Pa Joad

In this book, Pa Joad is the father of the family, husband of Ma and father of Tom. He is the tenant farmer in Oklahoma, and unfortunately, he was evicted from his land and lots of other farmers who worked very hard to get what they had.

Pa is very kindhearted, good, thoughtful, hard-working and straight-talking man. Though he isn’t always calm, he doesn’t make good decisions, but we know for sure that he does what he can. He has a strong desire to take his family to California because Oklahoma became a very hard place to live as it was a Dust Bowl there (it was a period of severe dust storms that damaged the ecology that way it became impossible not just to find good food, but simply to breath). He planned their trip with great care and consideration. This shows us that he loves his family and is devoted and responsible for everything he does, he worries a lot to change their lives, and make ones better.

In this book, Pa sometimes appears as a weak person. It was an episode when in California he was unable to find a job at all. Being very desperate he finds himself looking to Ma Joad help, strength and leadership. He used to follow her anywhere she goes, and it was annoying to her. He seems to be blindly and helplessly as a child. Though, he sometimes feels ashamed of his weaker position. After moving to the new place he somehow moves into the background of the whole story, he starts taking little initiative in deciding the fate and future of his relatives.

All the challenges of Joad’s trip make his family stronger – Ma, Tom, Rose of Sharon – they all become even better people they were at the beginning. Unfortunately, those challenges make Pa weaker and eventually paralyze him.