Feeder and Leader

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【Abstract】In his novel The Grapes of Wrath， John Steinbeck depicted an unconquerable woman. Ma Joad tries hard to unite the family with her strong willpower and courage. She not only shows her generosity as a feeder but also takes over the dominant male role of the family as a leader. Ma Joad is definitly one of the brilliant images of the laboring people in the U.S. who represents the hope of the society.

【Key words】female，Ma Joad，Feeder，Leader

The Grapes of Wrath is an excellent novel of twentieth-century American literature. In 1940， the novel was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and adapted to the screen. Although its author， John Steinbeck， had a productive literary career and won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962， none of his later books had the impact of The Grapes of Wrath.

During the early 1930s， a severe drought led to massive agricultural failure in parts of the southern Great Plains， particularly throughout western Oklahoma and Texas. By the mid-1930s， the drought had destroyed countless farm families. Unable to pay their mortgages in the bank， many farmers were forced to leave their land and traveled to California in hopes of finding new ways of survival. Under such circumstances， Steinbeck decided to write a novel about the hardships of migrant farm workers. Then the novel The Grapes of Wrath came into being.

The novel depicts not only a vivid picture of the Oklahoma farmers’ migrant lives but also reveal a picture of cruelty at that hard time， as pointed out in Henry Steele Commager’s book： “The Grapes of Wrath is more than the story of the flight of the Okies from the dust bowl to golden California. It is an indictment of the economy that drove them into flight， that took the land from those who had tilled it and handed it over to the banks， that permitted hunger in the land of plenty and lawlessness in the name of law and made a mockery of the principles of justice and democracy.” （The American Mind.）

In this novel， there are some main characters， such as Tom Joad， Ma Joad， and Jim Casy. Undoubtedly， Ma Joad is the most glaring one. Steinbeck once described some character traits in his major female characters： “Endurance through adversity， a patient ability to ride with changing circumstances and yet retain an individual point of view， and a loving-kindness that， while not immune to adversity， nonetheless finds a straight and sure path through that adversity.” （John Steinbeck’s Fiction） Each of these traits is exemplified particularly well in Ma Joad， the major female character of The Grapes of Wrath. Ma Joad is a representative of brave laboring women. She plays an important role in the family since she has much experience and determination to hold the family together and to fight for their living. This paper will focus on the major images of Ma Joad in The Grapes of Wrath―Feeder and Leader.

The Image of Feeder

In John Steinbeck’s Fiction， John H. Timmerman wrote： “The idea of the woman as matriarchal “Feeder” is important in twentieth-century southern fiction and characteristic of real migrant families on their long pilgrimage to California. The father is the worker-provider， the mother the nourisher-feeder―source of spiritual as well as physical nourishment.” （John Steinbeck’s Fiction） Ma Joad plays， in a sense， such a role as a “Feeder” of not only the Joad family but also other people.

In chapter 8， when Pa Joad plays his little trick of introducing Tom and Casy as strangers， “‘Ma， there’s a couple fellas jus’ come along the road， an’ they wonder if we could spare a bite.’” Ma’s reaction is immediate： “‘Let’em come…We got a’plenty’”. That they do not have a plenty is undeniable， but not as undeniable as the need of others that Ma will always try to meet.

With the starvation rampaging among the migrants the “Feeder” attained a role of huge significance. Her very food became symbolic of hope and unity and spiritual nourishment. In chapter 21， in the center of that raging hunger Ma Joad fixes the family meal， while the camp children watch with wolfish eyes： “The children， fifteen of them， stood silently and watched. And when the smell of the cooking stew came to their noses， their noses crinkled slightly”. Finally Ma， the Feeder and Nourisher， ladles out her stew for the others， saying as she does so， “‘I can’t send ’em away…I don’t know what to do’”.

This same Feeder motif operates at the end of this novel， too. With Ma Joad’s influence and encouraging， Rose of Sharon breast-feeds a starved man. This time， Rose of Sharon replaces Ma Joad’s position and Ma’s role as the Feeder passes on her daughter.

The Image of Leader

Ma Joad also takes over the dominant leader role of the family so that her generosity and loving-kindness will prevail. As a feeder， she must be strong enough， for if the Feeder weakens， the family falls apart. Her fight is for the family―and indeed for the family of man―rather than for herself. Ma’s steel-like courage and control are strengthened on the desert crossing. While Connie and Rose of Sharon try in their desperate little privacy to make love， Ma Joad cradles the dying Grandma’s head in her lap， and even after Grandma dies， Ma retains the courage to bluff her way pass the border inspection.

Spiritually and psychologically she assumes control over the family. Ma’s leader position is unfolded before our eyes in her several conflicts with Pa Joad. There is steel in Ma Joad’s hope. And when hopelessness first begins to descend upon the others， in chapter 16， Ma Joad begins to exert control， threatening Pa with a jack handle until she gets her way.

She said softly： “On’y way you gonna get me to go is whup me.”

She moved the jack handle gently again. “An’ I’ll shame you，