There was a time we was on the land. There was a boundary to us then. Old folks died off and little fellers come. We was always one thing. We was the family, kinda whole and clear. But now we ain’t clear no more. There ain’t nothin’ that keeps us clear. Al, he’s a hankerin’ and a jibberin’ to be on his own. John’s just draggin’ around, Pa’s lost his place. He ain’t the lead no more. We’re crackin’ up, Tom. They ain’t no family now.
ATTRIBUTION:
Nunnally Johnson (1897–1977), U.S. screenwriter, and John Ford. Ma Joad (Jane Darwell), The Grapes of Wrath (1940).
Lamenting the breakdown of the family to her son Tom (Henry Fonda), who is about to leave because he killed a man. Based on the novel by John Steinbeck.
