The Grapes Of Wrath Character Dynamic

Ma’s transformation is used by Steinbeck to show the theme of desperate and changing times, and of the wrath of hardworking farmers. At the beginning of the novel,

Through the roughest times in life, we come across crises that reveal the true character in those around us. Those who are strong are divided from the weak and the followers divide from the leaders. In the novel, The Grapes of Wrath, author John Steinbeck presents the character Ma Joad who serves an important role as the rock that keeps the family together. The Joad family, apart from many families in Oklahoma, is forced to leave their homes in search of work and better opportunities; California not only leaves them in poverty but despair. But through it all Ma Joad is the leader of the family that exhibits selflessness in order to protect and secure her 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.

The Grapes of Wrath, written by John Steinbeck, is considered by many to be the hallmark of American literature. It covers the journey of the Joad family as they stick together through one of the harshest eras in American history, the Great Depression. The structure of the Joad’s narrative is interspersed by smaller, highly descriptive interchapters, which sets the novel apart from other classics in its ability to make the reader understand and relate to the Joads and everything they went through. The detailed, impactful vignettes foreshadow problems the Joads have to overcome and the overview descriptions in the vignettes contrast with the specificities of the Joad’s story. They contain Biblical allusions, colorful descriptions, and objects that can interact with the main characters later in the narrative. Through the use of imagery and diction, the vignettes make Steinbeck’s message more impactful and meaningful.

“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.

The Grapes of Wrath introduces new characters in chapter four. The characters can easily be related to every day lives, including our own. The character that can be connected most with myself is the turtle. Constantly, I feel I am never noticed and I am just kicked around by people every day. Some people notice me, but only get out of my way instead of offering their help. Some people target me as a way to prove they are larger than me. They swerve towards me to injure me or scare me. Steinbeck's ultimate goal is to make the reader sympathize with the turtle. The turtle is a helpless creature who is abandoned on the road, and the most care he gets from any passing drive is just an attempt to not hit the turtle. Tom Joad comes along

And lastly, the change from a smaller concern for just the family to moving into a larger world-view and concern for all of humanity is illustrated in the character of Ma Joad. Ma comes to realize as she feels at first she is losing family members through the

Many characters stood out during the story yet none ever broke the established family hierarchy except for Ma Joad. Ma did not completely break the family structure instead it was more akin to a momentary shift of power. The first time Ma demonstrates any form of power is during a meeting to see whether Jim Casy can go with the Joads to California. During said meeting, although Ma had no real power her “tone” was able to make Pa “ashamed” (Steinbeck 130). This on its did not show power instead it showed Ma’s influence on Pa when dealing with family affairs since her opinion was just as important. Later on in the story, Ma would take a more active role in family affairs. Not only did Ma become more active in order to keep the family together but she also took Pa’s power when she said: “I ain’t a-gonna go” which left Pa “amazed at the revolt” (Steinbeck 185). During this incident, Ma for the first time disobeyed not just Pa but the whole family and took command in order to keep the family from separating even a little. From this point forward Ma is essentially the Patriarch of the family taking over her husband's role as the head of the family.

You can tell that Casy is having second thoughts about leaving for out west, and it’s almost like he is having a premonition. He tries to convince Tom that something funny is going on, but Tom just ignores him. Casy responds by saying “Oh, what the hell! So goddamn hard to say anything” (Galati 37). Uncle John is also having bad feelings and he expresses this to Casy when he says “I got a feelin’ I’m bringin’ bad luck to my own folks” (Galati 41).  Furthering the family break up, Noah, who was also traveling with the family, found his place when they were at the river. He realized that he could catch fish and never be sad. Noah did not want to leave his family but he knew that it wasn’t going to get any better. While the Joad family was breaking up a shift was happening. After the family looses Connie, Casy and Tom, Ma knew that she is just supposed to go on. When she tells Pa “Man, he lives in a jerk—baby born an’ a man dies, an’ that’s a jerk—gets a farm an’ loses his farm, an’ that’s a jerk.” (Galati 81). Ma is realizing that there is a circle of life, that the death of one may bring life to another, as shown in the end when Rose of Sharon feeds her breast milk for her dead baby to a dying man. Ma’s way of thinking is best illustrated by the quote  "Can't wipe us out. Can't lick us. We'll go on forever. 'Cause we're the people." Ma Joad was going through this shift in thinking.

The cold, soaked earth, which was a source of life not too long ago, abducts a young child while the mother can only watch hopelessly as the husband shovels mounds of dirt. This event is not too different than most that citizens living during the Dust Bowl had to deal with. The self-destructive nature caused the American people to keep expanding and shaping the land as they saw fit. Because of this they overworked the land which, combined with drought, caused the Dust Bowl. The big corporations soon bought out most of the land in the Mid-West and many families were soon forced to make their living by other means. The shift of these families out west to a limited number of jobs

During the mysterious novel, The Grapes of Wrath many of the characters change and develop into different people. Tom Joad is one character that has developed into another person of interest unlike the other characters throughout the novel. This particular novel has developed Tom Joad as well as the other characters, in a rather mysterious way. John Steinbeck foreshadows the role of these characters continuously over the course of the novel, yet keeps Toms true character hidden until the novel reaches a certain point. All Characters have changed but Tom Joad has changed unlike any of the other characters. Tom seems to grab more attention throughout the novel unlike the others in the novel.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck uses numerous literary techniques to advocate for change in the social and political attitudes of the Dust Bowl era. Simile, personification, and imagery are among the many devices that add to the novel’s ability to influence the audience’s views. Moreover, through his use of detail, Steinbeck is able to develop a strong bond between the reader and the Joad clan. This bond that is created evokes empathy from the audience towards the Joads as they face numerous challenges along their journey. The chapters go between the Joad’s story and a broad perspective of the Dust Bowl’s effect on the lives of Mid-western farmers in which Steinbeck illustrates dust storms devastating the land, banks evicting tenant

The 1930s were a time of hardship for many across the United States. Not only was the Great Depression making it difficult for families to eat every day, but the Dust Bowl swept through the plains states making it nearly impossible to farm the land in which they relied. John Steinbeck saw how the Dust Bowl affected farmers, primarily the tenant farmers, and journeyed to California after droves of families. These families were dispossessed from the farms they had worked for years, if not generations (Mills 388). Steinbeck was guided by Tom Collins, the real-life model for the Weedpatch camp’s manager Jim Rawley, through one of the federal migrant worker camps. He was able to see for himself,

Her emotions caused by their circumstances help institute the concerned tone of the novel. While Ma’s attitude clearly creates a concerned tone, her looking back appears to not be the only demonstration of the theme. Granpa’s late hesitation to the move supports the concerned theme as well.

In the novel The Grapes of Wrath, we are shown many social issues within the story. Social issues are displayed through homelessness, adaptation, prejudice and more. The social issues bring the novel together as one, and they have a great effect on the Okies in the book. Also, adaptation plays a big part in the social issues. Steinbeck captures great struggles in migrant work on the farm and shows how workers needed to come together as one.