Ma Joad Character Analysis

The readers first encounter with this unity is through the relationship between the Joad and the Wilson family. On their separate journies to California, the Joad and the Wilson family cross paths. The two families merge together sharing hardships and helping each other out. Ma realizes that “Each'll help each, an' we'll all git to California.” The two families share the same mindset where they are able to care and concern for each other despite their individual conflicts. They learn that together they can create a sense of community which provides safety, strength, and support that will ultimately help them survive.

The Joad family’s journey to California results in the breakup of their family. The very first cause of the breakup of the individual family was with the loss of their land. The Joad family had lived there for many generations and had very strong ties to the land. Losing their land was equivalent to losing their family history. This is expressed by “She puts them in her pocket, closes

The Glass Castle and The Grapes of Wrath portrayes families who both acquire a common trait of perseverance. Both the Joad and Walls families struggle financially. They share the challenge of caring for a family, while on the road. They sometimes had to do odd jobs to make ends meet, but they face life with determination and perseverance. When Granma Joad, from The Grapes of Wrath, dies in Ma’s arms, Ma does t make them stop the car. Ma drives for hours with Granma dead in her arms because she knew she could not delay the family. “I tol’ Granma we couldn’ help her. The family had ta get acrost. I tol’ her when she was a-dyin’. We couldn’ stop in the desert” (Steinbeck 228). Ma, determined to reach the border with the family; even a death in the family could not restrain her. The Walls family shows similar attributes of determination throughout the book. When Jeannette Walls’ father

     The Joad family is made up of 12 people, including Connie, and Casy as the 13th person in the journey. This can be seen as a reference to Jesus and his 12 disciples. Connie represents Judas, the traitor that turns against Jesus and the rest of his disciples. In chapter 20 Connie expresses his regret of taking the journey to California to Rose of Sharon and eventually leaves, “If I’d knowed it would be like this I wouldn’ of came” (Steinbeck, 343).

Through the depictions of his clothes, his manner of speech, his actions both before and during the book, Joad is shown to be just one among many ‘Okies’ during the Great Depression and dust bowl era. During the 1930’s, the combination of both the great depression and an 8 year drought left many poor sharecroppers in the heartlands destitute. As a result, many farmers left, heading to California in the ‘Dust Bowl Migration’. The Joads hope to be one of those families, encouraged by the financiers to move westward.

The Joads were going down "something of a tricky intense street a way of escape from misery to an uncertain Californian deliverance" (Spangler). It can be reasoned that "when the one and only option is putting the family on the road to a foreign place, problems arise" (Spangler) and the Joads faced many problems. Connie, among his relatives, chose to accept reality rather than to live in a fantasy – pursuing the American Dream. For instance, “Connie strikes out all alone… he then forsakes the Joads' adamant quest for ranch work for the open doors in the city" (Bloom, p. 18). Connie understood that pursuing the American Dream was an exercise in vainness and although he ran far from the matters of money related uncertainty by leaving his significant other and child, he was essentially doing what was reasonable and rather taken after a future that would best suit him. While the Joads were on an endless excursion in search of the American Dream, they didn't discover any jobs that suited their trust of a money related way of

Ma made countless sacrifices for the family, the best example was when Grandma died. The family could not risked being stopped and not let into California. So Ma does the only thing she could think of, she lies to the guard, saying that grandma was sick and needed a doctor. She spends hours with the body waiting until a safe time to tell the family about the tragedy. In nearly every action, Ma always puts the family first even above her own needs but sometimes she will even put strangers above her as well. When they come across the starving kids at the camp Ma can’t help but feed them even if her family disagrees with her she decides that the children deserve to eat to. Ma thinks of everyone as if she is thinking of herself, making her one with the whole community, thus fulfilling the oversoul concept. While these sacrifices may seem small they take a great deal of leadership and

Humanity has always been fascinated with the journey of heroic individuals; indeed, American children grow up hearing the tales of tiny hobbits traveling across continents to destroy an artifact of great evil or the tale of three wise men who travel from afar to see the birth of their deity. In Yuri Herrera’s novella Signs Preceding the End of the World, readers witness another journey to a strange land fraught with peril for our heroine Makina, a Mexican woman on a journey to find and bring her brother back from the United States of America. Looking at her journey, Makina follows in the same tradition as other heroes like Orpheus and Odysseus, who also plunge themselves into the dangerous underworld. For American

The suffering of farmers caused them to lose money, crops, and their farm lands. Farmers have nowhere to go now that they have lost their farm land and no longer have any money. The farmers are suggesting on going to California to find work. The farmers lands will be destroyed with tractors and their houses will be tore down. Jim Casy and the Joad family go into the town to sell their belongings hoping to sell them for enough money that they can buy themselves are car to go to California. The family are in a used truck going to

Ma pretended Grandma was alive so they would be allowed to rush through the border patrol to get to a doctor. This plan worked and the Joad family arrived in California safely. She was an ambitious woman who was determined to have a successful family in California.Tom Joad was the main character. He was an irascible, yet considerate man who respected his family. His respect for his family forced him to leave on account of being a fugitive. He was defending preacher Casey, but failed to do so when the police killed Casey.

“All we got is the family unbroke. Like a bunch a cows, when the lobos are ranging, stick all together. I ain’t scared while we’re all here… (Steinbeck, 170)”. Ma Joad’s strong will to keep the family together displays her belief that they were stronger as a unit rather than

Ma Joad is another important character in the novel. She is strong, impressive and sympathetic. Her good qualities are mirrored in her face and her eyes seemed to have experienced suffering and pain. She knows that the family is in need of her help and guidance and she saves her family with her courage and kindness. She always puts the need of her family in the first place while at the same time holds the family all together. Steinbeck succeeds in making this character seem idealized, however, he also succeeds in making the reader still able to feel her worry and

(AGG) Just imagine a little Afghan Girl walking over 700 kilometers to a city starving, and thirsty. (BS-1) Najmah appears to become more gloomy than she was before her mother got killed. (BS-2) Najmah becomes stronger, and more eager to help out in chores. (BS-3) And because of the losses that she has witnessed, Najmah then changes her perspective in the decisions she makes. (TS) When her father, brother, mother, and baby brother has been taken away from Najmah. Those losses have ignited a spark inside of her, and it would change her life forever.

Amare Leggette is a 8 year old kid who was born blind. He had an problem with his optic nerve it sends information from eye to brain, since he has a problem with his optic nerve he can not see. His teacher is very good at helping him, and getting him to know the stuff he needs to know. He can read 150 words in a minute, and read for 153 hours last summer. Since he is blind he reads in braille, which is an bunch of little dots that he touches. He did good on a test and he asked if he could join a contest for kids who also read braille. There will be a few 30 min tests and if he does the best in his age group he gets a device and can download and read braille braille books. Amare is only 8 and his teacher says this is only the beginning of his

The theme is about family it shows because all the ghost help Bod just like family. They teach Bod a lot of things so he can be ready for the outside world. They guide him because he is their family and they try to care for him. Our statement is family helps you overcomes evil. Bod first family was killed by a man Jack. In this statement he is the “evil” and everyone in the graveyard is Bod’s “family” in the statement. “It’s unlikely that a child would have come in here, after all. Much more likely you heared a night bird , and saw a cat , perhaps a fox.” Silas said this when he was trying to get Jack out of the graveyard so Bod could be safe. All the ghost trying to help Bod be safe. “Let me know where they are at all times. We have to hide