the decision to stay back. Tom realizes how essential the car is to the family’s getting to California, so he steps up as a leader to get it fixed. Ultimately, Tom gets the right piece, and manages to fix the touring car, proving to be the hero in the situation. Not to mention, also gives simple yet life changing advice to the man who ran the scrap yard, telling him to clean himself up and to live to seize the day. As we see later in the story, While Jim Casy is protesting the low fruit picking wages, he is killed by a neighbor who opposed Casy, causing Tom to retaliate and deliver the same fate to this murderer. Seeing past his fear, Tom made the mature
decision to go into hiding after the word got out about what he did. He understood he had to protect his family, and him being with them put them in more danger than he could handle. This decision, even though the resultant of murder, was a selfless one, putting the good of his family before himself.
Tom’s
Grapes of Wrath
When the house is on fire, the firefighter leads the way in. When the enemy is bearing down on the homeland, the soldier leads the fight against. When the going gets tough, he who steps up to the plate to lead the way shows true heroism to me. When times prove to be difficult, Tom Joad is the one who steps up to that plate. Leading his family west across the country from Oklahoma to California, Tom encounters many hardships which he must prove strong throughout to keep his family on their feet. Tom also being the leader develops a better sense of maturity in his decision making. Sometimes the hero has to make decisions based on what’s best for the people around him, rather than what’s best for himself.
When the Wilsons car encounters problems with the conrod bearing, Tom and the preacher stay back to fix the car. Risking the possibility that the scrap yard may not be open, may not have the part, or not being able to fix it, they still make the decision to stay back. Tom realizes how essential the car is to the family’s getting to California, so he steps up as a leader to get it fixed. Ultimately, Tom gets the right piece, and manages to fix the touring car, proving to be the hero in the situation. Not to mention, also gives simple yet life changing advice to the man who ran the scrap yard, telling him to clean himself up and to live to seize the day. As we see later in the story, While Jim Casy is protesting the low fruit picking wages, he is killed by a neighbor who opposed Casy, causing Tom to retaliate and deliver the same fate to this murderer. Seeing past his fear, Tom made the mature
decision to go into hiding after the word got out about what he did. He understood he had to protect his family, and him being with them put them in more danger than he could handle. This decision, even though the resultant of murder, was a selfless one, putting the good of his family before himself.
Tom’s