Gender and the stereotypes that accompany this topic have played an immense role in history. Throughout history, the stereotypical family unit consists of a man being the head of the household, being the dominant and steadfast leader. It also favors women and children in a submissive role more focused on preserving the family within the household. These themes are extremely present in Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. The Joad family which the story focuses on is a lower-class farm family in the Dust Bowl Era. The Dust Bowl era came with severe economic and agricultural damage that hurt families in the same social standing as the Joads and challenged their unity. Gender and traditional stereotypes play a large role in the construction of …show more content…
Ma plays the role of the glue attempting to hold the family together. Earlier in the novel when the car breaks down, Tom suggests the family splits up for a short amount of time. Ma responds with violence, and upon realizing the family is being broken down by outside forces, chooses to take the leading role. Ma does not pretend to be an early feminist, as she does not take on this role as a way of making this shift in familial power a norm. However, she takes on this role as she sees it as a necessity when Pa seems to lose a piece of himself when he can no longer play the leader. At the end of the novel, only Ma and Rose of Sharon remain in the focus of the novel. Rose of Sharon shows her character development in the last chapter by allowing a dying man to drink her breast milk. This challenges the stereotype of a man being the one to provide for women and children. It also implies that women are the source of life, giving Rose of Sharon an extremely important role. Ma and Rose no longer play a submissive role as there are no longer men to follow in suit of. Steinbeck opposes the traditional family structure that he introduced in the beginning of the novel and instead portrays Ma and Rose of Sharon as the core of the
Minerva was upset when she found lio letters. Patria had problems with her faith when her son died at birth. Dede did not join her sisters because her husband told her not to. The black towel tells mama that the girls are okay. Maria did not like the other family at first but at the end she started to like them.
John Steinbeck’s classic novel, The Grapes of Wrath, explains the story of the Joad family while simultaneously dealing with eternal human issues. We open on Tom Joad, fresh out of prison, hitchhiking his way back home after killing a man with a shovel. From there we travel through ideas of religion, capitalism, xenophobia, and determination. As Tom begins walking home from where he was dropped off, he runs across his childhood preacher, alone and barefoot, and discusses ideas of human desire and sin within the church after learning that Casy is no longer a member. Continuing on his way home, Tom finds his family’s barn abandoned and his neighbors gone.
Ma, regarded as the leader of the family, decides what actions the family will take. In this instance, Ma not only listens to Rose of Sharon but follows through with Rose of Sharon’s requests. By going through with her statements, Ma gives Rose of Sharon the power to make sensible family decisions. The juxtaposition of Ma listening to Rose of Sharon rather than Rose of Sharon blindly following Ma exemplifies the decision-making skills Rose of Sharon gains after going through a miscarriage. This is an example of how Steinbeck uses Rose of Sharon’s miscarriage to show how a traumatic experience can push a person to become pragmatic.
She is the main female character of the novel and is the leader of the family. She would never let the family spit up. In Chapter 16, Tom suggests that the family should go to California while him and Casy stay behind and fix their car. Ma responds with “‘On’y way you gonna get me to go is whup me.’… ‘An’ I’ll shame you, Pa.’”
John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath has become an American classic in its seventy-eight years of existence due to its accurate interpretation of the struggles faced by midwestern farmers and their journey west. The book is formatted using intercalary chapters, which tell a broader story than just the narrative. This is a strong decision that enhances the novel with expertly executed figurative language and furthers the plot by giving explanations to past events. Steinbeck’s choice to use this structure is quite beneficial and is partially to blame for the novel’s literary credibility.
“The Grapes of Wrath” takes place during the great depression: which was a substantial economic downside in United States history. At the same time, racism continues in the United States. The Okies are very talented farmers and most of them travel along route 66 to hope for a better life, but something was waiting for them that was unexpected to these people. They did not receive any governmental supports they were ignorant, and this makes native people easier to realize Okies as an outsider also they found menial and low paying jobs. Steinbeck implies that man turns against another human for the survival of the fittest; therefore, they do not mind to put another human in a situation that is challenging to survive.
“Pa’s lost his place. He ain’t the head no more.” (536) To conclude this, everything Steinbeck illustrates to the reader can suggest that Ma is truly like the backbone of the Joad
Throughout the novel, “The Grapes of Wrath,” by John Steinbeck, the roles of Ma Joad begin to change gradually as the story goes on. Pa began the story as the leader of the family, but as they travel to California, Ma begins to be more and more in charge of what the family does and where they will travel to next. She is also the one who attempted to keep the family together as much as she possibly could. Even though she is a female, Ma Joad's strong and powerful leadership helps the family to continue to be a whole, yet be the protective feminine mother they knew to love. By standing up to many of the men, making the decisions of when the family should leave a specific camp, and even making the decision to tell Tom Joad to leave for his own and his family's safety shows her guidance through the family's adventure.
It’s difficult to get kicked out of a land you have lived in for so long and end up having nowhere to go. In this novel, Grapes of Wrath, written by John Steinbeck, shows Tom Joad’s journey with his family to a new place where they've never been. They travel from Oklahoma to California and encounter a lot of hardship. Tom Joad is the main character in the story and is portrayed in the beginning as someone who can’t control their anger. He shows development in managing his anger issues as a result of his family’s unwavering emotional support.
(Steinbeck 144) Ma Joad displays the similarity between her and Virgin Mary through her strength and selflessness. At the time the Joads were crossing into California, she keeps quiet about Grandmas death and rides along with her dead body the whole night. This actions suggests that Ma thinks of the family as an unit that must always stick together, her sense of honesty since she tells Grandma directly that she can’t be helped, and her own appreciation of beauty, especially seen in her remarks about burying
Violence isn't the way to achieve ones goals. Almost everyone has someone of something that stands in the way of their ultimate goal. Many people come to a point where they feel that the only way to achieve that goal is at the expensive of another. This isn't necessarily the case. Rather then inflicting violence on one another we must use the intelligence we were blessed with.
Injustices, tragedies, and unfortunate circumstances have plagued humankind for all of existence. Many of these problems have arisen from the society of man, and could not be found in nature. The hatred, selfishness, prejudice, and maliciousness seen in so many injustices man created unnecessarily, as well as all the suffering it causes does not need to exist. If an individual witnesses a crime or injustice occurring, it is their responsibility to defend the weak and fight for whatever is morally right, even at the cost of themselves.
Grapes of Wrath clearly illustrate the class struggle between workers and the upper class. Steinbeck displays the discrimination between the migrant people and landowners. Migrant workers are handled worse than animals, family’s or “Okies” are starving as food is wasted by the wealthy and the landowners maintain control through violence. “What do you want us to do? We can't take less share of the crop – we're half starved now.
Due to disasters made by mankind and the natural world, many people are forced to leave their homeland in search for a new place to settle in. Just as the Joads and all the other migrant workers are constantly turned away, the refugees and immigrants of today are treated unequally and viewed as problems. John Steinbecks, The Grapes of Wrath tells the story of a family faced with prejudice and discrimination. Discrimination and prejudice are themes in this novel that are quite prevalent. During the time that Steinbeck wrote this novel, there were masses of people roaming the country in search for work.
She is one of the most important characters in the story. The Antagonist is the woman’s role in marriage.