Chapter 8 of Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath
reunites Tom with his family and the reader is given a perspective on the
dynamics of the Joad family. Clearly, Ma is the emotional anchor for the
others:
Her
full face was not soft; it was controlled, kindly. Her hazel eyes seemed to hae
experienced all possible tragedy and to have mounted pain and suffering like steps into
a high calm and a superhuman
understanding.
The others
look to Ma as a gauge of their own emotions; if she does not display hurt, they are not
hurt. When a happy occasion comes, she controls the joy by building her laughter for
them to nourish their own. Her generosity is suggested when Old Tom tells her there are
men outside who are hungry and she eagerly invites "them" in. Of course, her husband
has tricked her so she will not know Tom has returned. At the sight of him, she is
taken aback, then grateful, uttering, "Thank God," but suddenly she worries that he has
escaped from prison, "Tommy, you ain't wanted? You didn't bust
loose?"
As Tom, like the others derives his emotion from
hers, Ma controls her tears of happiness as "her joy was nearly like sorrow." When she
sees that Tom has bitten his lips to control himself from crying, she gains control.
Anxious yet about her son, she asks if he has become "mad"; she worries that prison has
made him into a true criminal. Tom denies that he has stayed away from things that
would have made him hate and be "mad." Ma again thanks God, and she cautions him not
to try to fight alone against the men who are tearing down the
houses.
No comments:
Post a Comment