“The women knew it was all right, and the watching children knew it was all right. Women and children knew deep in themselves that no misfortune was too great to bear if their men were whole” (Steinbeck 4). Since women attempt to do more than they should, society treats them harshly and calls them invisible. While the women in Grapes of Wrath relies on the men to be the breadwinners, they eventually decide to help make a living themselves. Ma’s position within the family leads to the burden of making the right decisions in order for the family to continue. Against society’s wishes, women take their positions within the family away from the men. The women pull together and maintain a stable family, while the men run away and leave the decisions to the women, as they, themselves, become the forgotten. Historic gender roles during the Dust Bowl are modified as a whole through the actions of Joad family in Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath.
Women are considered inferior to men in terms of who the breadwinner are, as shown in the novel, women back then were the homemakers instead …show more content…
The men are put out of mindforgotten as they became unemployed and poor (“Women and the Great Depression” 2). As the farms only needed the strongest men, the others became weak to the point of leaving their families. For example, Noah, the oldest Joad son, decides to live by the river instead when the Joads do not need him anymore (Steinbeck 186). This represents the men who feel pressured and incompetent to the women’s standards during the Dust Bowl times. Most of the problems of homelessness lies in expectations of the men (“Invisible Women of the Great Depression” 6). Sixteen-year old Al, of the Joad family, ends up marrying a girl in spite of having to split up with the Joads in order to. Of the men who leave during the Dust Bowl, the ones that stay make little impact on the decisions with the migrating
Women are considered inferior to men in terms of who the breadwinner are, as shown in the novel, women back then were the homemakers instead …show more content…
The men are put out of mindforgotten as they became unemployed and poor (“Women and the Great Depression” 2). As the farms only needed the strongest men, the others became weak to the point of leaving their families. For example, Noah, the oldest Joad son, decides to live by the river instead when the Joads do not need him anymore (Steinbeck 186). This represents the men who feel pressured and incompetent to the women’s standards during the Dust Bowl times. Most of the problems of homelessness lies in expectations of the men (“Invisible Women of the Great Depression” 6). Sixteen-year old Al, of the Joad family, ends up marrying a girl in spite of having to split up with the Joads in order to. Of the men who leave during the Dust Bowl, the ones that stay make little impact on the decisions with the migrating