Revision of Open Prompt #2

 As a literary event,  exile wields the ability to either destroy or reforge characters.  The Grapes Of Wrath demonstrates both tendencies.  Tom Joad faces exile on two levels, that of his family and home.  The exile that Tom Joad experiences destroys his sense of belonging  in his family, and coincidentally giving him a sense of purpose, reinforcing the theme of rebirth in a new land. 
     From the beginning Tom Joad is disjointed form his family.  His stay in prison has left him without direction. His initial insecurity about returning home are not unfounded. Steinbeck's use of prison as a tool to alienate Tom from his family and create a lost character.  Tom's first interaction as a free man with a truck driver is accusatory and aggressive, evidence of his loss of social skills.  His uneasiness about returning home spurs from the deplorable act that landed him in prison.  Though he successfully rejoins his family, he immediately encounters exile in another form.   Unable to revel in his new found freedom with his family, he joins in their exile to California.  
     Arising from his familial alienation and his physical exile is a new Tom.  Tom rebuilds relationships among his family members lost over his time in prison.   A clean slate, allowed to rebuild these relationships into something far more substantial than anything before. The exodus also adds to his reformation as a character, and solidifying his paternal like role.  Tom proves to be indispensable to the family's survival.   In the midst of familial power struggle among hisfather and mother, he serves as an intermediary between their polar tendencies.  It is important to note that he gives all that he gained post imprisonment  for the philosophy of Jim Casey, to fight for the workers of California.  His experiences with exile effectuated his transformation into a self sacrificial leader.
     I n Grapes of Wrath California promises jobs and bountiful farmland.  Though this is true for its richest residents, those who travel there have more taken away than granted to them.   Califronia however does yield an unlikely bounty. Tom benefits from his exile ,emobodying the idea that  new land can bring about a rebirth.  His transformation from isolated murderer to a self-sacrificing labor organizer shows just this.  Though most hopes of the exiled fail to materialize, Tom Joad is reborn and gives the sanctified idea of bountiful California some validity.
    The Grapes of Wrath's story of exile idemonstrates its power as a literary force.  It nearly destroys the Joad family.  Induced  from this decimation is a new Tom Joad .  His dynamic character illustrates acute changes that prove that California is more than an unfounded dream.