The theory of Jeffersonian agrarianism was later recognized by critic Chester E. Eisinger to be the fourth strand of Steinbeck's social philosophy. Agrarianism is a way of living that is intricately tied to one's love and respect of land. Through connection with the growth-cycle of the land, humankind gains identity. Steinbeck's symbolic treatment of this idea can be found repeatedly in The Grapes of Wrath. Steinbeck uses the life force in a horse and the mechanized power of the tractor to metaphorically contrast the productiveness that comes from a love of the land with the deadness that arises from an isolation from it. Men are whole when they are working with the land, and conversely, they are depleted, emotionally and physically, when they are taken from the land. Losing the farm "took somepin' outa Pa," and one displaced tenant states, "I am the land, the land is me." When that land is taken away, the men lose part of themselves, their dignity, and their self-esteem. Also closely tied to the land is family unity. With the separation from the land comes a disintegration of the family unit. Ma expresses this most succinctly when she observes, "They was the time when we was on the lan'. They was a boundary to us then. …We was the fambly — kinda whole and clear. An' now we ain't clear no more."
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