The Ghost of Tom Joad

The three versions of the song “The Ghost of Tom Joad” have differing tones. After listening to all three versions, I have decided that the third version, preformed by Springsteen and Morello, best represents the narrative tone in The Grapes of Wrath. The combination of the two singers’ styles come together to form a good representation of the evolution of tones in the book, progressing from gloomy and hopeless to angry and hopeful.

Throughout the third version of “The Ghost of Tom Joad”, but especially at the beginning, Springsteen brings his perspective of sadness and reflection. Similarly, the book starts off without hope. In the first chapter Steinbeck wrote, “Men stood by their fences and looked at the ruined corn, drying fast now, only a little green showing through the film of dust.” (pg. 6), which demonstrates the tone of intense hopelessness. Despite the fact that almost all hope was lost, throughout the book the characters still tried to find optimism in their situation. This is portrayed in the song by Morello’s part; he sings and plays guitar with anger and hope of revolution.

During the performance of the song, Springsteen and Morello work together to produce an overall tone. Springsteen brings his perspective of sadness and reflection, while Morello brings his outlook of anger and intense energy. Together, these two perspectives form a collective point of view that is reflective, yet has energy to do something about it. The song starts off being quite laid back; simply accepting what comes and watching your own life change before your eyes. It then builds to being angry about the changes in your life and having energy to revolt and do something about the things that are unpleasant.

The narrative tone presented in The Grapes of Wrath is directly related to the song’s tone. In the book, the Joads start out by accepting the hardships that they are faced with and acting with the flow of things. For the most part, they are sad and lack a certain degree of hope for the future. With the addition of energy, the narrator shifts this hopelessness into a more revolutionary way of thinking and leaves the characters wanting to do something about their situation. The characters’ perspectives change to that of revolution as they get more and more desperate to make a change. Steinbeck demonstrates this by writing, “And fear the time when the strikes stop while the great owners live – for every little beaten strike is proof that the step is being taken.” (pg. 205).

At the beginning of the book, the characters take each day as it comes and try not to look too far ahead into their future. This can be represented by the tone of the song as Springsteen sings, passively letting the lyrics out without much vigour. As the book goes on, the characters begin to look farther into the future. They gain energy and desire to do something about their bad situation, rather than letting others control their every move. As Morello does his part of the song, he adds energy and anger to the tone. By playing the guitar in the way that he did, there is a force added to the tone of passive desire created by Springsteen.

Throughout the song and the book, a specific tone is developed. The tones of these two texts are directly related to one another, both building from hopeless to hopeful. They both provide motivation to do something about the unpleasant situation rather than sitting back and watching as something else controls the many decisions in life.