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The Role Of Ma Joad In The Grapes Of Wrath

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Throughout the novel, “The Grapes of Wrath,” by John Steinbeck, the roles of Ma Joad begin to change gradually as the story goes on. Pa began the story as the leader of the family, but as they travel to California, Ma begins to be more and more in charge of what the family does and where they will travel to next. She is also the one who attempted to keep the family together as much as she possibly could. Even though she is a female, Ma Joad's strong and powerful leadership helps the family to continue to be a whole, yet be the protective feminine mother they knew to love. By standing up to many of the men, making the decisions of when the family should leave a specific camp, and even making the decision to tell Tom Joad to leave for his own and his family's safety shows her guidance through the family's adventure. Ma Joad functioned as the protagonist by keeping her family together and taking over the leadership, which in the end, gets them to California.
One of the first signs of Ma …show more content…

Because of her functions as a protagonist in the novel, they stayed together through the rough times. Since she was able to stand up against many of the men in her life, be in charge of making the families decisions of where and when to leave a certain area, and her overall love and protectiveness of her family, she caused her family to survive through whatever California threw at them. Throughout the novel, many tried to discourage the Joads to turn back because there was no good opportunity, but because Ma Joad became a more independent and strong person, she kept her family strong through the difficult times from finding jobs to Rose of Sharon's birth. Ma was a big reason the Joads were able to not only reach California but also stay together as a family despite the few losses along the way. Even though she wasn't the protagonist in the entire novel, she should still become an important aspect in the joads

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