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Ma Joad is one of the main characters in John Steinbeck's novel Grapes of Wrath. Ma is a strong, wife and mother who is the leader of the family. She does anything to keep the family together. In Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck uses two literary techniques, direct d ....

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.... she always uses her emotions for her family's benefit. Her family didn't feel anything she didn't feel. If she felt fear, the family did too. "Since old Tom and the children could not know hurt or fear unless she acknowledged hurt and fear, she had practiced denying them in herself." She always kept calm in front of the family because she knew if she showed fear, she would lose control of the family. She also knows her family inside and out. She knows the inner need of each member of the family. She knows if Pa is defeated, the family will collapse so she makes sure he doesn't. She knows how Rose of Sharon is troubled by her pregnancy. She k ....