Analysis of Pa Joad

Every character in The Grapes of Wrath is effected by the events that transpire in the novel. He is the patriarch of the family, but he is usually quiet. He has his hands full with his six children, and has lived in Oklahoma for his entire life, tending to his land. In the beginning, Pa Joad is not very good at keeping calm and making decisions, but he always does the best he can.

Really, Ma Joad is the leader of the family. Pa Joad may be the father, but Ma Joad tends to take the front seat while Pa Joad is content in the back seat. And as their journey continues, Ma Joad becomes stronger and stronger and Pa Joad is just confused at all that is happening.

As things just keep getting tougher for the family, Pa Joad gets quieter and more unsure about himself and about his decisions. Every once and a while, the reader catches glimpses at how Pa Joad changes throughout the story. Times have changed, and after Pa Joad has lost nearly everything good in his life, he becomes even more quiet and more reserved. He sees the changes in his wife and in the rest of his family members, and this bewilders him. He has known the same thing for his entire life, and now that things are so different Pa Joad does not really know how to deal with everything that is happening.

When Tom returns home, Pa Joad is the first person he encounters, and this when the reader first meets Pa Joad and begins to learn about his personality and character. Then, Pa Joad and the rest of the family decide that if they are ever going to get their lives back on track, the right answer is California. Along their journy there, the entire family encounters hardship and Pa Joad starts changing rather quickly, like he is losing confidence in himself. But in the end, I think that Pa Joad steps up and just wants to take care of his family.