Grapes of Wrath- Grampa Joad

Grampa Joad was a stubborn old fellow. He was the founder of the Joad's farm, but he was a constant pain. When he got older he decided to take his anger out in language and would always tell people what he thought about them or something. Although he was rude and annoying he was very funny and could always make people laugh. The worst quality about Grampa, yet the funniest of them all was how stubborn he was and how committed he was to go through with whatever threats/ideas he had.

The weirdest thing about Grampa Joad was the fact that he never wanted to leave places once he had got attached. In order for the family to head west and leave the farm they had to get Grampa on the truck. He was so stubborn he wouldn't even move and insisted that they leave him. Because Ma didn't think that this was a good idea, she thought of a plan. They got ahold of some sort of drug and drugged Grampa, forcing him onto the truck. I think this is funny because of the mental picture it puts in my head. Just thinking about my grandpa going around and being angry about things cussing people out and telling them whatever non-sense he wanted to is enough, but to think that he would tell them rude things about what he thought about them or be flat out mean is another story. Then to think that he would sit in a chair and force our family to leave him out on a trip, only to lead to us drugging him and putting him in the car is hillarious.

All in all, I think that Steinbeck did a great job representing the comical character of the book. Using an old grandpa that doesn't know what he is doing is wrong and making him super stubborn is a great mood lightener for the serious tragedies and events that occur. I really enjoyed reading different stories about Grampa Joad.

Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.