Table of contents 1.Introduction 2.The Joad women 2.1Rose of Sharon 2.2Ma 3.Portrayal of the ideal woman 3.1 Self-sacrifice and endurance 3.2Narrative techniques 3.3Reversal of leadership roles 4.Biological determination 4.1Ecological cycle 4.2Mother earth 4.3The final image 5.Critical reception of the women-figures 6.Concluding remarks References 1. Introduction The Dust Bowl that forced thousands of Americans into migration and the national economic depression of the thirties prompted John Steinbeck to write Grapes of Wrath, the famous novel about the Joad …showed first 75 words of 5260 total…

…showed last 75 words of 5260 total…Barbara A. "The Invisible Woman: Ma Joad as an Epic Heroine in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath". Kyushu American Literature 32 (1991), 51-61. McKay, Nellie Y. "Happy [?]-Wife-and-Motherdom: The Portrayal of Ma Joad in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath". New Essays on The Grapes of Wrath. Ed. David Wyatt. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990. 130 pp. Timmerman, John H. "Ma Joad as Thematic Center". Readings on The Grapes of Wrath. Ed. Gary Wiener. San Diego: Greenhaven, 1999. 176 pp.