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In The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck portrays the Joad family’s long and burdensome journey to California. The emotional and physical backbone of the family is Ma Joad. Ma’s main responsibility is to take care of the family, provide them with nourishment, warmth, healing, and encouragement. The family will only experience fear and physical suffering when Ma does, so she strives to withhold these emotions in herself. The family looks to Ma for amusement, and she brings great happiness out of little moments. Ma’s serene strength keeps the family together. Ma discovers this powerful strength in love. She is the symbol of Jim Casy’s perception of love, obtaining the same emotional sense of integrity as Tom Joad. A strong-willed and affectionate …show more content…
She represents the “citadel of the family, the strong place that could not be taken” (Steinbeck 74). Ma realizes she needs to protect the wholeness of the family and preserve its soul. On the Joad’s journey to California, Ma recognizes that the family is the only important thing: “All we got is the family unbroke” (169). Her efforts to teach Rosasharn in the way to be a strong woman, caretaker of the family, emphasizes Ma’s perspective toward her role within the family structure. Ma’s concern for the family to travel across the desert carefully helps her not to tell the family that Granma has passed away. Casy is astonished at Ma’s great strength: “ All night long an’ she was alone . . . there’s a woman so great with love-she scares me” (229). Towards the end of the novel, Tom has to go into hiding for killing another man. Ma secretly goes to see Tom, and her calm exterior breaks ever so slightly; she urges Tom not to touch her, saying that she can only hold on to her calm as long as he doesn’t reach out to her. Her strength to act decisively, and to act for the family’s sake, allows Ma to lead the Joads when Pa starts to stumble and hesitate. In the last chapter of the novel, Ma goes above her main concern for the Joad family to embrace society. She says, “Use’ ta be the fambly was fust. It ain’t so now. It’s anybody. Worse off we get, the more we got to do”
John Steinbeck once stated: “If he needs a million acres to make him feel rich, seems to me he needs it 'cause he feels awful poor inside hisself, and if he's poor in hisself, there ain't no million acres gonna make him feel rich, an' maybe he's disappointed that nothin' he can do 'll make him feel rich.” The classic text Grapes of Wrath contains several characters with a considerable amount of depth. Characters like Tom and Ma Joad are usually celebrated for their symbolism and dialogue. I feel as though Grandpa Joad is a highly underrated character in Steinbeck’s text Grapes of Wrath.
Al Joad is a fairly skinny guy of medium built who starts out being a
When times get tough, many people turn away from everyone and everything. It must be part of human nature to adopt an independent attitude when faced with troubles. It is understandable because most people do not want to trouble their loved ones when they are going through problems, so it is easier to turn away than stick together. Maybe their family is going through a rough patch and they reason they would be better off on their own. This path of independence and solitude may not always be the best option for them or their family, though. Often times it is more beneficial for everyone to work through the problem together. It is not always the easiest or most desirable option, but most times it is the most efficient and it will get results in the long run. In The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck makes this point very clear through several characters. Many characters throughout
or fear." Thus, if Ma acts as if everything is all right, then the family
Character arcs, a primary method of keeping the reader’s emotions tied to the novel and its characters in order to maintain their interest. This method of character development is often implored by writers such as John Steinbeck; this can be observed in his novel The Grapes Of Wrath. An example of such a character arc is Tom Joad’s spiritual and emotional development, as he gradually becomes Jim Casy’s spiritual heir and student. Fully understanding this dramatic development is started by one analyzing three different stages that Tom undergoes throughout his life; starting with his philosophy and actions as a young child, when he finally meets Jim Casy and the acceptance of the new way of thinking, concluded by when he decides to act on the
In conclusion the Grapes of Wrath is a literary masterpiece that portrays the struggles of man as he overcomes the adversity of homelessness, death, and the wrath of prejudice. Steinbeck fully explores each faucet coherently within the boundaries of the Joad family’s trials and
Ma Joad is a woman of strength and hope who is the backbone of the family. She represents the Mother Nature archetype while she posses the physical aspect of guiding the family and staying strong when the family needs her most. Steinbecks shows the importance of ma's character by the syntax usage to describe ma. " Ma was heavy, but not fat; thick with child-bearing and work...her ankles, and her strong, broad, bare feet moved quickly and deftly over the floor", Ma is described with these features to show her strength as a mother who has control and survives through hard situations (95). Her 'bare feet' being close to the earth shows how she takes on a 'Mother Nature' archetype to her character. She is one with the earth just as Mother Nature is. Mother Nature is one that gives birth, produces, sustains life and nurtures her family. All of these archetypes are expressed in ma's character.
In John Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath, there are many characters who have major influential roles in the overall development of this dark and twisted story. Characters such as Tom Joad, Ma Joad, and Roasasharon Joad are big characters who in some way, shape, or form impact the plot of this novel. Perhaps one of Steinbeck’s most important characters is Jim Casy. This character influences the entire Joad family, but ends up leaving a huge impact on Tom as the end of the story draws near. Steinbeck cleverly describes Jim Casy’s appearance, uses him as a symbolic figure, and gives the Joad family an overwhelming peace.
In literature as in life, people often find that they must make difficult choices in order to survive. The reasons behind their decisions and the results of their subsequent actions affect our opinion of them. In the Grapes of Wrath, written by John Steinbeck, the author portrayed situations where two main characters became involved. The nature of their choices, the reasons behind their decisions, and the results that followed affected them greatly. However, the choices that they made were surmounted successfully. Ma Joad and Tom Joad are two strong characters who overcame laborious predicaments. Their powerful characteristics helped to encourage those that were struggling.
Tom Joad experiences many struggles in The Grapes of Wrath. Due to his struggles, he undergoes an immense change that causes him from being unconcerned and impassive to being contemplative and expressive. The journey with Casy and his family affects how he achieves success to become a true, strong character. With his responsibility of taking care of the family, he carries great burden and doubtful decisions of leading them to California. Throughout the journey, he faces trials and sufferings that lead him to have an inner conflict with himself in order for his family to have the golden opportunity to live prosperously in the scarce but hopeful land. His moments of feeling helplessness and vulnerability in the position of a deterred migrant,
Ma helps Rose of Sharon deal with the hardships of pregnancy and loss of a child, she also keeps the family together no matter what it takes knowing that if they split apart, it would be harder on the family. She takes care of Tom and watches over him and in geeneral takes care of the family during the hardships of trying to find work in California during The Dust Bowl. Steinbeck, uses Ma as a way to project that men are not always the one in charge. Did Steinbeck write Ma Joad as a feminist before her time? Ma Joad is the face of the Joad family and the reason why they made all the way to
Tom Joad is an ex-convict that was only into his own self-interest and lived by a mantra of live your life day by day and not concerned with the future, to becoming a man who thinks about the future and someone with morals and an obligation to help others. Ma Joad is a typical woman of the early 1900’s whose main role was a mother only with a role of caring and nurturing. Later in the novel, she becomes an important figure for the family and is responsible for making decisions in keeping the family together and emphasizes the importance of unity. Another important transition in the book is the family starting off as a single close knit unit to depending on other families to survive. This common interest and struggle bonded the community of individual families to a single one. Steinbeck wrote this novel very well, by having great character dynamics and development that displays the characters strengths and also their
In the novel The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, a fictitious migrant family, the Joads, travel west in search of a new life away from the tragedies of the Dust Bowl in Oklahoma. Along the way, Steinbeck adds a variety of minor characters with whom the Joads interact. Steinbeck created these minor characters to contrast with the Joad’s strong will power and to reflect man’s fear of new challenges, and to identify man’s resistance to change. Three minor characters who fulfill this role are Muley Graves, Connie Rivers, and the tractor driver.
For this essay on John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, I have chosen to do a character analysis. The character that I chose is Ma Jode. I have chosen Ma Jode, because I think she is one or the most important characters in the book.
Throughout the novel, Ma Joad serves as the strength and binding force for the Joad family. She is determined to move her family safely from Oklahoma to California, but she is concerned her family may breakup during their journey. Ma begins her journey with valid concerns, and stresses over the wellbeing of her family. "I ain't got faith. I'm scared sompein ain't so nice about it" (123). Ma’s strong devotion to her family and the determination she has for a better life compels her to make the trip to California and endure an agonizing journey. “That’s all I can do. I can’t do no more. All the rest’d get upset if I done any more’n that. They all depen’ on me jus’ thinkin’ about that” (124). Prior to their journey, Tom warns his mother of his skeptical views of California, which causes disagreement among the family. However, Ma’s faith and confidence is enhanced when Tom stops dwelling on his past hardships and changes his perspective about future in California. “I'm