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Gender Roles In John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath

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The Grapes of Wrath written by John Steinbeck reveals the gender roles and culture of its time. In the 20th century, feminism became more common as the patriarchal society evolved. Resultantly, Ma’s position in the Joad family changes throughout the novel and we see her gaining more power. However, due to the previous societal roles, Ma is restricted in how and when she can accept the role of leader. Ma shows her powerful leadership qualities only when dealing with issues of her own gender. Although Ma’s actions give the illusion that females in the novel are ascending to more conspicuous and regarded positions, it is the belief of Ma’s assertions that demonstrates that females rise in power only when they are protecting their own oppression. …show more content…

The roles of the two genders are not questioned nor challenged towards the start of the novel; “Men stood by their fences and looked at the ruined corn – women came out of the houses to stand beside their men” (Steinbeck, 3). The females quietly and joyfully fulfill the needs of their family as support for their spouse. As males tended to play the role of leader in the family, “Men sang the works, and the women hummed the tunes”(Steinbeck, 194). This reveals that women had no voice and did not speak up but rather provided support and encouragement for the men. However, throughout the novel, the roles of women transform. Ma specifically transforms from a powerless and voiceless women and turns out to be more vocal about her choices and the way she needs things to be

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185 Words | 1 Pages

In Chapter, 5, an intercalary chapter, the tenant farmers suffers from the payments that were unable to be paid mainly due to the decreased crop production. The quote describes the owner’s situation where they were also struggling to pay for the debt they made. Steinbeck uses personification (metaphor) such as the ‘bank monster’ avoiding eating side-meat and ‘breathing’ to describe the bank’s desperate situation where their business would not be able to survive without the reliance on the landowners. Like the monsters, who break the peace and show their wickedness from their unconsciousness, the bank became a source of suffering and pain of the tenant farmers and transformed into ‘money-demanding machine’ when they got into a desperate situation.

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948 Words | 4 Pages

“The Grapes of Wrath” takes place during the great depression: which was a substantial economic downside in United States history. At the same time, racism continues in the United States. The Okies are very talented farmers and most of them travel along route 66 to hope for a better life, but something was waiting for them that was unexpected to these people. They did not receive any governmental supports they were ignorant, and this makes native people easier to realize Okies as an outsider also they found menial and low paying jobs. Steinbeck implies that man turns against another human for the survival of the fittest; therefore, they do not mind to put another human in a situation that is challenging to survive.

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996 Words | 4 Pages

Entry 9: Defiance According to the UN Secretary-General, “In 2012, almost half of all women who were victims of international homicide worldwide were killed by an intimate partner or family member,” (“Violence Against Women”) while men only accounted for six percent. November 25th marks the International Day Against Violence Towards Women as well as the deaths of the three Mirabal sisters. The novel In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez describes their journey to serve as “models for women fighting against injustice of all kinds” (Alvarez 324). In the Time of the Butterflies can be looked upon through a Feminist lens by analyzing how women defy and overcome their stereotypical gender roles.

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2198 Words | 9 Pages

This story reveals all the difficulties and all of the suffering proceeding of many of the migrant laborers during the Great Depression and also the Dust Bowl. The novel by Steinbeck has been written to criticize many of the careless and self-interested people and overly important corporate and banking elites for trying to increase their profit policies that would ultimately force many of the farmers to suffer and go through major tribulations. Through these careless actions many of these farmers had to go through things such as starving. It is a very well written political piece, it describes the actions by the lower classes in a great way. As the Grape of Wrath begins, the Joad family is a very traditional family and the structure of the family is in which where the men make the decisions and the women do as they are told.

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182 Words | 1 Pages

In John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath the theme of comparing the rich and poor occurs consistently throughout the book. On page 266 when Casy spoke about the rich man with a million acres, he made a statement about even though he owns so much land and has so much money, he may feel poor inside. Steinbeck uses repetition by restating the word “poor” many times allowing the reader to comprehend how the word ‘poor” means more than just the lack of money. He also compares the rich man and Mrs. Wilson. The man being who everyone desired, rich and owning a lot of land.

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754 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout the novel, “The Grapes of Wrath,” by John Steinbeck, the roles of Ma Joad begin to change gradually as the story goes on. Pa began the story as the leader of the family, but as they travel to California, Ma begins to be more and more in charge of what the family does and where they will travel to next. She is also the one who attempted to keep the family together as much as she possibly could. Even though she is a female, Ma Joad's strong and powerful leadership helps the family to continue to be a whole, yet be the protective feminine mother they knew to love. By standing up to many of the men, making the decisions of when the family should leave a specific camp, and even making the decision to tell Tom Joad to leave for his own and his family's safety shows her guidance through the family's adventure.

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959 Words | 4 Pages

Ma is like the Backbone of the Joad Family In the book “The Grapes of Wrath”. John Steinbeck, an American author, asserts the idea that going through hard times can show the meaninglessness of traditional family structures/gender roles through the character Ma. He first supports this claim by showing when the men make a decision but Ma rebels and ultimately makes the choice. “‘I tell you, you got to go.

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1128 Words | 5 Pages

Visualize your daughter, mother, friend, or even yourself, being dismissed as being a leader and making change all because you're a woman and you aren’t supposed to lead, you're supposed to follow. This is a reality women live in every single day, they’re not allowed to voice their opinion or even have one when it comes to leadership, sexual desires, or women's house roles. Society views and forces women to be housewives, whose goal in life is to be a mother and care for their children, they cannot have sexual desires only men are allowed to have any, and they are to never voice their opinion if it goes against a man. In the novel, Like Water for Chocolate the female characters challenge the gender norms and expectations that are forced on

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550 Words | 3 Pages

She is the main female character of the novel and is the leader of the family. She would never let the family spit up. In Chapter 16, Tom suggests that the family should go to California while him and Casy stay behind and fix their car. Ma responds with “‘On’y way you gonna get me to go is whup me.’… ‘An’ I’ll shame you, Pa.’”

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692 Words | 3 Pages

In doing so, examine the feminist lens’s interpretation of the text. How are gender roles defined? Where to women fit into the text’s plot line. What do you notice about the women in this text? Is this congruent (similar) to society’s view of women, by today’s standards?

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1048 Words | 5 Pages

John Steinbeck began writing the Grapes of Wrath in a time of Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. He describes the Joads from Oklahoma, who began to embark on a journey where they become exploited by migrant workers in California. A place which was to be thought as there promised land. A land that was supposed to give them new hope in such a dark place in their life facing

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280 Words | 2 Pages

The main character in The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane is Henry Fleming, I am similar to him in a few ways but we are also very different. To start, I’m similar to him because I care alot about what the people around me think of me. Henry deserted the men of the 403rd in their first confrontation with the confederate soldiers, and for a while is trying to find a way back into their camp without being considered a deserter. He knows they will make fun of him, and he may even be beaten for running which he saw happen to other men on the lines. On the other hand me and Henry are different because I usually face the facts while after Henry fled from the fighting he tried to rationalize his actions in his mind.

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1423 Words | 6 Pages

Even though the tale is stereotypically male based, having peacemakers, hostesses and a violent female prolongs the story line and proves that as much as women are seen as unimportant, they are absolutely crucial to the tale of

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735 Words | 3 Pages

Violence isn't the way to achieve ones goals. Almost everyone has someone of something that stands in the way of their ultimate goal. Many people come to a point where they feel that the only way to achieve that goal is at the expensive of another. This isn't necessarily the case. Rather then inflicting violence on one another we must use the intelligence we were blessed with.

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1203 Words | 5 Pages

The traditional gender roles are noticeable in the novel because the women were either in the homes or in the Red Center. The men could have different kinds of jobs and even rise to a higher social status. Women were to remain the same all through their

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