The second chapter sets the central plot in motion, provides basic background information, and foreshadows events that will come. The main character of Tom Joad is introduced, and his basic characteristics are established. As Tom will undergo the greatest personal change in the novel, it is important to note his individualism and quick temper. His irritation at the nosiness of the truck driver underscores his independent and somewhat solitary nature. In the course of the conversation between Tom and the truck driver, many key facts are furnished. For example, the Joads' current living situation is foreshadowed by the driver's surprised reaction to Tom's statement that his family are sharecroppers, "They ain't been tractored out yet?" Tom's admission to the truck driver that he has been in prison reveals an important fact, his position as a parolee, which will prove critical to his departure at the end of the novel.
The author also lays the groundwork for a basic theme in his work: the constant tension between those who have and those who have not. This conflict is brought up when Tom forces the truck driver to decide whose side he is on — that of the worker or that of the owners. This particular conflict will be passionately addressed in the intercalary chapters that examine the roots of the changing social structures present specifically in California.
The setting of the roadside diner will be revisited in Chapter 15. In both chapters, the diner serves as a point of human convergence: the migrant families, the wealthy travelers in their sleek, insulated cars, the truck drivers who cover the roads in the service of higher powers, and the stationary cooks and waitresses all connect in this setting. In the trucker's lament of the loneliness on the road, we begin to hear minor notes of Steinbeck's message of human unity. It is for human company, not food, that truckers stop at the highway diners. Later in the novel, we will see that the migrants are also looking for a human bond at the truck stops — they are armed with the simple faith that there might be someone inside willing to help them out.
