The family takes Granma’s body to the coroner in Bakersfield but can only spare five dollars for her burial. The family stops at the first tent camp they see on the outskirts of town, a settlement of tents, each with a vehicle parked next to it. As the family sets up camp, they meet Floyd Knowles, a young man in the neighboring tent who explains the harsh harassment tactics of the police. If they think that anyone is heading up a group of workers, they will put that man in jail, and anyone who speaks out against the injustice of the law is killed. No one cares because the victim will simply be listed as a “vagrant found dead.”
Tom takes his leave of Floyd and returns to his family’s camp where Ma, surrounded by a group of ragged children, prepares a stew. Casy tells Tom that he will move on so as not to burden the Joads any longer. He promises to repay their hospitality. Tom asks him to stay at least one more day because he has an uneasy feeling trouble is brewing. In the tent, Connie is sullen, telling Rosasharn he should have stayed in Oklahoma and studied about tractors. He will leave, never to return. Ma learns that none of the children standing around have had any breakfast. Ma dishes out the stew to her family, but leaves what’s left in the pot for the children.
After dinner, Tom and Al return to help Floyd. As they talk, groups of men drive into the camp, discouraged and tired from not finding work. A few minutes later, a shiny car drives up. The driver emerges and offers the men jobs picking fruit in Tulare. Floyd responds that when he writes down what the wage will be, signs it, and shows the men his contractor’s license, they will sign up for the work. Angry, the contractor and his companion, a deputy, accuse Floyd of breaking into a used car lot and try to arrest him. Floyd strikes the cop and flees the camp. The deputy shoots at him, wounding a nearby woman, and is tripped by Tom. He continues to shoot and is kicked in the neck by Casy, rendering him unconscious. Tom cannot afford to get in trouble with the law because of his parole, so Casy offers to take the blame. Tom hides near the river when the cops return. Casy turns himself in.
As the sun lowers, Al goes in search of Tom, and Ma begins supper. Uncle John tells Ma and Pa that he has sinned by withholding five dollars to get drunk with, but they tell him that this is not a sin since the money is his. Rumor has it that the Hooverville will be burned that night, a common ploy of the local authorities to halt any organizing. When Tom returns from his hiding place, the family collects the drunken Uncle John and decides to go to the government camp at Weedpatch. As the truck leaves camp, they are stopped by cops who instruct them to go north to Tulare. Tom wants to resist, but is restrained by Ma. The strain of being servile is beginning to show on Tom who momentarily sobs. Reasoning that the cops can’t tell a person where to go, Tom turns around, cuts through town, and continues south toward Weedpatch. They leave behind the crackling sounds of flames as the Hooverville is destroyed.
