Grapes of Wrath- Motifs

In the novel Grapes of Wrath, the author uses motifs to help inform the reader more about the theme of the book. Back in the late nineteen thirties, things were different than they are now. Now, in modern times men and women are more equal than they were back then. For example, now both men and women are providers for their family and they are both involved in the decision making. Back then, the men were the primary providers and they were the decision makers. Everyone looked to the man of the family for leadership and strength. For the Joad family, Pa Joad was that man. He was the provider and the decision maker. However, the stress of traveling and job searching gets to him and then power shifts to Ma Joad. Ma Joad began to make all of the family decisions, and this made Pa Joad man. Pa Joad was so made at one point in this book he threatened to beat Ma Joad, although everyone knew he never would. I think this is really weird because for as long as I can remember, both of my parents have been equal. I can not imagine having only my dad making decisions, but I guess that is how things were back then. We saw a dramatic change in the Joad family structure, and I think they were the beginning of the women getting more power. I think that the author did a great job with including how the power did shift a little bit from the men to the women because that is an important part of history. I think that by the author adding the shift of power between the men and the women this only adds to the historical reference in this book. I think that this book really shows us and helps us learn about the hardships and struggles faced by farmers and their families in this time period. This book contains a lot of history in it.

Bibliography

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