"Why, Tom – us people will go on livin’ when all them people is gone. Why, Tom, we’re the people that live. They ain’t gonna wipe us out. Why, we’re the people – we go on."
"We take a beatin’ all the time."
"I know." Ma chuckled. "Maybe that makes us tough. Rich fellas come up an’ they die, an’ their kids ain’t no good, an’ they die out. But, Tom, we keep a-comin’. Don’ you fret none, Tom. A different time’s comin’."
– John Steinbeck
The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 20. When Tom Joad speaks of the police trying to break the spirit of the migrants, the indomitable Ma Joad responds with this message of hope and survival. In this important passage with its prophetic tone, Ma says that they are "the people" and they will survive no matter what. She speaks of the Joads’ and other migrant families’ resilience, toughness and ability to weather difficulties. She contrasts them to the soft and weak members of the rich class. She is encouraging Tom to show his solidarity and unity with other ordinary working class people.