Even though there had been some negative outcomes from their journey, Ma stood up for everyone when they were in miscommunication with the bank, salesman, and everyone else who was not in favor of the Joad’s arrival in California. When Steinbeck first introduced Ma at the beginning of the story, she did not act as a role model to the family, because Pa and the other men were in charge of the entire expedition. Ma was able to experience the exploration of happiness within every moment of dejection. She began her role
Every person in America is different in some way. We all go through life in varying manners, some choose to challenge the everyday laws, others cling to the authority hoping not to get noticed, we have different jobs, go to different schools, live in different neighborhoods, some of us have hundreds of family members, and some have none, theres no telling the situation. So the question in general is hard to answer because every American has a different view of living in america. Some people see it as shameful to live in such a cruel country, some are proud to be a part of something that is constantly evolving, there are endless feelings towards America and all are found in the people of this country. What does it mean to be an American?
For example, before entering Manzanar they had dinner together every night and stayed a close knit family that depended on the patriarch of the family. Once the bomb hit and all Japanese were moved to Manzanar, she tried her best to keep that culture alive. Jeanne took notice of this. For example, during dinners in the mess hall Mama tried everything she had to keep the family sitting and eating together. But despite her yearning, it all started slowly tearing the family apart.
Hilly is mainly mean to people that does mean things to her or threatens her. For instance hilly fired Minny because, it was raining that day and she usually goes to the outside house and uses the restroom, so Hilly mother tells her to just go in the house but Hilly doesn’t want that because she’s black. Minny refuses to go inside the house because she knows that Hilly doesn’t like for black people to sit on the toilet that they use. Minny leaves and goes into the back, but she actually goes to the restroom; Hilly finds out and fires her. Pies Pies Pies….. That was Hilly favorite dessert to eat, but not just anyone’s pie “Minny’s Pies”.
This is another example of Ma Joads characterization and a development she had. It also shows just how strong Ma has become, and she is considered a symbol of human love, it is a love of family as a whole above all others that she practices. As the family's economic situation worsens, Ma can do nothing to keep them together. This was proven by the fact Granma and Granpa had died before the family made it to California despite her efforts to keep her family whole. In conclusion, Ma Joad is a character that throughout the book grows as a symbol of human love.
But this also means that he(and all other farmers) got hit hard by the depression and are very poor.We first see the importance of this difference when Scout goes to school on her first day. In chapter 2 the students of Miss Caroline's class are told to go home for lunch or show Miss Caroline they have food. Walter being too poor to buy lunch says
Edna’s refusal to follow and obey social conventions, allows her to spend her time on painting and sketching. And with Leonce and the children’s absence, Edna branches off even further buying her own house and sustaining herself with a small income from her paintings. This allows Edna to gain even more independence from her household, children, and spouse, to the point that she has gone against the female submission rule in societies conventions. On the other hand, Adele is obedient and submissive to her household, husband, and children, rarely leaving the premise of her house. Because of Adele being the “mother-woman”(p.8) and following societies conventions, she is granted very little freedom as she can’t leave her house because of the duties she is expected to complete on a day to day basis.
In this light, it became quite clear as to why Nora stayed with Torvald for as long as she did. Nora was not aware of the world of opportunities to live a different life and to set a course for her future, independent of men. Throughout her life, she had always been a chattel, first her father’s and then Torvald’s. It wasn’t until she rekindled her friendship with Kristina Linde, that she realized that there was a different way to live, igniting the spark that finally allowed her to leave Torvald. Relatedly, I felt more empathetic toward Torvald considering that he was simply representing the shared mindset of an average man during the time.
Along the road the Joad family has to put aside their innate humanness in order to survive and make it to California. Mae and the other diners actions support the idea that the migrants are misunderstood by those who are not struggling in the same manner. Mae labels the people coming into the diner, not truly understanding any of them, and notes how the rich are just as unhappy as the poor migrants. According to Mae, “..the worried eyes are never calm, and the pouting mouth is never glad...An’ the bigger the care they got, the more they steal-towels,silver,soap dishes.I can’t figger it.”(156) In this quote Mae is describing the upper class people that enter her diner, saying they steal and are anxious. This shows how the rich people are so blind to what's actually going on in the country but they too believe they are desperate and suffering, refusing to be comfortable.
Today, people all over the world feel like they have to act like someone they are not in order for them to be accepted by their peers. We all are guilty of repressing certain parts of ourselves because we are too afraid of how society will react and judge us for being our own person. As Stevenson has shown throughout his story, Dr Jekyll had been living this way his entire life. He repeatedly experiences all of these wants and desires but decides not act on them because of his worries of how he will be perceived by the community. Therefore, Stevenson conveys the message that it's easy for people to get into the bad habit of not being their selves to the extent where they could turn into an entirely different person that they will never be able to