… The danger is here, for two men are not as lonely and perplexed as one. Keep…men apart make them hate, fear, suspect each other. As an endorsement of collaboration, Steinbeck writes, “here is the node, you who hate change and fear revolution.

Despite the vicious persecution of union leaders, many Okies remain committed to the concept of working together to improve their condition. Working together not only gives Okies a way to avoid the prejudice they meet in California-it also gives them power to unionize and push for reasonable wages. IT is possible that this book may be taken for an actual account of the Somme battle, but I warn readers that although it is in the bulk based on the fighting there and is no doubt colored by the fact that the greater part of it was written in the Somme area or between visits to it, I make no claim for it as history or as an. The camp’s Central Committee is a testament to the power of cooperation its system of self-governance allows residents to regulate themselves and discipline wrongdoers without sacrificing the camp’s independence. On several occasions, Tom marvels at how the government camp can function without police. On a larger scale, a united community confers its own kind of benefits: political strength. Just as Wilkie Wallace helps Tom find work, the Joads are happy to assist friends they meet on their way to California, like the Wilsons. This give-and-take of friendly support among the Okies is essential to all of the Okies' survival, including the Joads. The cooperation and mutual assistance found in the Joad family extends past blood relationships to other Okies as well.

Ma Joad’s assertive leadership strips Pa of his masculine identity, and he is ashamed and embarrassed whenever his wife’s determination forces him to back down in front of the entire clan. On the other hand, however, the novel shows that this unity comes with complications. The arc of the Joad family shows, on one hand, a cohesive unit whose love and support of one another keeps them from abandoning hope. Time and again in The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck demonstrates the profound ties and nuanced relationships that develop through kinship, friendship, and group identity.

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