Tom's been in hiding since his latest dealings with a man who wronged his people. Worried - Ma tracks him down behind a tangle of vines in a lightless cave. She needed to visit him at night - one last time - alone.
They sat silent in the coal-black cave of vines. Ma said, "How'm I gonna know 'bout you? They might kill ya an' I wouldn' know. They might hurt ya. How'm I gonna know?"
Tom laughed uneasily, "Well, maybe like Casy says, a fella ain't got a soul of his own, but on'y a piece of a big one - an' then -"
"Then what, Tom?'
"Then it don't matter. Then I'll be all aroun' in the dark. I'll be ever'where - whereever you look. Whereever they's a fight so hungry people can eat, I'll be there. Whereever they's a cop beatin' up a guy, I'll be there. If Casy knowed, why, I'll be in the way guys yell when they're mad an' - I'll be in the way kids laugh when they're hungry an' they know supper's ready. An' when our folks eat the stuff they raise an' live in the houses they build - why, I'll be there. See?"
Listen to the Rage Against the Machine cover, "The Ghost of Tom Joad" (found in shared all) and post a response to the idea the Tom was talking about. What does he mean by the above statement? What conclusions has he come to about the dire situation the migrants have found themselves in? How might this be about the idea of leadership as it relates to poor v. rich in society?
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