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The eldest of the Joad children, Noah is a strange man markedly devoid of passions and appetites in a way that contrasts starkly with the rest of the family. Although he has no obvious disability, Noah’s lack of rage or desire is noted multiple times as unusual, even by his own family members. In the context of the novel’s morality, which venerates natural instincts such as hunger, lust, and even violence as necessary for self-preservation, Noah’s absence of these qualities is certainly abnormal. The narration doesn’t treat him as a villain, however, as he does not force his lack of appetites onto anyone else. Instead, he is accepted as part of the family. Although Pa blames himself for Noah’s strangeness, treating Noah’s lack of appetite as a tragedy, Tom finds his dispassionate nature a welcome comfort.
The significance of Noah’s strangeness and his even stranger departure from the family is a point of contention amongst scholars and critics of Steinbeck. Some read Noah through the lens of disability. In this reading, his departure from the family is symbolic of the alienation of the disabled from broader society. Others read Noah as prefiguring Connie’s departure. Here, Noah’s lack of passion and outward affection works to highlight Connie’s true character as self-interested and not truly in love with Rose of Sharon. Critic Ronald Fields argues at length that Noah ties into the novel’s biblical imagery. Noah, portrayed as seeing and thinking differently from the rest of the family, can be seen as akin to the biblical Noah who alone is aware of the impending flood. Instead of following the family to starvation and even a flood in California, Noah goes off on his own along the Colorado River, saving himself from much of the hardship the family faces.
