Ma Joad:
Ma Joad is one of the strongest characters in the story. She has to be strong for her family, because if she can't take the pressure, how is everyone else supposed to deal with it? Ma Joad is basically the backbone of the family. Even when she lost every one of her possessions and had her own home taken from her, she remained cool and calm. Without her, there would be no family. Ma has experienced so much in her life, that she is able to see right through the California dream. She starts to doubt it before anyone else does.
Reverend Casy:
At first glance, Reverend Casy just seems to be an old man who has given up on his life as a preacher. If you stop at that, you really miss out on a lot that the man has to offer to the family. He guides the family spiritually. He tells Tom of some of his ideas, and I have to say, they sound a little like Communism. He talks about "one, collective soul that every man is a part of." Yeah, its great that we get to watch a man create his own philosophy through out the story, but its a little freaky when he starts talking about communistic ideas. Nevertheless, he guides the Joads and serves as their "compass" for their entire journey.
Pa Joad:
Pa is a very quite character, and it seems like he just got quieter and quieter as the story progressed. And I don't blame him one bit, he was after all the father of 6 kids. That in itself would make a man quiet, and then add on top of that the fact that he was a farmer for his entire life, farming the land and keeping the family alive. He was not exactly the best at keeping his cool, however. I believe that he was pretty much the exact opposite of Ma Joad, and they really balanced each other out. Marrying her was probably a smart move on his part.
Steinbeck, John, and Robert J. DeMott. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.
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