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Ma Joad I have decided to describe Ma Joad as a character from the book The Grapes of Wrath. This book was written during the period of drastic changes in American modern history. Steinbeck, who was the author of the book, did not try to make all the brutal details of the Great Depression softer. He was describing the reality in which workers were struggling for the existence in order for people to understand all the bad issues of that time for not allowing it to happen again in the future. Therefore, Steinbeck could not make the story quite understandable for readers if he would not describe all the horrors and tragedies of the life, sometimes even with using brutal but truthful expressions. Steinbeck has managed to show the depth of the peoples sole, which was full of spirit and hope.
The Great Depression has changed the lives of many people. Some simply were morally falling down and some were encouraged by life and survival to such an extent that their moral values became often more sophisticated. As a conclusion of the previous idea, Steinbeck has left a very good impression of his understanding of the situation and of his masterful job describing the dark sides of our history, as a whole. The Grapes of Wrath shows the meaning of the human nature in a persuasive manner. This novel has a very important meaning and makes very strong impression on the reader, who never before had even thought about the issues that are covered in the book. It is great, because it shows the life of an average person in such a clear fashion that it makes me to think, how great a human being could be.
A vivid example, in my opinion, could be Ma Joad, who was one of the main characters of the book. She was the foundation of the Joad family and fairly was characterized as morally strong woman. I really liked how Steinbeck described her way of life, saying that she lives: like a stream (p. 577). Ma Joad had a huge capacity of love, because she loved her family and all the people that were surrounding her, which may sound a little ridiculous, because Ma Joad lived in the period of Great Depression.
Today our country has a successful economical situation, when people have jobs and are not fighting in order to survive, but the majority does not have or simply does not show their love to other people. This makes a very good example on what a great personality Ma Joad was. For this reason Ma Joad was the family's center of strength, on which other members of the family could rely. Pa Joad was with a time starts having less and less control over the members of the family, while leadership consistently falls to Ma Joad. We should not forget that it all happened in the times, when male was the leader of the family and nobody could argue on that point.
The feature that I have really liked about Ma Joad is that she meets all the barriers and hard realities bravely. She is not afraid of chaos, and while chaos occurs, she manages to keep the family together inspiring the confidence in each member. The crossing of the California desert describes all the power and determination that Ma Joad had. During this journey, Grandma dies and Ma Joad suffers this tragic event privately without telling anyone else in order not to ruin unstable mental condition of the family members, until the end of the trip. Even when Ma Joad warns Tom not to touch her, for the reason that this could ruin all the calm appearance, she still is able to act decisively for the family's good. In this episode, Ma Joad is enabled to lead the family, when Pa Joad is being nervous and morally weak.
Ma Joad keeps all the troubles and sorrows to herself, but she is not the supporter for isolation. She is the strongest and the most valuable supporter of the family during the period of hard times. Indeed, the two tendencies are not in conflict but convene in a philosophy of selfless sacrifice. Ma articulates this best, perhaps, when she wordlessly directs her daughter to breast-feed the starving man in Chapter 30.
With her unconquerable nature, Ma Joad shows that even the most horrible and dangerous circumstances can be passed through with grace and dignity. I really liked this hero very much. I think, that it was worth to write a paper discussing Ma Joad, because she really was the great woman. If people would be so concentrated and would endure as much as she had while having so much determination and greatness of soul, then there would not be any complications during the hard times.
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Research essay sample on Grapes Of Wrath Members Of The Family
