The Grapes of Wrath portrays contemporary people 's actions during the long journey from Oklahoma to California. As Joad 's family travels from Oklahoma to California, their dreams and hopes are slowly crushed. When Joads struggle while facing difficulties, Ma plays a significant role: the citadel holding family all together in this hectic migration. Regardless of gender rules, Steinbeck demonstrates Ma as the real head of the household instead of Pa, driven by the responsibility and leadership within motherhood. Ma plays both mother and father figure which consequently might make Pa Joad as a useless character. Mother is the one who tends to spend more time with children. When mother acknowledges issues and stays calm, every family member who relies on mother’s sense feels more emotionally comfortable. However, it is usually a common sense that the father is still the leader of the family regardless. Here in the …show more content…
She guides Tom and children to be more hopeful. Steinbeck shows her big role by describing her as the root of the strong force of the family: “She seemed to know, to accept, to welcome her position, the citadel of the