The Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck

AGGIE WAINWRIGHT

Al Joad's fiancee. After a string of many conquests, Al finally chooses to marry Aggie. His engagement causes him to leave the Joad family.

BAKERSFIELD

A city in the heart of California's central valley. Thousands of migrants settled in the surrounding area.

BLACK HAT

One of the residents at the government camp near Weedpatch. Pa Joad argues with him about whether workers should accept wages lower than the going rate.

CENTRAL COMMITTEE

The ruling group of residents at the government camp.

FLOYD KNOWLES

An inhabitant of Hooverville who informs Tom Joad about employers' exploitation of workers. Floyd is about to be arrested when Tom trips the deputy.

HOOPER RANCH

A peach-growing farm. To work there the Joads unwittingly pass though a picket line led by Jim Casy. Outside the ranch Casy is killed and Tom is wounded.

HOOVERVILLE

A term for the run-down villages of squatters' shacks in which migrant workers lived.

HUSTON

The chairman of the Central Committee in the government camp. He devises the plan to prevent trouble at the Saturday night dance.

JEHOVITE

Religious sect characterized by intense prayer meetings, wailing, moaning, and chanting. Granma Joad was a Jehovite; so was the woman who wanted to hold a meeting for her.

JESSIE BULLITT

Chairman of the Ladies' Committee at the government camp. She takes pride in showing Ma the camp.

JIM RAWLEY

Manager of the government camp. He surprises Ma by treating her respectfully.

JULE

A resident of the government camp. A half-breed Indian, he helped subdue the intruders at the dance.

MCALESTER

The Oklahoma penitentiary where Tom Joad spent four years. After breaking parole by crossing the state line, Tom could be sent back.

MOJAVE

The California desert traversed by Route 66. Granma Joad died on the truck while the Joads were crossing it.

NEEDLES

A town on the California state line. It's where state troopers "welcomed" the migrants to California.

OKIES

A less-than-affectionate term for migrants. Basically, it means you're a son of a bitch and I hate your guts.

PURTY BOY FLOYD

A notorious killer of the 1930s. Ma knew his mother. Ma hopes that imprisonment didn't turn Tom bitter, as it did Pretty Boy.

ROUTE 66

The main highway west out of the Dust Bowl to California. In the 30s it was called the Migrant Road.

SALLISAW

The town nearest the Joads' Oklahoma home.

SAM BROWNE

The name of a broad leather belt worn by troopers. To the migrants it became a symbol of oppression.

SANDRY

The deranged, Jesus-loving woman who scares the daylights out of Rose of Sharon at the government camp. Mrs. Sandry makes the poor girl think her baby will burn in hell.

THOMAS

The farmer who's forced to pay workers less than they're worth. He informs Tom and the Wallaces that local hoodlums intend to disrupt the dance on Saturday night.

TULARE COUNTY

Fruit-growing region in California. The Hooper Ranch is located there.

TURNBULL

The man Tom Joad killed in a drunken brawl. Afterward Tom went to prison for four years.

WAINWRIGHT

Family residing with the Joads in the same boxcar. Mrs. Wainwright assists Rose of Sharon in childbirth. Al Joad is engaged to Aggie Wainwright.

WALLACE

Name of father and son who invite Tom Joad to work with them on a pipe-laying job near the government camp.

WEEDPATCH

Nearest town to the government camp.

WILSON

Sairy and Ivy Wilson join the Joad entourage for part of the trip from Oklahoma. Grampa dies in the Wilsons' tent; Tom and Al repair the Wilsons' old Dodge.

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