Mama Joad is a very interesting character. I have some very strong opinions of her and I really admire her as a mother and a person in the book Grapes of Wrath. She is very determined. She is determined that her family not only survives, but survives together. She is also very loving. She loves all of her family. She even sends Tom away, she knows she will not get to see someone he loves very much, but she would much rather him survive and not be found for the murder and suffer in prison again. She is the center of strength for the Joad family. She is the leader of the book, and is the hero of the book for me. She goes through a lot in the book, and regardless how bad it gets. She always stays strong and provides and keeps her family together no matter waht. Over and over again she shows great strength to keep herself, and her whole family together through some very difficult times that most people would just give up in. Whenever the family crosses the California desert she shows the greatest strength, she suffers to herself with the death of the Grandma with being alongside her dead body in their tent so that the family can cross and finish the journey. After all of this happens, Tom tries to reach out to her and try and comfort her and she basically says do not touch me I can only stay together if I do it alone(Steinbeck 190). She does a lot of awful things to herself for the greater good of the family. She shows dignity and strength through thick and thin in the book. I would never want to lay next to my dead mother, but Ma Joad does just this so that her family can complete the journey. She is worried more about crossing and getting to California then having to be next to the dead corpse of a loved one, and having to cope with losing someone she loves. She is strong and a good character who i really enjoyed reading about her story.
Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2002. Print.
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