The Goddess of a New Era——Ode for Ma in The Grapes of Wrath

【Abstract】The Grapes of Wrath is one of John Steinbeck’s classic works， which depicts numerous farmers’ exile to fruitful and wealthy southern areas from their hometown， where tractors would replace their labor. It can be regarded as poor people’s epic of struggle under the current background of American Society——the transformation from small-scale peasant economy to agricultural industry. Ma， as a powerful figure growing in the social background， shows her great personalities in navigating her family through all hardships. It is a character successfully created by the writer and ， in darkness， we see hope from such a woman.

【Key words】exile; struggle; small-scale peasant economy; agricultural industry; personalities

【作者簡介】靳秀鳳，唐山學院外語系，副教授。

1. Social Background

The story happened in the 1930’s， when Great Depression swept through every corner of American society. Before the Depression， farmers led a traditional life and men， as bread winners， held dominating position in the family and “the women studied the men’s faces secretly”. However， with the rapid social change， the farmers suffered serious challenges in material scarcity. Ma， the symbol of wisdom and braveness stood out and led the family through various obstacles. Meanwhile， she offered help to others whenever possible.

2. Helper to others

There are born qualities in Ma’s nature to be enthusiastic， helpful and benevolent to others， which are indicated clearly from the beginning to the end. When Reverend Casy decided to go along to the west， “the group was silent”. As the old truck could hardly load the family itself， while Ma， accepted the challenge with strong determination by saying firmly， “ It ain’t kin we？ It’s will we？ As far as‘kin’， we can’t do nothing， but as far as ‘will’， why， we’ll do what we will.”Instead of trying to send them away， she smiled and talked to them kindly and “lifted the pot and set it down on the ground”. It is her kindness and generosity to others that made her relationship with others harmonious and obtained help from others in time.

3. Supporter of the old

As a daughter-in-law， Ma did her duty to look after the senior people in the family and her patience was clearly shown in little details such as buttoning Grandpa and fanning Grandma. After Grandpa’s death， Ma “looked down at” him， “tied up his jaw”， “straightened his limbs”， “folded his hands”， “held his eyelids down and laid a silver piece on each one”， “buttoned his shirt and washed his face”. Before Grandma’s death， Ma tried to stay with her alone， fanning and comforting her. These details indicate the woman’s carefulness and deep love to Grandpa and Grandma， which earned great respect from the preacher Casy， “ John there’s a woman so great with love——she scares me.”

4. Guide of the young

Ma held such responsibility to educate her children， especially her pregnant girl， Rose of Sharon and two youngest kids， Ruthie and Winfield. Rose of Sharon is described as an innocent girl， self-centered and filled with unrealistic ideas. She is weak and sensitive， easily influenced by the surroundings. When her husband escaped， she nearly broke down and she cried and complained. Ma encouraged her daughter patiently and even criticized her severely to lead her to grow up little by little to be a mature， independent and unselfish girl at the end of the novel， where she fed a middle-aged man with her own milk. She became the pride of the mother， indicating Ma’s completion of educating her daughter. And Ma taught Ruthie and Winfield to be polite， kind and tolerant to others and to live in the world with dignity. Ma’s high spiritual level influenced Tom greatly as well. She understand and supports Tom all the time and eventually Tom walked on the way to reform the American society.

5. Conclusion

In a word， Ma is a typical character successfully created by the writer. She is nearly a perfect model who symbolizes kindness， generosity， braveness， strength and dignity. She guides her family to go forward through all kinds of troubles and difficulties and left her own radiance to us， like a shining star. Goethe praised women’s greatness， “ Eternal women lead us up.” On the way to a better society， Ma tried to become a lamp， not only illuminating her own family， but also illuminating others.

References：

[1]Steinbeck， John. The Grapes of Wrath[J]. Penguin Books，1992.