Dictionaries’ definitions of the word hero are exceedingly vague. A standard dictionary limits the definition of a hero to, “a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities” (Dictionary.com). Heroes are people, not just men, who are generous, courageous, and take every event as part of the whole stream of life rather than as a critical moment. Humanity, endurance, and perseverance are other critical characteristics of a deserving candidate for such a title. John Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath, does an excellent job of defining a hero through the character, Ma Joad. As the Joad clan disintegrated under the pressure of dispossession and migration, Ma emerged as a central, cohesive force. Maintaining her composure, she heroically led the family on their journey towards the dream of a better life.
From the beginning, Ma was a strong woman who had the ability to do anything, such as salt a pig. Her past, which was filled with a variety of obstacles and suffering, equipped her with such strength. When one observed Ma, they saw that, “Her hazel eyes seemed to have experienced all possible tragedy and to have mounted pain and suffering like steps into a high calm and a superhuman understanding” (Steinbeck 79). Past events in her life prepared her and made her a resilient woman. Such events may also have resulted in her strong intuition. In the start, she doubted the idea of going to California and thought that the ideas many held about California as a safe haven were too good to be true. Tom Joad, her son, asked her why she felt that way and she replied, “‘I’m scared of stuff so nice. I ain’t got faith. I’m scared somepin ain’t so nice about it’” (Steinbeck 97). In addit...
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...r earthly possessions. Not only was she the rock of the family, but she was also the pillar of the family who kept them going. Without Ma, the Joad family would most likely not have been able to continue their journey to California and probably would not have survived as long as they did. From beginning to end, Ma’s strength grew; she began as a strong woman and ended as an even stronger woman and although she was not the official head of the family because of the patriarchal mindset of the time period, she truly lived up to her role as a matriarchal leader and hero.
Works Cited
Steinbeck, John. The grapes of wrath . New York: Viking Press, 1939. Print.
" Hero | Define Hero at Dictionary.com ." Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com . N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2011. .
Among them are only four women of all ages: the Grandma, the Mother and her two daughters, the pregnant Rose of Sharon and the young Ruthie. Appearing in Chapter Eight, the mother, who is referred to as “Ma”, holds a decisive role in Steinbeck’s novel. She is, along with her son Tom (the main character of the book), present from the early stage of the story until its very end. We will attempt to trace back her emotional journey (I) as well as to analyze its universal aspects and to deliver an overall impression on the book (II). Steinbeck describes Ma as a strong woman, physically “heavy, thick with childbearing and work” (Chap.8).
Ma takes on two roles in the course of the book. Pa begins despairing because of his lack of work, so Ma takes over his role as leader. This shows the masculinity in Ma's character coming out.
Ma is supposed to be seen as the matriarchal archetype, a strong-willed, beautiful woman who can take care of her family. While men were distracted by how bad things got, “the women knew how the past would cry to them in the coming days”. (111) Steinbeck implants thoughts of both patriarchal dismissal and feminine uprising throughout the novel when Ma gradually makes more of the decisions and personally sacrifices more for her family, and both men and women in the family turn to her for traditionally male
The Grapes of Wrath is a very interesting novel. Throughout the novel, the author does not provide a lot of descriptions of the Joad’s family characteristics; however, the action of those characters speak for itself. One of the most astonishing character that I find really interesting is, Ma Joad. After reading the book, I felt so sad and depressed of what she had to go through in her life. While reading it, I compared my Mother to Ma Joad, I think they went through the same journey, not physically, but emotionally. We grew up in a really poor country, Cambodia, and we went through a similar situation. Ma Joad played a really important role in this family movement, without her presence in the Joad’s family, I do not think the family could carry on their trip. She is the glue to the family, she is the one who is holding on the faith of being togetherness in the family. Her character shifts throughout the novel. Ma Joad first started as domesticated house women, does not involve in decision making, and is subordinated to Pa Joad. In chapter 10, while Ma Joad was salting the meat in the kitchen, Casey who used to be a preacher at the church nearby, offered in helping Ma Joad in salting the meat; however, she refused, claiming it “Its women works” (Steinbeck, P. 107).Women were not honored to be independence, it is repeatedly enforced by the society that these belief of women subordinated to men is a right thing, eventually glued in women head. Ma Joad is a soft women, but her character changes as time goes by. Every little thing constantly worries her. I think that is pretty much for every mothers, fears of anything that could separate the family awa...
A hero is defined as "someone admired for his bravery, great deeds or noble qualities". There are three categories to which all heroes can be classified into, one of which is the anti-hero genre.
The ending of The Grapes of Wrath maintains its historical accuracy by enforcing the idea of the women being the force that holds the family together. From even the beginning of this text we can see that Ma Joad is an incredibly strong ch...
According to google.com a hero is someone who “is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievments, or noble equalities.” (google.com). For example, superman , superman is an all time american classic modern hero who is admired for his courage and for saving earth multiple times from super villains. Another example of a hero is Beowulf. Beowulf was created around 1000 AD and was known far and wide throughout the lands for his selflessness,bravery, and courage .
A hero, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary is "a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities". I consider Ponyboy to be the biggest hero in the novel "The Outsiders". He was able to save the children by putting his life in danger to save theirs. And he showed incredible qualities such as courage, humility and selflessness.
Marie, who is a product of an abusive family, is influenced by her past, as she perceives the relationship between Callie and her son, Bo. Saunders writes, describing Marie’s childhood experiences, “At least she’d [Marie] never locked on of them [her children] in a closet while entertaining a literal gravedigger in the parlor” (174). Marie’s mother did not embody the traditional traits of a maternal fig...
The first woman we are introduced to is Mavis. Her relationship with her husband is an example of the type of subservience c...
The protagonist, Mama, shows two distinct traits throughout the story. She possesses a hard working demeanor and rugged features, leading to her insecurities shown throughout the story. She raised two children without the assistance of a man in her life, forcing her to take on both roles, and further transforming her into a coarse, tough, and burly woman. Mama portrays this through her own account of herself, saying “[i]n real life I am a large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands. In the winter I wear flannel nightgowns to bed and overalls during the day. I can kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man”(Walker 1312). It is very difficult for Mama to raise her kids on her own, but she does whatever
John Steinbeck published The Grapes of Wrath in response to the Great Depression. Steinbeck's intentions were to publicize the movements of a fictional family affected by the Dust Bowl that was forced to move from their homestead. Also a purpose of Steinbeck's was to criticize the hard realities of a dichotomized American society.
In this last scene, Mama proves to herself that you do not need an education, or generation knowledge to be able to posses strength. For Mama had inner strength all along, she just needed her true rich and beautiful beliefs of her heritage to shine through, and they did.
The relationship between a mother and her family is one of strength and commitment. A mother will go through long anything to make sure her family is safe. In 1982, in Lawrenceville Georgia, Mrs. Angela Cavallo saved her son, Tony Cavallo,who was pinned down by his Chevrolet Impala. The Chevrolet slipped off his car jack and fell on Tony. Angela was able to lift the car and then provide CPR for her son and saved his life. Family is the most important thing, and Ma demonstrates her maternal characteristics throughout the book to show that sticking together saves families.
In actuality, she was defiant, and ate macaroons secretly when her husband had forbidden her to do so. She was quite wise and resourceful. While her husband was gravely ill she forged her father’s signature and borrowed money without her father or husband’s permission to do so and then boastfully related the story of doing so to her friend, Mrs. Linde. She was proud of the sacrifices she made for her husband, but her perceptions of what her husband truly thought of her would become clear. She had realized that the childlike and submissive role she was playing for her husband was no longer a role she wanted to play. She defied the normal roles of the nineteenth century and chose to find her true self, leaving her husband and children