Significance of Ma Joad

In every family configuration, whether the family consists of a husband and a wife or a family with 9 children, there is a member in that structure that the family could not survive without. The human body depends on the backbone to hold it up, as does any functional family. The backbone in the family, albeit a mom, dad, or child, keeps the family together through trials and tribulations. They often put their family’s needs before their own. John Steinbeck’s Ma Joad, a chubby house wife whose eyes show the world more experiences than a normal “housewife” would undertake, is that character (Steinbeck 95). Ma’s defining characteristics along with her “power” in the family and her undying attempts to hold the family together throughout their journey west define the family and acknowledge her important yet dedicated role in getting the family out west.
Throughout history when a person is analyzed, their character is most often brought up because your character is what ...