The difference between being a hunter and being hunted is strength.

Muley Graves, a neighbor of the Joad family, says that they need to keep their heads down. Tom responds by saying that he was never a man who would run and hide. He wants to know what changed.

Muley says that he used to be a hunter. Being a hunter means that you're strong. When you become hunted, however, you lose that strength. He says that you might be fierce but that isn't the same thing as being strong. He also says that when you're a hunter, you aren't focused on the danger; you are the danger. But when you're hunted, you become scared.

John Steinbeck writes:

Muley watched the approaching lights. "Yeah!" he said. "I was mean like a wolf. Now I'm mean like a weasel. When you're huntin' somepin you're a hunter, an' you're strong. Can't nobody beat a hunter. But when you get hunted—that's different. Somepin happens to you. You ain't strong; maybe you're fierce, but you ain't strong. I been hunted now for a long time. I ain't a hunter no more. I'd maybe shoot a fella in the dark, but I don't maul nobody with a fence stake no more. It don't do no good to fool you or me. That's how it is."

As the lights come closer, Muley clarifies his statement, saying, "There's one more thing about bein' hunted. You get to thinkin' about all the dangerous things. If you're huntin' you don't think about 'em, an' you ain't scared." This is why Muley is timider than Tom remembers.