The Grapes Of Wrath: Ma Joad - The Leader

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may be just as frightened as the rest of
the family, but she always maintains a front for the rest of the family.
When Ma had fears, "She had practiced denying them in herself." This
extraordinary self-control helps to keep the Joad unit together and alive.

Ma, like all leaders, must be forceful for things to work in her
favor. Numerous situations occur in which Ma must be forceful or
relinquish her role as the head of the family. Her forceful leadership
occurs once when the family, without Ma's consent, agrees to leave Tom and
Casey behind to fix the Wilson's car. Ma feels this will break up the
family and uses a jack handle to prove her point. It is at this point Ma
replaces Pa as the official head of the family. Ma's forceful leadership
also surfaces when she threatens a police officer with a frying pan and
when she decides for the family to leave the government camp. In both
situations Ma must use force to achieve her objectives; in both situations,
she emerges ...

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