My first impression of Tom Joad is a very mixed one. It's a little confusing, so let me try and explain.
I can already tell that he's the protagonist of the story, - considering the summary on the back of the book said that it revolved around the Joad family and his last name is Joad - but at first he seems a bit... hypocritical? Maybe controversial. His actions seem opposite from each other and kind of bipolar.
Like for instance, he politely asks for a ride from the trucker, and thanks him when he is given his request. Later on, however, he is very snide and rude to him, though this could be because he was irritated that the driver was trying to figure Tom out without asking straight forward questions. I'll just leave it at he seems to enjoy the right to his privacy, but doesn't care if other people know or talk about what he's done.
Another thing - at this point in the book, we only know that Tom has killed someone, and we don't know why. He seems a dangerous person for now, but his gentle manner when he first talks to the driver suggests otherwise. My first reaction to this was to wait and see what else I was going to be told about the murder before judging Tom on it, but still, I couldn't help but feel he must have some sort of temper to have killed someone. The fact that he has a flask with him (although I guess it was a common thing at the time) made me also wonder in alcohol had any influence in the murder.
Either way, I did notice that Tom does seem somewhat of a gentleman, if not rough around the edges. I'm not sure how that works out, but it does. I definitely liked him the first time I read this chapter, though, and that's all that matters, I suppose. If the reader's being entertained then the author's doing their job.
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