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

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

The Joad family is forced from their home when the crops do not grow and money becomes short. ... Ma is one of the first who changes. ... Now through the rest of the book, Ma is the head of the family. She tells the Joads what is going to be done and where they're going. ... However, on the road Ma become stronger than he is and takes control. ...

• Word Count: 554
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

We then meet Tom Joad who hitchhikes his way home. ... Ma drugs him and they carry him to the car. ... The Joads decide to go on without them to California. ... Ma does not tell anyone of her death until they get out of the desert because she knows they must continue. ... Ma hurries to the cave to tell Tom, he decides that he is going to continue what Jim Casey did. ...

• Word Count: 988
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

One amazing aspect of the Joad's family to almost an unnatural extent is their ability to remain positive along the way. When Grandpa dies the Joads meet the Wilsons who share the experience with them as they perform a forma! ... When the Joads reached the Hooverville camp they barely had enough food to eat for themselves but Ma was generous enough to give food to the starving children from around the camp (Hinton 2). ... Ma's display of affection also goes to show how important of a role women played during the depression. ... It becomes quite obvious of Ma's taking command...

• Word Count: 1628
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

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

The Joad family traveled thousands of miles together and their bonds strengthened as a result. ... The Joads helped all that they could, while they were helped by all that could help them. ... In the government camp, and every camp the Joads called home, the family was part of a bigger family. In the boxcar camp, the Joads became close with the Wainwrights, who helped birth Rose of Sharon's baby. ... Lastly, the barn in the last chapter from the book provided refuge from the rain for Rose of Sharon and Ma. ...

• Word Count: 787
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

It is very similar to the bond which the Joad family has in The Grapes of Wrath. ... In The Grapes of Wrath, the Joads lived in this particular region, in Oklahoma. ... Ma Joad is an exemplary woman of strength, dedication, conviction, and love. ... Even as they break up along the way, Ma's "rise to power" and Rose of Sharon's coming of age all show what an important part of migrant life the family is. ... He has a special to John Steinbeck in that he wrote an adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath as a song titled "Tom Joad". ...

• Word Count: 1752
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

And there are moments at which Ma Joad and Casy "otherwise such substantial figures "seem to fade into mere mouthpieces, as the author's voice comes through, like another station on the radio (Bloom's 28)."" ... His points could have yielded more credibility if he had included critical details such as a quote from the novel proving his argument in which Ma Joad and Casy were no more than Steinbeck's puppets. ...

• Word Count: 669
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography

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