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The setting is promptly described to the reader as the dust-infested crops of Oklahoma during a particularly dry summer. Farmers cover their mouths with their handkerchiefs, and wear goggles to avoid the dirt's scorching burn on their eyes. As the men glanced at the dying cornfields, the women studied the men, and even though they, too, grasped the significance of the situation, they knew they were safe, and that everything would be just fine.

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A truck driver is sitting inside a restaurant, while a man walking down a highway decides to stop at the sight of his truck. Examining the "No Riders" sticker on the truck, the hitchhiker waits for and convinces the man to give him a ride. We learn the hitchhiker's name is Tom, who recently got out of prison on a charge of manslaughter, and is now headed back to his family's farm. The driver is surprised Tom's family hasn't been driven out by tractors, since machines have started to replace the need for human labor. Tom takes slight offense, suggesting the driver is nosey, and notices the driver examining his clothes. The truck stops and lets Tom off the road towards the Joad's farm.

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As the sun hit the littered edge of the concrete highways and the grass, to which insects hid in its shade, a land turtle began to crawl across the roadside. As the embankment grew steeper, so did the frantic movement of the turtle. Moments after it transitioned to a moment of rest, the turtle moved on, finally finding a center of balance, when suddenly, a woman driving a sedan approached and, upon seeing the turtle, swerved around it, leaving a cloud of dust behind. Soon after, a truck driven by a young man saw the turtle and adjusted the machine's position to kill it. Only nicking the shell's edge, the turtle spun upside down until it eventually flopped upright and continued its journey.

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Still on his way, Tom Joad crosses paths with a land turtle, which he picks up and takes to a dusty willow tree to retrieve shade. Upon arriving, he meets a man who quickly identifies Joad as the young boy he once baptized. Reverend Jim Casy, who now titled himself simply Jim Casy, admits he's retired from preaching, as he no longer had the spirit. He had a habit of taking girls "out in the grass," later stating, "There ain't no sin and there ain't no virtue," suggesting that the way humans love, or rather "the human spirit" is interchangeable with the Holy Spirit. The turtle seemed keen on escaping throughout the two men's conversation. As they both decide to head to the Joad house, which Tom admitted his family took, only succeeding in stealing half, they notice a difference in the house's nature. "Somepin's happened. They ain't nobody there."

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The tenants watched restlessly while the land owners came, explaining that the land was getting poorer and the workings of banks and large companies were machines that triumphed over the owners. The bank is called a monster, craving constant profit, eating the interest on money. One man working a tractor can replace twelve or fourteen family's work. Even if the land is no good, it's ours, argued the tenants, knowing the blood that fought for and now rests on the land. You must leave, insists the owners. Thieves if you stay, murderers if you kill to stay. The men who worked on tractors held no meaning to the land, were proud of the straight lines they didn't will, and were proud of the power they couldn't control. Three dollars a day, they receive, with nearly a hundred people on the road searching for it.

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Tom and Casy get closer to the house, finding overgrown vegetation and missing belongings. As the two tell stories, Tom realizes he's still carrying the turtle and decides to let it go. Soon after, Casy sees a man approaching, found out to be Muley Graves an old friend, who gives Tom the longest possible story about where the Joad family is. They're discovered to be with Uncle John, picking cotton to get enough money to go west. Muley tells Tom about the current situation with tenants and tractors, and that he, unlike the rest of family, is too stubborn to leave. While enjoying a roasted jackrabbit, Tom admits he isn't to leave the state because he is on parole. Suddenly, Muley spots a faint glow in the distance, realizing it's a cop car. The three duck in nearby cotton fields until Deputy Willy moves on. Muley and Tom sleep in man-made caves while Casy deals with his puzzling thoughts.

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Greedy owners of used-car lots and their salesmen search for any weaknesses of incoming clients. One of the owners knows jalopies sell well, so he buys them for no more than twenty-five to thirty bucks and sells them for twice as much. Still, they sell out fast, so he tries to praise Dodges, Chevrolets, Chryslers, Fords, and others, though he tells his mechanics to squirt sawdust in the gears and rear ends to muffle the clanking noise. Some farmers are willing to give up good animals like mules to pay for the missing amount, but the salesmen remind them he's part of a business, not a charity ward. As poor farmers and their families continue to be cheated and pressured, the used-car companies only get richer.

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Casy and Joad agree both Muley and Uncle John are crazy in similar ways, like being lone men. Tom tells Casy that John takes the blame for his wife's death, ignoring her stomach pain until she died the day after. Soon, the two make it to John's farm, where Tom first reunites with his father, old Tom Joad, who initially doesn't recognize him. Tom then reunites with his mother, whom he refers to as Ma, as she was baking up pork strips for breakfast. She and Pa were worried Tom broke out of prison and was poisoned by the anger commonly developed in jail, but Tom explained that neither is true.

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He soon after reunites with his Granma and Grampa, and Noah, whose infant body Pa had twisted, leaving him out of shape and a bit slow. Al, Tom's other brother, thinks about nothing but girls and engines. Uncle John and the two youngest of the family, Winfield (10) and Ruthie (12), are in town selling things, and Rose of Sharon (Rosasharn) has married Connie Rivers, and is soon to have a child. The Joad family had saved up two hundred dollars for their journey, paying seventy-five on the truck. Al returns, and upon meeting eyes with Tom, he stops his cocky movements as he looks up to Tom, knowing his crime made him the talk of the town... and cool. Al asked if Tom had broken out of jail, which Tom denied, disappointing Al.

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The tenant people began to sell their belongings for anything they could get, walking back to their farms, heads down, hats pulled down, shoes kicking up red dust. Although they "sold" some of their bitterness to the junk man, they still retain just enough so that someday, armies of bitterness all lead the same way. As the women look within the belongings, they must pick out the most essential items, like clothing and rifles. What couldn't be relocated had to be left or burned, and as the loaded car drove away, it left a persistent cloud of dust in the air.

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Ma is scared the advertised work isn't as good as it's rumored to be. Tom reassures her but has also gotten word that many people are looking for work and live in poor camps, scraping for every meal. Grampa comments that when he gets to California, he'll let the juice of the grapes run down his pants. Casy decides he's leaving his preacher life to work in the fields and learn from people. Al was constantly watching and hearing the vehicle as it ran, knowing he held responsibility for its performance and reliability.

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Pa returns, sad to have only gotten 18 dollars for the remainder of the farm's furniture and equipment. Tom finally meets Winfield, Ruthie, Connie, and Rose of Sharon. The family consents to bring along Casy, even though there's barely any room. As an act of appreciation, Casy insists on helping salt the pork, even though, as Ma gently protests, it's women's work. Just as the family nearly departs, Muley Graves checks in, still stubborn about leaving his land. Inspired by Graves' speech, Grampa insists on staying, although Pa knows he cannot sustain himself, so they get him drunk enough to pass out.

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The narrator emphasizes the state of the vacant land and how the men working on the field hold no meaning to their jobs, as they drive a tractor over the same fields, probably not educated enough to do anything else. Yet, they get good money (3$ a day). The abandoned farmhouses collect dust and hoard animals. Rain caused weeds to grow in places they were once not allowed. "Doors banged, and the ragged curtains fluttered in the broken windows."

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Lines of cars pile on Highway 66; everyone's trying to make it out of California, after reading the handbills spread throughout. When poor farmers sell parts for their cars, salesmen cheat them, knowing they are desperate for such resources. Farmers struggle to find service stations, and are seen as objects of suspicion, with more fortunate groups saying the country isn't large enough to maintain everyone's needs. Danny really wanted a cup of water, too.

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The Joad family continues their journey to California. Al, who has been driving, asks Ma if she's scared to go to California, to which she replies that she's only anxious about waiting. The family eats pork chops and realizes they forgot water, and when they reach a service station, the owner explains that people steal things and beg for gas with no money. He offers them water and the use of his facilities, even though the water isn't cold, as Winfield observed. He painted his station yellow (like the fancy stations) to attract more business but failed.

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Rose is pleased with herself, and Connie wonders about their baby on the way. Later, a dog is run over in the street, and the man working the station assures he will bury it in a cornfield. The Joads reach a city with big houses, stores, and well-dressed people. They meet a couple, Sairy and Ivy Wilson, who invite Grampa to rest in their tent when they notice he doesn't look well. After Grampa dies, the family buries Grampa with a note explaining how he died, two coins, and a Bible verse from Psalms. Al offers to fix the Wilsons' car in return for letting Grampa die in their tent. The men took turns shoveling dirt, while the women and children cooked.

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The narrator describes a nervous sense of change is present in the West. The bank that allowed a man to borrow money now wants his land (wants tractors and not families on the land). Most of the nation is oblivious to what is occurring in Oklahoma. There is a metaphor of two men trying to survive, as life keeps them apart and hating one another -"a half million people moving over to the country, a million more resistive, ready to move, ten million more feeling the first nervousness." What was a small group of migrants have started to become thousands, and those who live in other western states are afraid of the poor farmers uniting to become strong enough to push back.

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Along Highway 66, there are many restaurants, one called Al & Susy's Place, where Mae manages the counter. From experience, she knows to treat truck drivers right, as they are the main demographic that comes through. Mae can make assumptions about the customers as they walk in, with most being negative and crabby. Suddenly, a sedan pulled into the restaurant, with belongings that lined up to the ceiling and seats that were filled with a man and his two boys. Their clothing and level of hygiene suggested they were poor farmers, a group that seemed to annoy Mae. After having enough of Mae's crummy attitude toward the man, the man asked for a loaf of bread, and Al told her to hand over the loaf for 10 cents instead of 15. Only having a penny to spare, the man asked for the price of the peppermint sticks, which were a nickel a piece, but Mae gave two to his boys for his penny, earning her a fat tip from the truck drivers.

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The Joad family and the Wilsons had driven through two days of dust and the whipping Texas sun, before settling down on the third day. While Al cockily drove the truck, Rosasharn discussed with Ma of her and Connie's wishes to live in an urban area and have a stable life. Shortly after, a burnt con-rod bearing caused the Wilson's car to break down again. Tom settles Ma down, as she is distressed about setting the family apart, at some point even picking up a jack handle, but it was decided that Tom and Al go to town to find a new part.

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The family camps at a spot, mainly because Granma's health steadily decreases, while the two brothers make it to a wrecking yard. The one-eyed man working the yard gets on Tom's nerves, seeming to feel sorry for himself, to which Tom is quick to put in line. At the camp, a man learns the Joads are headed to California, to which he laughs, suggesting there aren't enough jobs since the handbills (asking for eight hundred men) were printed five thousand times, with twenty thousand people seeing them. His children died of heart failure, along with his wife, which led him to turn back. Tom decides not to tell Ma this information, and they continue along.

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As the migrant people traversed the highways, they began to cluster like fleets of bugs near shelter and water and began creating communities. Twenty families became one, and the West was one dream. Families learned what rights to respect, such as privacy and offering or declining help, and in turn, developed an understanding of the rights that must be ostracized, such as fouling the drinking water. Family members grew into their duties and changed their boundaries. They spoke of their old homes, of their tragedies, and of the unknown future. A man wished he could strum a guitar, for it was a gracious gift. Families ate and moved quickly, and as they left, the old camping spot was ready for a new world to be built on a new night.

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The Joads finally reach the desert lands of California, where the roads run parallel to the river. Upon stopping at the river, they noticed a small encampment and set up their tents accordingly. While everyone found an activity near the water, a man and his son walked over, saying they found no steady work and were headed back home. "Okies" (those from Oklahoma) are constantly treated with hostility and ignorance, and owners don't want to give them work because they fear the workers may turn against them. Noah decides to stay back, suggesting the Joad family doesn't love him as much, disappearing into the willows. Granma is going insane, now having delusions as she chokes on her own words. A Jehovite woman comes by, telling Ma that Granma is ready to join Jesus, but Ma insists she's just tired.

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A cop comes by the tent, telling Ma they must leave, calling the family "Okies" for the first time. Ma promptly grabbed a skillet, almost ready to sock him, though she humbly refrained. Sairy has fallen ill and admits she and Ivy can no longer continue. The Joads reach Daggett, where an agricultural inspection office sits. Ma convinces the officers to pass the inspection, as they recognize Granma's sickly state, understanding she must get to a doctor. Upon reaching the great valleys of Tehachapi, and seeing the golden grain fields and darn green patches of orange trees, Tom takes notice of Ma's stiff face and sunken eyes. She admits that Granma died before they got to the inspector, but she kept the secret to let the family go through. They agree to go to the coroner and have her buried with the last of their funds.

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The Americans had taken the land of California from its previous inhabitants, the Mexicans, who, weak and fed, wanted nothing in the world as frantically as the Americans did. Landowners hated Okies, because, unlike immigrants (who could get deported), the Okies were American. Hungry, strong, poor Americans. While Californians craved nebulous and undefined luxury, the Okies wanted good fields to work on. Hoovervilles were developed on the edge of every town, and as a man set his tent up as close to the water as he could, he spent the rest of his money looking for work. Men were armed as children, and the gun became an extension of themselves. "The land fell into fewer hands, the number of the dispossessed increased, and every effort of the great owners was directed at repression." The owners knew the praying would stop one day, and the revolution would begin.

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The family, too broke to properly bury Granma, leaves her in the coroner's office. They make it to a free camp, later found to be a Hooverville. A man comes by Tom, later known as Floyd Knowles, explaining that while there is work, the handbills only ask for a certain number of workers, and if one man doesn't want to work the low wage, a thousand other men will be in line to take it. If word gets out about trying to fight back, you'll be put on a "blacklist", and you can't work anywhere. Knowles also suggests Tom and his family act bull-simple so the cops think they're too dumb to get feisty. A little girl tells Ma about government camps, and how they offer baths and music, but that the camp was now full. As Floyd works with Al on engines, he says there isn't any work close by, and suggests even leaving the rest of one's family for work, which Tom knows Ma would disagree with.

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A Chrevolet coupe begins heading down the camp, and a contractor steps out, offering work for an uncertain wage. Floyd, now sparked with suspicion, questions the man, and a deputy steps out, attempting to blame him for a crime he never committed. The situation gets heated, and Floyd is forced to defend himself, knocking the deputy, who, upon falling, shot a woman's hand off, down. Casy delivers the final blow, a kick to the neck, and takes blame for the fight. Connie hasn't been seen in hours. Meanwhile, Uncle John plans to drink his sins away with seven dollars. Al says he saw Connie headed south, and Ma suggests they act as if he died; that way, no foul language can be said to his name. Tom retrieves Uncle John, having to knock him unconscious to bring him back. As Hooverville burned down, the Joad family headed south to hunt for the government camp.

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The highways streamed with moving people. The questing people became migrants, scampering the West for work. Middle- and southwest folks did not change with industry, and therefore, they saw the ridiculousness of industrial life. Hunger, hostility, and constant movement change them. The West landowners grew frightened of the growing number of migrants, calling them thieves and sexual, degenerate maniacs. Where one man found work, ten would fight, until wages were rock bottom low and the product price was still up, a win-win for the rich farmers. Great landowners bought canneries, which led to other small farmers losing their land. The big companies do not comprehend the thin line between hunger and anger.

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The Joad family arrives at Weedpatch Camp in Bakersfield. The watchman informs them that they can find a spot to stay and access running water for baths. He mentions that the camp is self-governed, with a complete absence of cops, a detail Tom made an effort to ensure. The camp costs one dollar a week, but residents can work to cover the expenses. The Central Committee maintains order, and women care for children and sanitary facilities, with a nurse who teaches sewing. Lastly, it is mentioned that a dance party is hosted every Saturday night. The following day, a woman prepares breakfast with her nursing child, and Tom talks to a man and his son who haven't missed a meal in twelve days. They introduce him to Mr. Thomas, who is upset and tells them wages have decreased from 30 cents to 25 cents.

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Thomas predicts a fight on Saturday night to give deputies an excuse to clear the camp. Ma hears that the ladies' committee is coming to their tent, so she instructs everyone to get cleaned up. She meets Jim Rawley, the camp manager, and though initially suspicious, she finds him not to be a threat. Ma also notices Uncle John's guilt-ridden state, as he believes he's being punished for his sins. Rose of Sharon talks about how well the camp treats her and her unborn baby, ensuring proper care. A brown woman named Ms. Sandry, warns Rose of Sharon about the plays, calling them devilish delusions, and advises her to protect her baby from sin, mentioning the deaths of two other babies in the camp. Pa, Al, and Uncle John return with no work found.

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When the migrant workers aren't working, they seek pleasure by telling tales and playing music. One person even spent 20¢ on the movies. With a bit of money, a man could get drunk, so failure and the future drifted off, and memories returned. The story talked about the different instruments, like the harmonica, guitar, and fiddle, and how their sound brought comfort. The preacher watches and wishes for the holy Ghost to take people, as he lifts them from the ground.

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The chairman of the Central Committee, Ezra Huston, has become aware of the plan for people to ruin the party. One man suggests beating them up, but Huston reminds them that it will allow cops to storm, so instead, they should monitor everyone who enters. Huston then asks for the whereabouts of Willie Eaton, the chairman of entertainment, who ensures everything will be ready for the upcoming Saturday dance, as he's prepared 20 men to take precautionary measures to ensure no fights occur. Al is trying to make his move on some of the women, but their mothers keep mentioning that they're already set for marriage. Willie approached Tom Joad, asking for his help in supervising the individuals at the party, making sure no one gets too riled up. Tom agrees, and is now a member of the chairmen of entertainment. Jule Vitela, a half-Indian man, praises the effect of the dances, saying it makes people feel proud.

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Soon after, a sixteen-year-old boy warns there are two cars of men with guns planning to have a match. A pack of three men entered, engaging with a female who already had a partner and began to cause trouble after being confronted. The deputies rolled up to the gate, asking if there was a riot, but the guard reminded him they didn't have a warrant and that there was no riot. Jule wanted to punish the party wreckers, but Willie insisted that wouldn't happen. They let the boys go, telling them to leave respectfully. Black hat man inserted himself in conversation that rubber companies hired mountain people for cheap, and soon the mountain people pined the union, joining together to march through town with rifles to go turkey shooting, implying their power. Soon after, no trouble was reported. He suggests to a group of folks that since the fellas in the camp have guns, they should hold a shooting club meeting every Sunday.

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California is having a beautiful Spring, and its produce is quickly ripening. While the men who work in small orchards watch and calculate their product as it matures, the men working on experimental farms make new fruits like nectarines and plums. They begin to understand there's too much fruit to pick, and the smell of rotting grapes is fermented by decay and chemicals rather than a rich odor of wine. Only owners who purchase canneries can survive, for the fruit never spoils. The men working in experimental farms cannot create a system where their new fruits can be eaten, and therefore, the work of the roots and trees must be diminished to keep prices up. Instead of feeding the hungry, carloads of oranges are sprayed with kerosine to burn, as the smell of rot taints the State. Children must die because a profit must be taken from an orange, and coroners fill in certificates because the food must rot. The eyes of the hungry simmer in wrath. The grapes of wrath.

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Resources are becoming scarce for the Joads after living in the government camp for a month. Once they leave, a tire falls flat, and as Tom pumps it, a roadster pulls up, and out steps a man, telling him there's work about forty miles north. Once they arrive, they notice a line of cars, all stopped by protesters with signs. A man instructs the Joads to find house sixty-three, offering five cents for a box of peaches. By the end of the day, they earn a single dollar and go to the store to spend the whole day's wage on their meal. The man running the store sells his over-priced, less-than-good quality products with an insulting smile. When Ma is ten cents short for a bag of sugar (for Tom's precious coffee), the man takes it from his pocket, telling Ma she must pay it back. While walking by a ravine with a lit tent at night, Tom decided to investigate, finding Casy in the tent.

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He finds that Casy was running a strike after his promised five-cent wage was two-and-a-half-cents. Suddenly, two cops saw the men and approached Casy, who tried to reason with them and ended up getting his skull cracked with a club, immediately killing him. Tom, now having to hide from killing a man in the same fight and having bruised his face, tells Ma he should leave, but Ma demands that he stay. Ruthie comes rushing in, telling Ma that Winfield passed out from eating too many peaches, but they refresh his body with a can of milk. The family hides Tom, and a guard approaches the family, asking if they've seen a short, pale man with a bruised face, which they deny. The family decides to leave the peach farm and head north to find jobs in cotton picking. Tom sleeps in a culvert overnight to avoid being discovered.

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"Cotton Pickers Wanted" signs are billboarded across roads, and while wages seem fair, workers must pay for the bag from their own pocket. The man who scales one's load may say you put rocks in to satisfy the needed weight, and while he's either right or wrong, you must always argue and keep your head up. The work won't last long, as five hundred workers eagerly work as fast as they can, finishing fields in no time. People try to save money, for there will be no work during California's winter.

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The cotton fields provided some of the working families with boxcars for houses. While the Joads inhabited one side, another family, the Wainwrights, had the other. They are making good enough money to buy enough meat for every night. Winfield runs to Ma, describing an event in which Ruthie fought a few kids and admitted that her brother, who has been in hiding for killing two men, could kill anyone. Ma decides to take a plate of food to Tom to warn him. Upon reuniting with Tom, she offers him money to move away.

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Tom tells her he's been thinking about Casy and desires to fight for what Casy did. Tom accepts Ma's money after enough pleading, and while heading back, a man comes up to Ma, saying he has twenty acres of cotton ready to pick for a ninety-cent wage. The parents of the Wainwright family say that Al and their daughter Aggie have grown attached. After hearing the news, Rose of Sharon insists she picks cotton with the Joad and Wainwright family. As they arrived at the new cotton field at dawn, tens of families had already arrived, and the field was picked before noon, leading the families to return to the boxcars.

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Gray clouds engulfed the mountains and valleys, settling low over the west. The rain dropped with unpredictable melody, and as the earth became full, puddles began to form, eventually pouring down and over the highways. People sat in wet clothes and used raised planks to sit on until they finally had to move. Cars were trapped in mud as water fouled the carburetors, leaving people no choice but to walk in the rain. They felt a simmering terror, realizing there would be no work. The new conditions drove some men to steal and lie, and the anger towards the hungry changed to fear of them. The sheriffs swore in deputies for backup while the rich grew a distaste and hatred for the migrant people. And then the rain stopped, and the men looked out at the flooded land while the women sighed in relief, knowing it would be all right.

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The Wainwrights are now living with the Joads, and suggest that they should leave, although Ma is hesitant, seeing as the rain is flooding the highways. Al wants to leave with Aggie and her family, but Pa won't allow it. Meanwhile, Rose of Sharon suspects she's entering labor, and the current rises violently. The men try to save the truck, but it eventually floods, leaving everyone to have to return to the boxcar, where Mrs. Wainwright informs Pa that Rose of Sharon delivered a stillborn baby. Uncle John was chosen to discard the baby and decide to place it in a box and send it down the current. When the dawn came, Ma wanted to take Rosasharn and the kids to higher ground, and she found a barn along the way. As they make it to the barn, they encounter a couple of men inside, made out to be a sick man and his boy. The man's health has deteriorated, so he can't process solid food. Rose of Sharon requests her family to leave the room and approaches the starving man, embracing, comforting, and nursing him.