Summary Of Ma Joad In The Grapes Of Wrath

Her dignity is shown because she grows to appreciate everyone as much as she had with her family in the beginning. Throughout The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck highlights Ma Joad’s dignity through her bold actions.

Chapter 6: "Fella gets use' to a place, it's hard to go," said Casy. "Fella gets use' to a way of thinkin' it's hard to leave." (6.72)Can you imagine having to leave a place you've lived in your whole entire life? Scratch that. Can you imagine leaving a place you, your parents, and their parents have lived their whole entire lives? The Joads have spent all of their lives cultivating their land, and now they have to start over. Now they have to go to a place they've never even seen before. It would be like a modern day family having to move to the

ordeals of the trip, that she is in fact gaining a much wider community of people. She states this at the end of the novel quite clearly when 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.” (569) Ma Joad’s selfless actions throughout the novel are the direct portrayal of Jim Casy’s ideals. Her every action is in

However, as time develops and the migration continues her exterior begins to slightly crack as she realizes she cannot fully keep her sorrows to herself. As she is not a full advocate of solitude, the unity of her family is important and keeps her moving forward. The father of the family, Pa Joad, is a character that is naturally god and thoughtful. The hardship of the trip as a whole and attempting to remain the head of the family affects him, and causes him to become emotionally drained. However, he began as the strong leader collaborating the big move for the entire family, upon leaving several shelters Mama Joad informed him that he is beginning to loose his responsibility to support the family. For the reason that Pa Joad gradually breaksdown continues to remind the family that hardships are not the only way to build character. Tom Joad, becomes friends with a very important person throughout the uprooting process and learns that a human being can have a little effect on the world if they do not bond together as a whole. The hardships faced with, cause Tom to follow this teaching and come to the realization that he cannot continue to be a silent witness to the injustices in the world. This experience, and from meeting friends who share the same beliefs ultimately caused him to become an advocate and join union organizers. The strength that is portrayed from the individuals who choose to remain together showed Tom another side of life, and that he will

The family has to deal with the native Californians who fear that these newcomers will take their jobs and their lands. These Californians try to keep the migrants out, and some even use violence to do so. In addition, the "[f]amily's fallin' apart" (294). Granma and Grampa died, and Noah and Connie leave the family. Although Ma tries to keep the family together, some of them leave unexpectedly through death and some leave willingly. The departure of family members stresses the Joads even more. Despite these difficulties, the journey is necessary because it is a quest that will allow the family to develop. In How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster, the author explains that every trip is a quest. Following his structure for "quest," the Joads are the quester who has a stated reason to go to California, which is to find jobs. During the trip, the Joads face multiple obstacles: finance, deaths, transportation issues, and brutal policemen. These difficulties, however, bond the family. They work together to overcome these obstacles: "When the cars pulled into the camping places, each member had his duty and went to it without instruction" (267). Ma realizes the importance of family and tries to keep the family together. Tom also later realizes the power of people, and he expresses his anger toward the companies, "Well, s'pose them people got together an' says, 'Let em rot.' Wouldn' be long 'fore the price went up, by God" (336). If the people work together and not just one family but every family work together, people will have the power to fight against the companies and banks. So, learning the power of people and working together is the real reason for the

She was always there for Jack, she’d do anything to keep him safe. Ma always took care of him, kept him healthy and lastly made him feel loved. She protected jack by putting him in the wardrobe when Old Nick visited during the night so Jack doesn’t get hurt. Even when Old Nick wanted to see Jack and gives him treats, ma didn’t allow it because she thought he’d hurt him. Jack once mentioned how “Nothing makes me scared.

In Steinbeck's novel, The Grapes of Wrath, he describes the struggle of the small farmer and farmworker. The principal characters define quiet dignity and courage in their struggle to survive and in the caring for their loved ones. Through this novel, Steinbeck displays his respect for all the poor and oppressed of our world.

Consequently, if any significant human flaw presents itself throughout this novel, it is the constant need to trample others as a means of achieving success. This flaw can be seen in a multitude of different ways, starting again with the Dust Bowl. As mentioned earlier, the land is these families' lives but not only that. The land is these families' pride, and as it would go, once a man's pride is taken from him, his strength follows closely behind. "And the women came out of the houses to stand beside their men—to feel whether this time the men would break” (3). The dust clouded the Earth; there was no fight to fight. Although there was no challenging the Earth, there was a challenge to this dehumanization by the establishment, a silent but growing resistance. They had to fight for their dignity, even if it seemed like a losing battle. Human character is actively commented on in this novel. The Joad family epitomizes The Grapes of Wrath in that their hope, their God-given faith in humanity “must rot, must be forced to rot” (349). Their will is meant to perspire like rotten fruit. It is not enough to just take from these people. The world wants to take away their dignity as well. Still, after these repeated blows to their strength, the Joads simply keep moving forward—their resilience like diamonds. They are a

“At the heart of every immigrant’s experience is a dream- a vision of hope that is embodied in his or her destination” (Gladstein 685). In the novel, The Grapes of Wrath the migrants imagined the absolute aspects of living care free to the west. However, everything changed once they traveled to the west, realizing the simple concept turned into hazardous problems. John Steinback emphasized the American dream of economic stability and truculent situations towards the Joads family's point of view. Throughout the immigration, the Joads family goes through constant and unpredictable changes in employment, and their eventual failure to find success in California. The novel has been called by critics "a celebration of the human spirit", in several ways it is true due to the aspects of human nature. Despite the hazardous actions people can do, it is important to realize everything around us.

Near the end of the novel, Ma has become a transformed person, in a whole new position in the family. Ma can be seen as the leader of the family, thinking of plans and directing the family on what to do when she decides what is best for the family, and trying her best to keep the family together. “Times when they’s food an’ a place to set, then maybe you can use your stick an’ keep your skin whole. But you ain’t a’doin’ your job, either a’thinkin’ or a’workin’” (p.481).

Tom Joad lives his life with the “one foot before the other” type of attitude. The future does not concern him in the beginning of the novel. He does not think about the next day until the next day is there. He does this because he does not want to worry himself. He is afraid that if he becomes worried about his future, then he will become obsessed with it and will eventually be driven to insanity. As the novel went on, Tom realized that it was he that held his family together and provided the determination and support to keep going on. He possesses the skills and knowledge to make money on his own, but he decides to stay with his family and help them move along. The Joad family encounters many dilemmas where Tom has to make crucial decisions. Tom starts to realize what is best for his family’s future.

“…seems to be the glue that holds this family together” (Hams 1). Through the journey to California, there are many struggles faced along the way but she retained her composure and remained calm just to appear strong for the family. “She seemed to know, to accept, to welcome her position, the citadel of the family, the strong place that could not be taken” (100). The position Ma is in is not effortless. She puts in a great deal of effort to remain the rock of the family, even though she has lost her many possessions. Without her, there wouldn’t be a Joad family.

As the book progresses, the changes within the family are characterized differently in each character. Mrs. Joad's primary concern is keeping the family unit together as they begin their journey. Soon, however, members of the family begin to leave. Noah cannot handle the changes and goes off on his own while Grandpa and Grandma leave through death. Connie abandons his wife and does not return. Al becomes engaged and goes with his fiancée's family. Even Young Tom leaves after he has accidentally killed another man and has to go into hiding. Mrs. Joad deals with each of these losses and appears to be stronger as the story continues, even making the decision for Tom to leave as it becomes necessary.

This is partially due to the fact that she has to obey to the actions of Papi, who continues to make the situation worse. Because she refuses to go against Papi’s decisions, she is often forced to deal with the situation in an “it is what it is” style of thinking. This is seen in Mami’s conversation with Gabriela. Mami tells Gabriela of her worries of going back to Colombia, of how she never wished to go back until she lived a full and successful life in America, but how she had no doubt she would return if Gabi’s father were to be deported because of his reckless actions. This shows us how Mami has no control of the situation, and is forced to deal with every situation head

A showy and occasionally inappropriate woman, Big Mama is just like Maggie in that both are married to men who cannot stand them. Big Mama is openly devoted to her husband, and throughout their whole marriage, she has stood by him. Despite Big Daddy’s frequent insults, Big Mama refuses to become offended and does not allow the marriage to fall apart. The difference between Maggie and Big Mama is that although Big Mama has a very hard marriage, she has had children and served her husband well. A “good” wife’s role was to serve her husband’s comfort and know her place. The man was the master of the house, and therefore it was inappropriate for the woman to complain to her husband and talk about her problems. Listening to the man was important because his conversation topics were the most important. A problem Maggie has is that although she wants to be an ideal wife and mother, she does not carry out all parts of the expectation. She is stubborn and against to taking into account what Brick wants, and she continuously complains and fights with him. Big Mama on the other hand is a piteous character in that she is so desperate to stay away from problems and argument that she embarrasses herself in order to avoid them. This is why, although Maggie and Big Mama share