Steinbeck uses repetition to describe Tom Joad in Chapter two. He does not introduce him but describe him first and foremost. "The man's clothes were new-all of them, cheap and new. His gray cap was so new that the visor was still stiff and the button still on, not shapeless and bulged as it would be when it had served for a while all the various purposes of a cap- carrying sack, towel handkerchief. His suit was of cheap gray hard-cloth and so new that there were creases in the trousers."
The description of his appearence can tell us a lot about him. The many times he repeats "new" and "cheap" show that he does not want to give us an unbiased opinion before we even meet the character (Tom). New may show that he is spending money on clothes to look good but in this case, he was just recently finished his time and was released. It also may show that compared to the way he dressed in jail, was old to the new clothes he case now. It may also suggest that he is a new person now that he is free and adapting to the new society. The words that describe him do not give us a positive or negative connotation.
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