Rose Of Sharon Character Analysis

here comes a time in every female's life, where she will transition from a young, immature girl to a woman. And like the snowflakes that cover the ground in an Ohio winter, all of these transitions arrive in different packages. For some, it may be the birth of a child, for others, overcoming a great tragedy. Others may emerge from their cocoon through acts of generosity. Rose Of Sharon lives the life of a young girl when the novel begins. Still 18 and married to an equally immature 19 year old husband, they both dream of living their lives in great comfort and prosperity. They state that they want a “A job in a store or maybe a fact’ry...An’ Connie says I’m gonna have a doctor...I’m gonna have a ‘lectric iron, an’ the baby’ll have all new …show more content…
Tom Joad describes Rose Of Sharon as “Just a little kid. An’ now she’s gonna have a baby” (83). However, the question remains whether Rose Of Sharon really changed at all. She is certainly not a child like Ruthie or Whitfield. She passed the age in which maturity to sets in. And yet she acts as a child, constantly begging for attention and complaining when things don't go her way. To the reader, the only things that distinguish her from a 12 year old girl is the fact that she got married and became pregnant. If the author left her age and these two details out, one might believe that she is indeed a pre-teen. When asked to pack up the car, she refuses, saying that it will harm the baby. Ma Joad understands the burdens of pregnancy, so she takes most of Rose Of Sharon's complaints in. As the trip goes on, Rose Of Sharon's complaints start to grow thin, as she continues to use her pregnancy as a crutch, allowing it to get her out of situations she does not like. She even believes that seeing a dead dog will harm the baby. She says “D’you think it’ll hurt...I felt it kinda jar when I yelled” (130). Her family is concerned for her baby and so they oblige her requests. Throughout the road trip, Rose Of Sharon protests any strenuous activity that may harm the baby. But when it comes to “Strenuous activity” with her best beloved, Rose Of Sharon shows no …show more content…
This is far from the idyllic life that Rose Of Sharon planned, and far from the place that Rose Of Sharon planned to give birth her first born. Oddly enough, Rose Of Sharon decides to pick cotton with the family instead of staying behind in the boxcar. It seems at this point, Rose Of Sharon finally decides to put the family’s needs over her own, but at the worst possible time. However, more tragedy strikes and a great rain, although not 40 days and 40 nights, begins to fall. After being rained in for 3 days, Rose Of Sharon develops chills and begins to go into labor at a really bad time because of the flooding. Pa Joad and other men build a barricade between the water and them, but it fails due to increasing amounts of tragedy. After a great deal of pain, the baby is delivered, only to find it a shriveled, mummified blue corpse, not exactly what Rose Of Sharon planned her first child to look like. They state that the baby died of malnourishment, which is ironic considering the extreme precautions put into place by Rose Of Sharon, but also shows a bit of foreshadowing put into place by the author. The Joads send the dead baby in a crate down the river. This is where the author applies a biblical connection. The sending of the baby down the river is a reference to the sending of baby Moses down the Nile river. After floating down the river, the baby and the crate sink, and that's the end of that. Now, the flooding has