Grapes of Wrath- Ma Joad

Throughout the story I learned a lot about Ma Joad. She was by far the strongest and most diligent mentally out of the group and was the one that kept the family together. She did whatever it took to keep the family functioning and out of fights.

One time while the Joad's were traveling Ma spent the entire night with her mother in laws corps just so the kids wouldn't worry and everyone would be able to function. She told everyone she was very tired and to not touch her because she didn't want her to wake up. Once they had reached the camp for rest she decided it was time to tell everyone. They had a small ceremony just as a family. Because they couldn't afford the proper burial equipment and services they did it illegally by themselves.

I feel that a woman that strong to not show any emotions until she broke the news about her husbands mother dying is a definite leader. She was harsh enough when it came to times to make sure everyone obeyed her and she was sweet when someone was going through a tough time. Regardless of what the problem was Ma Joad always took care of it and kept the family going.

I don't think that the family would have been able to make it all the way west and into California if it wasn't for her. She was the one that was able to cook all the meals, tend to all the injuries, and do any other miscellaneous work. If people were to say that men are more important or that Ma wouldn't be able to handle it they would have been wrong. She was one of the toughest women of all the camp, or at least that's how I understood the authors idea. He almost made it sound like she was the man of the group and could have easily taken just her and the kids and made it there successfully. All in all Ma Joad was one tough and stubborn woman that did whatever she could, always thinking of others and never of herself.

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