in the country of men woman

he does, and in letting her son go she has not only made him happy but is also asserting her power

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).

Throughout History, women have been permanently oppressed and treated as subordinate to men. They have been considered mentally weak and biologically inferior. The power of their opinion has been limited and in many situations ignored, being condemned to live in that condition for several years. Therefore, we can conclude that the only responsible for strengthening this characterization of women’s inferiority is our society.

Ma Joad is the backbone of her family. She’s the seams that joins, connects, and holds everyone and everything together.

The author shows a great example of the power these men had against these women in the village. In the time period this story took place, it was amazing to the author to witness that gender inequality was still a very big issue in some places. The author described how shocked she was when she found out that these women were not allowed to

Ma Joad, the mother of the Joad family, was made known as “the citadel of the family”, proving to be the more adequate provider as the novel progressed, and handled every hindrance soundly. She remains this way, so her family does not fall apart like others had anticipated. When first meeting Ma Joad in the start of the novel, she was a strong-willed woman, as was she at the end of the novel. For her headstrong personality, Ma Joad served as the rock for her family.

The extent of Ma’s personality continues to unfold throughout the book. The Joad’s are centered around Ma and the way she shows leadership and growth. In the beginning of this section, Ma is simply a common woman, a woman of faith, love, strength, and courage. Everything that happens to the Joad’s, Ma feels in her heart. She gives us an example of what it is like to be women during the dust bowl/ depression.

Ma Joad is the driving force. She is determined to get to California, because she believes that life will be better in California. Because she is so keen on getting to California, she often tries to take the power of the family, and take the man’s job. Ma believes that the family will get to California only with the desire of everyone involved, and only if everyone participates in making it happen. She keeps motivation strong throughout the entire book. Even though she often confines herself to gender roles, she is often able to take power to motivate the group to move on, even in the toughest situations.

Ah, I will give my mother a very tight hug” (Beah 89). This quote shows us that he yearns to see his mother, as well that she is the supporter and caretaker. Through the village being burned down he has lost the love of his life, his only mother. This is important to see because without a supporter and mother he is nothing. Ishmael chose to include this quote to give the audience a feeling of bitterness and caring for Alhaji, but also to see the inequalities he faces through never seeing his mother

suddenly becomes clearer – her flaw is that she is extremely power hungry and will do

To start with, Ma Joad was gentle, caring and patient. This all changed during the families travels. Her caring attribute lead to her turning into a brave women picking fights with many people to protect those she cared

The role of women in works of literature as well as in life has changed significantly. Previously, women were seen as needy and dependent on the men in their lives. Women were only important for raising children and doing work around the house, while men were off

In this book Mama plays a very important role. She is the head of the house and has a major part in what people can and cannot do. She has the

These literary writings address how women were influenced by a “hermeneutic” belief system that placed women mutually in unity to abide by a societal “patriarchal” power (King and Morris 23). Again, women could not communicate their feelings receptively likewise, their values and conceptions were a reflection from their husbands. Essentially, the essay

“It troubled Leah that people thought our household deficient, not because our mother was parked at death’s door, but because we lacked a bakala mpandi - a strong man - to oversee us.”