Isolation is a key theme running through Steinbeck's novel Grapes of Wrath. From the social stigma of being labeled an "Oakie" to the government-run labor camps, the Joads experience nothing but isolation from the rest of society. Tom Joad experienced isolation dramatically while he was in prison, and being ostracized haunts Tom throughout his life. When the Joads arrive in California, far from being embraced into the workforce, they are treated with scorn and mistrust for wanting to steal jobs from other workers. However, all the workers in the camps are isolated from society. As the lowest rungs of the social ladder, the poor migrant workers fail to find much true solace and friendship in each other.
Partly in order to overcome social and political isolation, some of the migrant workers like Jim Casy organize labor unions. The creation of unions is promoted as a positive alternative to current conditions. However, the unions perpetuate the deep rift between employer and employee. Reasons for the isolation of employer and employee focus on class conflict, on the need for the employer to maintain at least the illusion of social superiority. The isolation of the employee can, however, serve the needs of the worker because only through unions can laborers unite together in their common cause of obtaining just wages and working conditions.
The government camps play into the social stratification and systematic isolation of migrant workers, even if they were designed to help people. The Joads are only one example of a family being isolated from the community and from the outside work, forced to work for meager earnings and in poor conditions. Steinbeck depicts the camps as being prison-like, the camps' residents as being bereft of any political or economic power. Their disenfranchisement causes characters like Tom Joad to come into unfortunate and fatal conflict with authorities. The result is a cycle of isolation and tragedy.
