The truck driver in chapter two of the Grapes of Wrath is a very interesting character at first glance. When the reader first comes across him he is talking to the waitress in the diner. One is incline to think that he is just a down on his luck driver who does not have much of a brain in his head, but that he simply likes to make pointless conversation and go about his merry way without bothering anyone else in any way.
Then, as he agrees to pick up the hitchhiker on the way out of town, the reader can draw more conclusions about him. The first is that he has a lot of pride. This is obvious in the way that he takes on the hitchhiker in order to show that he is not in any way obligated to obey the rules of the company who hired him and told him not to pick up any riders. The second is that he is at least somewhat bright because he figures out that the hitchhiker is trying to trick him into giving him a ride by challenging his pride. The last conclusion is that he is ultimately a very curious, good man who went against his better judgment in order to find out more about this stranger and to do a kind turn for him.
As the ride goes on the reader recognizes his attempts to find out more about this stranger while not putting him out of his comfort zone. These plans do not work, however, as the stranger immediately figures out what the driver is trying to do and makes him feel guilty for not simply asking what he wanted to know. The driver shows he is just a simple man trying to find his place in the world as he tries to smooth over the situation and move on. Overall, I found the truck driver to be a pretty good character.
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