Mrs. Thomas-5
DC English
October 23, 2015
The Grapes of Wrath: Through the Lens of Feminism
Since the beginning of civilization women have lived their lives subjecting to males. They have been excluded, oppressed, and discriminated against. This patriarchy imposes women the tasks of satisfying their family, being housewives, and not participating in any decision-making due to the belief that women lack intelligence. During the 1930’s Dust Bowl, this patriarchal ideology was slightly challenged by feminism, the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men. In John Steinbeck’s novel, “The Grapes of Wrath,” feminism, a then very modern subject, is revealed throughout Ma’s transformation from a …show more content…
If she breaks, everyone breaks, so she always tries to keep joy in the family even through the hardest situations. At the same time, she keeps her place as the caring and nurturing motherly figure she’s supposed to be. She comports herself as the housewife and keeps to herself without getting into any man’s business. The first time Ma opposes Pa is when he denies Casy, the preacher, the opportunity of traveling with them to the West. She objects to this by stating, “I have never heerd tell of no Joads or no Hazletts, neither, ever refusin’ food’ shelter or a loft on the road to anybody that asked. They’s been mean Joads, but never that mean”(102). Since this is just the beginning of her transformation, feminism isn’t very clear, but it is there. Ma tells this to Pa in an attempt to persuade him to change his mind rather than tell him what to do. She isn’t too commanding about what she says. She just gives Pa something to think about. It’s important because women and any type of decision-making weren’t supposed to mix. Ma breaks this rule and disagrees with Pa’s decision to help a human being even though she doesn’t know if bringing Casy will complicate the journey. The second example of feminism is when Casy is trying to help out by offering to do the cooking while the Joads pack up to leave to California. This shocks Ma because she’s used to gender barriers in work so …show more content…
Steinbeck uses Casy’s offer as a movement towards equality between men and women’s work. He tries to imply that there’s no difference between the two. Casy sees himself and Ma as equals. The third example of feminism occurs when the Joads and the Wilsons are traveling as a group to make the journey easier, and the Wilsons’ car breaks down. Since grandma is in a really bad condition and needs rest, Tom comes up with the idea of staying behind to fix the car. The family will find shelter and he will catch up to them when he is able to fix the car. Pa agrees but this idea doesn’t appeal to Ma. Feminism is portrayed when she refuses to go with the family unless Tom goes with them. Pa urges Ma saying, “I tell you, you got to go. We made up our mind,” but Ma insists she won’t go and proves it by grabbing a jack handle and threatening to knock him out. She tells Pa, “On’y way you gonna get me to go is whup me” (168-169). Pa tries to
DC English
October 23, 2015
The Grapes of Wrath: Through the Lens of Feminism
Since the beginning of civilization women have lived their lives subjecting to males. They have been excluded, oppressed, and discriminated against. This patriarchy imposes women the tasks of satisfying their family, being housewives, and not participating in any decision-making due to the belief that women lack intelligence. During the 1930’s Dust Bowl, this patriarchal ideology was slightly challenged by feminism, the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men. In John Steinbeck’s novel, “The Grapes of Wrath,” feminism, a then very modern subject, is revealed throughout Ma’s transformation from a …show more content…
If she breaks, everyone breaks, so she always tries to keep joy in the family even through the hardest situations. At the same time, she keeps her place as the caring and nurturing motherly figure she’s supposed to be. She comports herself as the housewife and keeps to herself without getting into any man’s business. The first time Ma opposes Pa is when he denies Casy, the preacher, the opportunity of traveling with them to the West. She objects to this by stating, “I have never heerd tell of no Joads or no Hazletts, neither, ever refusin’ food’ shelter or a loft on the road to anybody that asked. They’s been mean Joads, but never that mean”(102). Since this is just the beginning of her transformation, feminism isn’t very clear, but it is there. Ma tells this to Pa in an attempt to persuade him to change his mind rather than tell him what to do. She isn’t too commanding about what she says. She just gives Pa something to think about. It’s important because women and any type of decision-making weren’t supposed to mix. Ma breaks this rule and disagrees with Pa’s decision to help a human being even though she doesn’t know if bringing Casy will complicate the journey. The second example of feminism is when Casy is trying to help out by offering to do the cooking while the Joads pack up to leave to California. This shocks Ma because she’s used to gender barriers in work so …show more content…
Steinbeck uses Casy’s offer as a movement towards equality between men and women’s work. He tries to imply that there’s no difference between the two. Casy sees himself and Ma as equals. The third example of feminism occurs when the Joads and the Wilsons are traveling as a group to make the journey easier, and the Wilsons’ car breaks down. Since grandma is in a really bad condition and needs rest, Tom comes up with the idea of staying behind to fix the car. The family will find shelter and he will catch up to them when he is able to fix the car. Pa agrees but this idea doesn’t appeal to Ma. Feminism is portrayed when she refuses to go with the family unless Tom goes with them. Pa urges Ma saying, “I tell you, you got to go. We made up our mind,” but Ma insists she won’t go and proves it by grabbing a jack handle and threatening to knock him out. She tells Pa, “On’y way you gonna get me to go is whup me” (168-169). Pa tries to