Monday, June 20, 2016
Chapter Six
In chapter six, Tom tells Muley that in McAlester they treated him like every other place, just mind your own business and you'll be alright. Tom later states that if you had done something that you were ashamed of you would think about in prison, however he wasn't ashamed of killing Herb Turnbull. He tells Muley that if he were in a predicament , like he was when he killed Herb, he wouldn't hesitate to kill again. This foreshadows that if Tom is provoked, he would act maliciously.
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I agree. Yes, if someone were attacking you, your first instinct is to either retaliate or run, but he chose the former. He could've stepped away from the situation, but he couldn't think rationally because he was intoxicated, meaning his "true colors" were showing. He chose the violent approach, which is proof of short temper, and is impulsive.
ReplyDeleteFor example, when he's being "hunted" by Willy, he says he wouldn't want anything else than to "sock" Willy. He's ready to do so, but Muley manages to convince him, because he will lose everything and go back to McAlester, but he wanted to do it in the first place, without second thought. Then, Tom says the following: "By God, you're right!....I ain't got a thing in the worl' to win, no matter how it comes out," (Steinbeck, 1939, p. 39).
This quote helps show that Tom is only in it for himself. He doesn't want to Sock Willy for helping the "enemy." He wants to do it because he feels personally victimized by Willy, by being forced to hide in his own home. Though he feels strongly about this, he decides against it because it won't benefit him in any way. Tom only wanted to do it for personal satisfaction, but that would only create more problems, which would not be worth the pleasure he got from hurting Willy.
So now we know for certain Tom is short tempered, impulsive, and self-motivated.
I agree Adam, Tom is a very malicious character when he is provoked. He also does say that he would not hesitate to kill a man if they try to attack him, like herb did. Tom can be malevolent person, but deep inside he really does love his family.
ReplyDeleteYeah I agree that he does love his family, he'll kill to protect them.
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