"The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck.

Grapes of Wrath: The Hero's Ending The Hero's Journey Separation (from the known) The Call The Threshold (with guardians, helpers, and mentor) Initiation and Transformation The Challenges The Abyss The Transformation The Revelation The Atonement The Return (to the known world) The Return (with a Gift) A traditional Hero's Journey story follows the pattern above. The story follows the hero on his journal from point A, through obstacles, to point B, and then, traditionally, back …

…and companionship and so forth, but it completely veers from the Hero story, and leaves the reader quite clueless about what happens to Tom. Rather than ending with Silent Madame No Baby and her Adventures in Milkland, the novel should have ended with Tom the golden cowboy hero god flying off into the starry dynamo in the machinery of the night to fight for right and use his powers for good. Thank you, and goodnight.