Everyone has their breaking point during this whole experience of going west in search of work. The interesting thing about this book is that Steinbeck does not make it obvious that the majority of these families in camps and Hooverville has reached that point, which allows for the reader to dig deeper into the novel and ask questions along the way. Ma has not lost it yet, and anything sort of indication that she has, she hides it quite well. It was a difficult time when the Joad's were in that camp and Ma could not stand the thought of all of those hungry children and knowing that there was so little that she could do to help them.
Looking at that scene in the book, I instantly think of the hunger problem around the world and how there are millions of people that go to bed hungry and of the families that struggle feeding their children. I am not sure if Steinbeck was intending to include a bigger picture during this chapter, but that is what I take away from it. I feel Ma's pain because it is such a frustrating thing knowing that there are people that need help, but you just do not know what to do to make things better.
Ma knows that if her family is going to make it in a time where every family is fighting for the same thing, that they have to stay strong and maintain the mindset that they can achieve what they set out to. I think that Ma has such great leadership qualities about her and I really admire that. Throughout their entire journey she is continuously telling the family that they have to stick together and that it will be worth it in California. If Ma ever became weak, the family would fall apart.
When she left the remainder of the soup out for those kids, it showed that she knew that she had to help, but was not sure what to do, so she gave all that she had, despite the minimal amount, because she knew that it was the right thing. It really shows a lot about a person's character when they do things like that, and it is something that I am continuously striving to improve about myself.
Rachel,
ReplyDeleteBam! You nailed it again. The connection to world hunger was terrific. I'm also glad to see that you wrote about Ma giving nature beginning to radiate out toward others beyond her immediate family. She is truly bothered by this, because the children remind her that many, many people are suffering.
This post scores a 4.