| A | B |
| Rose of Sharon | daughter of Ma and Pa Joad |
| Tom Joad | released from prison |
| Ma Joad | mother of the family, she is "the citadel of the family" |
| Pa Joad | plainspoken, good-hearted man, looks to his wife for strength |
| Jim Casy | moral voice of the novel |
| Grampa Joad | drugged to be able to leave the homestead |
| Granma Joad | pious Christian |
| Al Joad | 16 years old, vain and cocky, but extremely good mechanic |
| Ivy and Sairy Wilson | lent their tent to the Joads for Grandpa, car was fixed in return |
| Connie | unrealistic dreamer, who left the family he was with |
| Noah Joad | Tom's older brother, deformed since birth, leaves the family |
| Uncle John | blames himself for wife's and child's death |
| Ruthie Joad | extremely dependent on brother |
| Winfield Joad | youngest Joad child, Mom worries about child becoming wild |
| Floyd Knowles | inspires Tom to work for labor organization |
| Muley Graves | wife and children have left for California, stays back and lives outdoors |
| Agnes Wainwrigt | daughter of the couple who shares the boxcar with the Joad's |