Joe And Charlie In 'The Grapes Of Wrath'

Joe and Charlie both lose people that they care deeply about because of the consequences that came along with getting involved in wars. Joe suffers many serious injuries as a result of fighting in World War One, which leave him incapable of communicating with the outside world. He is therefore isolated within his own mind, and even though he is not dead he still loses the people he loves dearly because he no longer can have interactions with them. One person who he loses is his mother. He has fond memories of his mother from his childhood and misses the comfort that she has provided him his entire life. This is exemplified when Joe calls for his mother in his thoughts to help him when he is suffering the most from his injuries: “Mother you’ve

Joe also loses his girlfriend Kareen. Kareen and Joe were dating before he left for war, and Joe had deep feelings her. However, because of his injuries, Joe will never be able to communicate or be with Kareen again. This is a tremendous loss for Joe and even though he will always have her in his memories, he still wishes that she could be near him: “He wished he could be near her. Not that he could ever see her not that he wanted her to see him. But he would like to feel that he was breathing the same air she breathed that he was in the same country she was in” (Trumbo 145). The injuries that Joe suffered left him with an inability to communicate. In turn, Joe lost those he held dear, such as his mom and Kareen, because he would never be able to talk to or see them again. Similarly, Charlie has to deal with the loss of two of his sons and his daughter-in-law, who are killed as a result of soldiers in the Civil War. He loved all of these individuals dearly, so the loss of them was traumatic. He expresses his struggle to cope with their death when he is talking to his dead wife, Martha, at her