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Grapes Of Wrath Character Analysis Essay

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Personalities of the Grapes of Wrath In any good story the author uses the characters to further develop the story. A great example of this is in the novel The Grapes of Wrath. The characters of Tom Joad, Ma Joad and Jim Casey provide different characteristics to expand the plot; Tom provides a sense of practicality to the story, Ma is strong, and Jim Casey shows leadership qualities. These characteristics foreshadow the character’s destiny in the story. In John Steinbeck’s proletarian novel, The Grapes of Wrath, his early descriptions of and dialogue for Tom, Ma and Jim Casey establish their personalities and futures. The main character Tom Joad is best described as practical. When Tom was in prison he learned the valuable lesson of taking one day at a time. Ma Joad explains it best when she says "You can't go thinkin' when you're gonna be out. You'd go nuts. You got to think about that day, an' then the nex' day, about the ball game Sat'dy….Jus' take ever'day." (91). An example of Tom being practical was just before the Joads and Jim Casey left for California and they were trying to figure out a way to get Granpa to go. Tom …show more content…
When Ma is first introduced in the novel she is automatically depicted as a strong character. Steinbeck describes her as “the citadel of the family, the strong place that could not be taken” (74). She willingly takes on this position in the Joad household. Her strength foreshadows that while heading west Ma will have to be strong not only for herself, but also for the entire family because “she seemed to know that if she swayed the family shook, and if she ever really deeply wavered or despaired the family would fall, the family will to function would be gone.” (74). Although Ma is considered the strong character in the book, she also shows kindness and femininity. She proves this by her actions towards Jim, Tom and the rest of the

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