Character Analysis Of Ma Joad In John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath

Since the book came out in 1939, everyone has had a opinion on the ending to John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath. It has a very controversial ending, that Steinbeck thought would name the last nail into the coffin, so to speak, on how bad the dust bowl and moving west really was. The ending starts when the Joad family is threatened with a flood, so they make their way to a old barn where they find a boy and his old father. The boy says his father is starving, and that he can’t keep anything solid down. He needs something like soup or milk. Ma and Rose of Sharon look at each other and they agree that Rose of Sharon should use her milk, that she doesn’t need because her baby was stillborn, and feed this old man. Everyone gets out of the barn, and she feeds him. Now the weirdest part of all is that while she is feeding him, she starts to smile a mysterious smile. There are so many things that are just not right in any

In the short “The Doll” by Charles Chesnutt, Chesnutt makes the barber human by having him feel compassion when given the opportunity to kill the colonel. The majority of the story takes place in a hotel barber shop where an African American barbers work. One of these barbers named Tom Taylor ends up giving a shave to Colonel Forsyth. Throughout the story it is slowly revealed that Colonel Forsyth is in fact the man who killed Tom’s father which gives Tom the urge to kill him with the straight razor. At the end of the story Tom decides against killingly colonel out of the compassion he feels for others. Tom’s compassion for his daughter is clearly shown in the quote, “Whether he died or not, he would be lost to Daisy. His wife

Though it is a book that has been on the censored list, Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck is a worthy novel to continue in the high school curriculum due to its accurate portrayal of the time period. As a student reading this novel after many extensive United States history classes and the previous year taking AP United States History, I felt a new outlook after reading a fictional story about the matters of the depression and dust bowl of the 30’s. Steinbeck’s use of literary depiction strengthens the novel and makes it more than just a recollection of the time. His biblical allusions, imagery, symbolism, and figurative language allow the reader to immerse themselves in the time. As a result of this, the novel went from a tale of history to

Grapes of Wrath clearly illustrate the class struggle between workers and the upper class. Steinbeck displays the discrimination between the migrant people and landowners. Migrant workers are handled worse than animals, family’s or “Okies” are starving as food is wasted by the wealthy and the landowners maintain control through violence. “What do you want us to do? We can't take less share of the crop – we're half starved now. The kids are hungry all the time. We got no clothes, torn an' ragged. If all the neighbors weren't the same, we'd be ashamed to go to meeting.” (Pg 33). Farmers are trying to reason with the landowners, their whole community is out of money and are struggling to make a living. Grapes of Wrath show the unfair working situations that migrants face when they arrive in California. Land Owners are the most wealthy and powerful having the ability to pay their workers a poor wage. In the Grapes of Wrath, many Americans lose their homes, jobs and life savings, forcing them to move and leave behind their land in hopes of finding a prosperous place to live. The Great Depression (1929-1939) was the worst, deepest and longest lasting economic collapses in the industrialized western world. The Joad family is planning to move to California, but some of them have doubts and attachments that make them contemplate whether or not it is the right choice. The Joads find their motivation by helping each other through tough situations. Steinbeck shows the determination of the human spirit

The Great Gatsby is a novel that discusses many issues around money in American society. A direct link to this is Daisy and Tom Buchanan, characters who represent the old money upper class. Throughout the story their true personality appears. The Buchanans’ are centered around wealth to the point that their relationship is built on money and class. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby the characters of Tom and Daisy Buchanan convey the theme that when the foundation for a relationship is money in place of love the outcome is a hollow marriage.

F. Scott Fitzgerald has a way of applying indirect characterization into his novels in order to enhance how he would like a character to be interpreted, especially in his 1925 novel The Great Gatsby. Take for example, two major characters in the story, Nick Carraway of Minnesota who moved to New York in order to get into the bond business and Tom Buchanan a wealthy man living in East Egg with his wife Daisy. It is evident that Fitzgerald would want readers to look at Nick as an honest man and a bystander or observer of the world going on around him. On the other hand, Fitzgerald wants readers to see Tom as an arrogant, hypocritical brute with no morals whatsoever. Through dialogue and the actions of characters these traits of Nick Carraway

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.

“The Devil and Tom Walker” written by Washington Irving, is a story that takes place in New England in the 1720’s. A major part of the story is satire as it is displayed all throughout the work. Satire is writing that ridicules or criticizes. Religion, marriage, and the white establishment are three different elements of society that are criticized throughout the story with satire.

There are 7 deadly sins, they are lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. These deadly sins can be related to almost any novel. There are 4 books that show resemblance to the 7 deadly sins. The books are Silas Marner, The Great Gatsby, Julius Caesar, and Frankenstein, to relate to 4 sins, greed, lust, pride, and wrath. In almost any book, the seven deadly sins are present.

The cowardice exhibited by Daisy Buchanan shows that Fitzgerald’s attitude towards Daisy getting cheated on was that it is okay because he has money and that is why she wants to stay.

The theme of The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald is that the upper class tend to participate in actions that are commonly seen as dishonest, unfaithful, or sketchy. Characters like Nick, Gatsby, Tom and George have twisted views on their own reality due to unfaithfulness and dishonesty. Nick was constantly lied to in the story, for example, Gatsby lied to him about where he got his money. Lies, similar to the one above, gave Nick some twisted views on the reality of his friendship. Gatsby had a twisted view on love due to Daisy marrying Tom right after he left for the war, rather than waiting for him. Tom cared more about his affair with Myrtle than his own wife. Neither Tom nor Daisy truly wanted to be in the relationship. George had his life all mixed up not knowing that Myrtle is being unfaithful to him. These instances of dishonesty from all of these characters against each other result in their own twisted realities due to unfaithfulness and dishonesty.

The Grapes of Wrath portrays contemporary people 's actions during the long journey from Oklahoma to California. As Joad 's family travels from Oklahoma to California, their dreams and hopes are slowly crushed. When Joads struggle while facing difficulties, Ma plays a significant role: the citadel holding family all together in this hectic migration. Regardless of gender rules, Steinbeck demonstrates Ma as the real head of the household instead of Pa, driven by the responsibility and leadership within motherhood. Ma plays both mother and father figure which consequently might make Pa Joad as a useless character.

Violence isn't the way to achieve ones goals. Almost everyone has someone of something that stands in the way of their ultimate goal. Many people come to a point where they feel that the only way to achieve that goal is at the expensive of another. This isn't necessarily the case. Rather then inflicting violence on one another we must use the intelligence we were blessed with. You must find something that you have that the person in your way doesn't and exploit his or her weaknesses. Violence isn't the answer in any situation it only inflicts pain mentality, physically, and financially.

How would someone react when they found out someone they love would be taken from them, if they didn’t act upon a situation? Some would do everything in their power to keep who they love. For others, they would let faith decide the situation, using nothing but pure deception. George Wilson and Tom Buchanan were two “gentleman” with discrete views on life. But, although they did have very distinct differences such as wealth, they both wanted to protect their wives from the great danger that threatened their livelihood and in doing so demonstrated how the nature of man is to be selfish with what they "own”.

In the Grapes of Wrath, two women appear in the beginning of the novel and was continuously having an active part of the story. As the story progresses, it has shown that the men slowly start to lose hope while strong women appear. Ma Joad and Rose of Sharon being to show a more dependable side to them to help keep the family together.