Grapes Of Wrath Rose Of Sharon Analysis

The woman in the photograph is pregnant migrant woman coming from the East in search of a better life. In the photo, the sun is to her back and it appears to be a clear sky from the lens flare in the background. The woman herself is in the later months of pregnancy and is pictured alone, insinuating that she may be alone in the West, the father of the child not present. Her face holds a complex expression, with judging eyes and a reticent smile. Perhaps the months of pregnancy have shaped her face into this perplexing expression; possibly the struggles she experienced as a migrant mother has formed a new way to perceive the world. In her arms she holds a puppy, similar to how one might hold a baby; with the head in the crook of the arm and supporting it with the hands. This suggests that she is caring for the puppy like a baby and wants to care for it despite her own situation as a migrant.

Both of the women are pregnant as well as migrant to-be mothers. One significant similarity between the two is the way they take care of others. The woman in the photo holds a puppy that she is likely taking care of, showing her motherly instinct to the world. Steinbeck describes Rose of Sharon similarly saying, “[a]nd the world was pregnant to her”(95). To both Rose of Sharon and the woman in the photograph, life on Earth must be taken care of, represented by the puppy in the woman arms and the quote from Steinbeck. The woman in the photograph relates to Rose of Sharon’s struggle throughout the novel and her motherly instincts; furthermore the woman’s expression is a representation of Rose of Sharon’s expressions and attitude after she becomes