From the beginning, Steinbeck immediately establishes Ma Joad as the center building block of family unity. ... After listening to Ma Joad, Casy is filled with admiration for Ma's extraordinary strength and persistence: "All night long an" she was alone there's a woman so great with love-she scares me. ... Because Ma Joad is thoroughly familiar with the personality of each member and treats them accordingly, she is able to effectively manage the family. ... In her persistence efforts to keep her family together for survival in a time of geographical displacement and economic insta...

• Word Count: 1488
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

Grandpa Joads death affected the entire family in one way or another. Granma Joad was really sad after he had died, and from that point on in the novel, Granma Joad was never really herself again. When Grandpa Joad died, a piece of Granma Joad died too and this was the beginning of the family starting to split apart. ... Ma' was absolutely stunned when Tom told her this and this is the time in the novel when Ma' was almost at her breaking point. ... This worried and scared Ma' immensely. ...

• Word Count: 1463
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

The Joad family decided to move to California because of an advertisement Ma Joad received advertising jobs picking crops. ... When the Joads finally get on the road, they experience much traffic on the highway because lots of other farmers received the same ad Ma Joad received. ... Ma Joad became the strong person in the family and held the family together during their trip. ... The power passed to Ma, but Tom was the student. ... Because Pa Joad crumbled under the pressure of failure, Ma Joad gained strength and helped her family survive. ...

• Word Count: 1294
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

Characters: In this story, Tom Joad is the protagonist; he is Ma and Pa Joad's favorite son. ... Pa and Ma Joad are also there, along with Grandma and Grandpa Joad, and his brothers. ... Tom and Jim suggest that they could stay behind to repair it, but Ma Joad refused to split up the family. ... Because Ma and Pa Joad do not have enough money for a burial for Grandma Joad, they drop her body off in a coroner's office. ... The middle was saddening because Ma Joad wanted the family to stay together, but they ended up splitting up or dying. ...

• Word Count: 1415
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

the Joad family had to abandon their home and their livelihoods. ... We see and example of this when the Joads stayed at one of the tent sites. ... I feel that Grandpa Joad is an important person to talk about. ... One thing that I found to be true is something that Ma Joad said and that is, "if your in trouble or hurt or need to poor people. ... We also take a look at Ma Joad, and as we know the Joads do not have a lot of money but Ma Joad still tries to give the little that she has to the children who have nothing. ...

• Word Count: 1597
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

the Joad family had to abandon their home and their livelihoods. ... We see and example of this when the Joads stayed at one of the tent sites. ... I feel that Grandpa Joad is an important person to talk about. ... One thing that I found to be true is something that Ma Joad said and that is, "if your in trouble or hurt or need to poor people. ... We also take a look at Ma Joad, and as we know the Joads do not have a lot of money but Ma Joad still tries to give the little that she has to the children who have nothing. ...

• Word Count: 1596
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

Ma Joad, Tom's mother, was the one who kept the family together. ... After he returns, Tom and Ma start to discuss California. ... Ma does not like the idea of anyone splitting up the family. ... During a routine agricultural check, an officer tells Ma that he needs to unload the vehicle, but Ma implies that Grandma needs immediate medical attention, which the officer falls for and lets them go. ... As Ma makes a stew, hungry children gather around her and she tries to shoo them away unsuccessfully. ...

• Word Count: 2457
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School

The first person Tom sees is his Pa, who insists on surprising Ma with his arrival. ... Ma then slips some sleeping syrup into Granpa's drink, and the Joad family begins their journey to California. ... Meanwhile, the Wilsons and Joads are "in flight" crossing New Mexico. ... Ma decides that they need to leave the camp to find work. ... When all of the boxcar inhabitants take Ma's advice to find higher land, everyone rushes into an old barn, only to find a boy who tells Ma that his father is starving. ...

• Word Count: 1730
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

After a short time they go together to find the Joad family. ... Ma replies "" It's women's work."" "" It's all work," the preacher [Casy] replied. ... Casy's beliefs are passed on after his death to Tom Joad, Rose of Sharon, and Ma Joad. ... Also Casy's philosophies rubbed off on Ma. This really shows when Ma says, "" If you"re in trouble or hurt or need- go to poor people. ...

• Word Count: 1851
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

These farmers were forced to either rent their land or move, as the Joads do in Grapes. ... In The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck's social philosophy is expressed primarily by Jim Casy, acted on by Ma Joad, and eventually realized by Tom Joad (CliffsNotes 10). ... In the book, Ma Joad exemplifies this belief when she says "We"re the people we go on" (Steinbbeck ). ... He is immediately accepted by the twelve Joads, who symbolize Jesus" disciples. ... Tom even tells Ma "Seems like I can see him sometimes" (Steinbeck 572). ...

• Word Count: 1670
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

As the emotional and physical backbone of the Joad family, Ma demonstrates her leadership skills throughout the journey to California. ... "Ma's face blackened with anger. ... Ma, we wanna live in a town."... The Joad family had to abandon their home and their livelihoods. ... The novel shows how the Joad family deals with moving to California. ...

• Word Count: 2022
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

This description portrays the Joad family's home suffering from abandonment when they leave their country home life for better opportunities in the west. ... The Joad family prepares for the difficult journey across the country to the "promised" land where ignorance leads the Joad family to search for the American dream in the long lost land of California. ... Grandma and Grandpa Joad cannot endure the difficult journey in the beginning, hence, at their old age, rot away in the back of the vehicle. When the vehicle breaks down, the Joad family gets overcharged for parts that don't fu...

• Word Count: 1717
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

The description of the Joads' travels in The Grapes of Wrath parallels the Hebrew migration from the plagues of Egypt, across the desert, and into Canaan - in the Joads' case, California (O'Connor, p67). ... (Steinbeck, 1939, p265) How the Joads had to learn new rules to accompany their new life parallels how the Jews had to receive their new laws through Moses (O'Connor, p68). ... The character of Ma Joad was more developed than Rose of Sharon but the reader only learns about Ma through what the male characters thought and said about her. ...

• Word Count: 1509
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School