Motifs- The Grapes of Wrath

Back when the Great Depression was around the men would usually make all of the desicions. In the Joads' family that was their family structure. The men would make all the desicions while the women stayed back and just did what the men said. Usually Pa would make all of the decisions when the Joads' were around, but when the Joads' were on their way to California Pa just started to think about things that did not really matter about the family so Ma had to step in and make the decisions. Pa was not used to somebody else making all the decisions so he got mad at Ma for making any decisions at all. When Ma made decisions it made the family structure go way off. In my opinion, people back then should of listened to anybody who had ideas because in the Great Depression people needed help and the men could not do it all. When Steinbeck says, "She said, Tom, I hope things is all right in California. He turned and looked at her. What makes you think they ain't? he asked. Well -- nothing. Seems too nice, kinda. I seen the han'bills fellas pass out, an' how much work they is, an' high wages an' all; an' I seen in the paper how they want folks to come an' pick grapes an' oranges an' peaches. That'd be nice work, Tom, pickin' peaches. Even if they wouldn't let you eat none, you could maybe snitch a little ratty one sometimes. An' it'd be nice under the trees, workin' in the shade. I'm scared of stuff so nice. I ain't got faith. I'm scared somepin ain't so nice about it" (Steinbeck 90 and 91). This is showing all the say that Ma is able to talk about. She is talking about all the jobs that are in California and all the nice things she has heard about it, but she is scared about heading to it because it sounds to nice. Throughout the whole trip to California the Joads' family structure went from being the leadership of men to the leadership of either the men or the women.

Bibliography

Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2002. Print.