People usually do not resort to risky and desperate moves unless they have nothing left to lose. Steinbeck begins the Joads’ story with the loss of everything they had: the small farm on which they had sustained their family for generations by growing cotton. Young Tom Joad, fresh out of prison, returns to his home to find it deserted.

“The Reverend Casy and young Tom stood on the hill and looked down on the Joad place. . . . Where the dooryard had been pounded hard by the bare feet of children and by stamping horses’ hooves and by the broad wagon wheels, it was cultivated now, and the dark green, dusty cotton grew... ‘Jesus!’ he said at last. "Hell musta popped here. There ain’t nobody livin’ there." (51)

The Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck