Tom Joad and Al Joad

Tom Joad and Al Joad are the two eldest sons of the Joad family, and their relationship forms a crucial axis within the family's journey from Oklahoma to California. Tom, the older brother, returns from four years in McAlester State Penitentiary a hardened but thoughtful man, while Al, sixteen years old and full of adolescent swagger, initially regards Tom with a mixture of awe and emulation. Over the course of the novel, their bond deepens from one of hero worship and casual rivalry into a partnership of mutual reliance, with Tom's quiet authority and Al's mechanical skill complementing each other as the family faces dispossession, hunger, and violence.

First Impressions and Admiration

When Al first sees Tom after his return, his boasting demeanor falls away. Al had been strutting around the yard, his stiff jeans turned up eight inches to show his heeled boots, a three-inch belt with copper figures on it, and a rakish Stetson hat. But in Tom's presence, Al's swagger vanishes, replaced by "admiration and veneration." Al had known that even he inspired some admiration among boys his own age because his brother had killed a man; he had heard in Sallisaw how he was pointed out: "That's Al Joad. His brother killed a fella with a shovel." Now, seeing Tom's "dark brooding eyes" and "prison calm," Al unconsciously becomes like his brother, his handsome face brooding, his shoulders relaxing. Tom, for his part, recognizes Al's growth, saying, "Jesus, you're growin' like a bean! I wouldn't of knowed you." They shake hands, and there is an immediate liking between them.

Shared Work and Growing Respect

As the family prepares for the journey west, Tom and Al work side by side, and their relationship takes on a practical, cooperative character. When the Wilson family's Dodge suffers a broken connecting-rod bearing, Tom and Al work together to repair it. Al admits he has never fitted a bearing before, but Tom, who worked in the prison shop for a year, takes the lead. Al's defensive pride surfaces when Tom warns him to take the car slow over a ditch; Al yells, "Goddamn it, I didn't burn that bearin' out! What d'ya mean, I'll bust a spring too?" Tom grins and calms him down. Later, when they find a replacement part in a wrecking yard, Tom tells Al, "You jus' scrabblin' ass over tit, fear somebody gonna pin some blame on you. ... But, goddamn it, Al, don' keep ya guard up when nobody ain't sparrin' with ya. You gonna be all right." Al does not answer, but the criticism is delivered with affection, and Al's respect for Tom only grows. After the repair, Al says, "You make a darn good mechanic," and Tom replies, "Why not? I worked in the shop a year."

The Weight of Responsibility

As the family's situation worsens, Tom increasingly becomes the de facto leader, and Al's role shifts from a carefree youth to a responsible member of the family. When Tom is forced to hide after killing a vigilante, he tells Al, "You got to stay, Al. You got to take care a the truck." Al grumbles, "I don' know why I ain't let to get me a job in a garage," but he stays. Later, when the flood threatens the boxcar camp, Al takes charge of the practical problem, suggesting they tear out the truck's side-boards to build a platform inside the car. He also takes a sight on the water level, calculating how high it will rise. Tom, hiding in the brush, is not present for these moments, but Al's actions show that he has absorbed Tom's lesson of responsibility.

Al's Independence and Tom's Legacy

Al's relationship with Aggie Wainwright marks his final step toward independence. When Al announces his intention to marry Aggie and leave the family, Ma begs him to stay until spring, but Al insists, "I promised Aggie. ... We got to go. We can't stan' this no more." Tom, who has already left the family to avoid capture, is not there to advise or restrain him. Al's decision to form his own family mirrors Tom's earlier departure, but where Tom left to protect the family, Al leaves to build his own life. The brothers' paths diverge, but the bond forged through shared hardship—the long drive west, the repairs by the roadside, the nights in Hoovervilles—remains a foundation for both. Tom's final words to Ma, that he will be "in the way guys yell when they're mad" and "in the way kids laugh when they're hungry," echo the collective spirit that Al, too, has come to embody in his own way, as he chooses to stay with Aggie and face an uncertain future.