Critical Response to “The Grapes of Wrath”

In the novel “The Grapes of Wrath” the author John Steinbeck illustrates how characters are faced with competing demands of their own needs and those of society.  It is a natural human characteristics to think of yourself before others but sometimes without even thinking we do things out of the blue to help out family or people in need. You can’t go through life without doing at least one good deed it is in human nature to do so. Steinbeck shows this through many different characters some of which include Tom Joad, Ma Joad and Rose of Sharon.

We first meet Tom Joad at the beginning of the novel. Tom was traveling home from just being in prison. Our first thought about Tom was that he can’t be that great of a guy if he just got out of jail for murder. As we learn a little more about him we find out that he didn’t mean to murder that man but it was out of self defence and we lighten up to Tom a little bit more. Tom’s character grows allot through the whole novel. He has to change who he is in order to help other people survive. When Tom makes it home and see’s that him family is in need of help he brings up the idea of going to California. From what we can tell Tom was never had a big role in the household but now was having to step up in order to get his family moving. Tom’s biggest turning point was near the end of the novel when Jim Casey had died. With so much going on around Tom felt that it was his calling to finish what his friend started. With so many families dyeing and starving around him Tom changed into a preacher like man and went on his way to try to spread the word of peace and try to make a difference in everyone’s life who was struggling to get into California, struggling to survive. As the peoples demand from peace of mind increased Tom’s self preservation changed to the demand of the people around him.

During the years of depression the woman’s role in the house hold was not very important in the sense that they did everything in response to what their husbands did. Ma Joad had to step up and become the head of the house hold when her husband started losing faith and becoming lost within himself. Usually the man stays strong for his family but in this case Ma had to stay strong in order to keep her family together.  Everyone kept looking to her for stability and Ma stepped up to the plate and was there for her family. This was not typical for this time in history but it is a natural instinct for a mother to protect her family when it is needed.

Rose of Sharon’s character changed dramatically in such a short time. Throughout the novel with interrupted her and a typical 16 year old girl. She was extremely self observed and really only thought of herself. She acted like a spoiled brat and didn’t really appreciate all the hard work her family was doing. At the end of the book her character did take a giant step forward. When there was a little boy’s father in need of some nourishment Rose of Sharon unselfishly did the unthinkable and gave the man some of her own milk. It was her motherly instincts and this act saved this man. It was a good deed and it was unexpectedly act coming from the one character we didn’t expect would do something so courageous.

People change in order to help the people around them in times of distress. In most case’s peoples self preservation’s change in order to adapt to the demands of a society or even a family. Steinbeck’s character’s changed/ grew when their instincts told them to. The author did this to show the fact that humans can’t help but do the right thing in times of need. No matter what kind of person you are you know in your heart that we all have to give a little in order to survive.