Ma Joad In John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath

Ma Joad: Leader of the Pack

In my opinion, Ma Joad is the hero of “The Grapes of Wrath”. She is the main force of the force of the family and the one who kept them moving. And although she is the most loving member of the Joad’s, she hides her pain and fear. Without Ma, the family would not have been together at the end of the novel. She can be grouped into many different types of heroes such as, Catalyst, Group Oriented, and Matriarchal Family Strength. In “The Grapes of Wrath,” John Steinbeck makes Ma Joad the leader of the family to convey she is one main heroes of the novel. Ma Joad is a Catalyst Hero because she would sacrifice herself for any of the other family members. Throughout the novel, Ma does not change that much. She is always trying to keep the family from doing any foolish actions. She will never do what is best for herself, but what is best for everyone else. Ma Joad is also a Group Oriented Hero. Group Oriented Heroes tend to be a part of a group in the beginning, venture into a far and unknown land, and is then separated

She is the main female character of the novel and is the leader of the family. She would never let the family spit up. In Chapter 16, Tom suggests that the family should go to California while him and Casy stay behind and fix their car. Ma responds with “‘On’y way you gonna get me to go is whup me.’… ‘An’ I’ll shame you, Pa.’” (Steinbeck 168-169) She was disgusted by the idea of leaving people behind and would never do it. She hides her fear and pain so that the others do not have a reason to be scared. One of the rare times in which Ma shows her fear is when she finds out Ruthie had said Tom was in hiding because he killed two men. “‘Oh, my!’ Ma said wearily. ‘Oh! My dear sweet Lord Jesus asleep in a manger! What we goin’ to do now?’” (Steinbeck 413) The whole family is confused. They do not know how to react to this and just does what Ma