Which figure in the novel is best known for advocating collective action among migrant workers?

Which figure in the novel is best known for advocating collective action among migrant workers?

• A. Tom Joad
• B. Jim Casy
• C. Ma Joad
• D. Pa Joad

Answer: (B)

Jim Casy embodies the call for collective action among migrant workers. He moves beyond individual salvation to a belief that people win real change only when they act together, stressing solidarity and shared fate over isolated struggles. This perspective threads through the story, guiding Tom Joad and helping to seed the idea of organizing workers across the camps. Casy’s philosophy—that “the folks” form a single community with power when they unite—makes him the figure most associated with advocating collective action. Ma Joad and Pa Joad focus on family and daily survival, while Tom becomes a leader in practice, but it is Casy who articulates and embodies the push for workers to unite.

Jim Casy embodies the call for collective action among migrant workers. He moves beyond individual salvation to a belief that people win real change only when they act together, stressing solidarity and shared fate over isolated struggles. This perspective threads through the story, guiding Tom Joad and helping to seed the idea of organizing workers across the camps. Casy’s philosophy—that “the folks” form a single community with power when they unite—makes him the figure most associated with advocating collective action. Ma Joad and Pa Joad focus on family and daily survival, while Tom becomes a leader in practice, but it is Casy who articulates and embodies the push for workers to unite.