Gender Roles In Grapes Of Wrath By John Steinbeck

Gender roles operate both within the public and private spheres of an individual’s life, and they set boundaries between what is considered right for men and women. Throughout history, women have been categorized into these stereotypes that they must act a certain way and look a certain way. Throughout Grapes of Wrath, readers meet some women who face these stereotypes, instead of accepting them. Throughout the book, Ma Joad shifts to a position of active leadership. With each assault against the unity of her clan, she gradually takes over Pa's role as head of the family. It is portrayed that though women are overlooked, they are capable of more than they are envisioned. As well as in “Impact of Education on Perceived Gender Role

In Grapes of Wrath, Ma Joad is overlooked as Pa takes over the lead role in the family. Ma makes sure to voice her opinion on this by saying “‘Women can change better’n a man,” Ma said soothingly. “Woman got all her life in her arms. Man got it all in his head’”(Steinbeck 6). Ma Joad believes that men are overbearing, while women are humble, which reflects in situations where Ma had to step in and take control. Readers see that while the family goes through more hardships, Ma ends up being the person the family looks up to. This was unexpected for the reason that Pa Joad was seen as the leader in the beginning, while Ma was expected to take the motherly role. Similarly, Clark believes that women have a misconception of what they are capable of. Clark mentions “Women might have different expectations about their roles and responsibilities in the household. That is they might hold themselves more responsible for household chores than their spouses or other male members of the family.”(Clark 28). Clark collects data from thousands of women of all social classes and overall, 55% of women support the theory that men should go to work and provide income, while women stay at home and nurture the child. Which if you put it into perspective, limits the abilities and opportunities of women in the world. Ma Joad is a perfect example of a woman who

In Grapes of Wrath, Rose of Sharon is the mother of her unborn child. When she sees a dying stranger in a rain-soaked barn, she uses her breastmilk to feed him ''The man accepts her gift and Rose of Sharon smiles and holds the man's head”(Steinbeck 443). Throughout the novel, Rose of Sharon’s character revolves around motherhood. She is the eldest daughter in the Joad family and is only 19 years old. While the men navigated the hardships, Rose of Sharon was held behind due to her child. The irony is that her baby ended up being born dead, and the whole time it was all for nothing. Though she shone some light on the situation and breastfed a dying man. This is all stereotypical, as she was seen as nothing more than a mother, but none of the men were seen as just fathers. To compare, Clark speaks about how the stereotypical mother role is a distraction from the true issue that women lacked education. Clark exclaims “Females who are not educated have limited exposure. Therefore, they are more likely to hold more rigid and traditional views about women's gender roles”(Clark 32). To go more in-depth, women have not always had easy access to education. As a matter of fact, women were not allowed to enroll in school until 1803, when Bradford Academy in Bradford, Massachusetts was the first higher educational institution to admit women in Massachusetts. Since then, women had continued