Character Analysis: Pa Joad's Job

Before he made the decision of enduring the long journey to California he worked as a simple farmer, he grew his crops and raised his pigs. He could feed all his family and live a good life. But when the Dust Ball reached Oklahoma the crops were dying and there weren't any more jobs. So Pa Joad and his family moved to California were all his family had to work because if only he worked there wouldn't be enough food to feed his family. The fact that he had to work twice as hard an earn much less in proportion with what he earned before depressed him in a really serious way, although he doesn't share it with his family and keeps it to himself.

EB

Character Analysis: Pa's Role in the Family

At the beginning of the story Old Tom is still the head of the family; he was a fierce man, who protected his property ferociously, but when his farm is taken from him, and along with the farm his ability to sustain his family, he lost hope. Pa Joad had the respect of being the family leader, but when difficult situations started to appear he left the power to be taken over by mainly Ma Joad, that later on becomes the leader, and Tom Joad.

EB

Character Analysis: Outline

I. Pa Joad

   A. How was he in his family

      1. His Role

         a. At the beginning

         b. At the end

         c. How did his role change

      2. His Job

         a. What did he work in before going to California

         b. How much did he earn for his job?

         c. What did he think about his new job?

      3. What did he feel for Ma

         a. In the beginning

            i. When he was the leader/patriarch.

         b. At the "end", or as the story develops.

      4. Pa's priorities

         a. In relation with his family

            i. What did he do or try, to protect his family

            ii. How did he feel towards his family

               *At the beginning of the book

               * At the end of the book

EB

Character Analysis: What am I going to do?

What I am going to do is a Character Analysis of Pa Joad. In here I will describe him in every aspect possible. I will describe him with the information I have gathered from reading the book. Most of the time I will involve events that really happened in the book that supports my statements. Even though I have not finished the book I will write facts based on what I have read.

EB

Religion

Pa Joad is a simple man that does not look devoted to any religion. But like Jim Casy was a preach that means that the religion in that town was based on God; so most of the people were Christians. So that means that probably Pa Joad was a Christian.

EB

Family Independence

“We're Joads. We don't look up to nobody. Grampa's grampa, he fit in the Revolution. We was farm people till the debt. And then—them people. They done somepin to us. Ever' time they come seemed like they was a-whippin' me—all of us.” P. 286

NOTE: In this quote they explain what’s the attitude of the family, although they have passed through some difficult times they keep fighting and going on.

Pa Joad is really happy because his son Tom that spent four years in jail came back with their family, he beliefs that his son is a good man and what he did was to defend himself
FM

Monologue: Dialogue "Pa Joad and Tom Joad"

Pa: It looks like not all the good things are the ones you see when you’re alive, cause this place is damn nice.

 

Tom: Im glad Im her with you and notn jail.

 

Pa: Yes, Im glad to have you here too. You cant imagine how bad I felt when they took you away from our family, but Im still proud of you boy standing up for your sister.

 

Tom: Thanks Pa. You know I'll protect yawl if something happens.

 

Pa: I know you will, thats why you're gonna have a great life.

 

Tom: I sure hope that the baby of Rose of Sharon has a good life and doesnt have to pass threw something like we did.

 

Pa: Dont worry, that fela is gonna be just fine, because he is from Oklahoma.

 

Tom: Yeah, he sure will.

 

Pa: Now I know why the dead stay dead, to stay in this beautiful place for all eternity.

 

Tom: Yeah. Remember when Pa died? I think the trip made him a favor by making him come up here. Well, I think it did all of us a favor, because now we all have each other, and we have peace.

 

Pa Joad: You are damn right about that. In some parts of this journey I kind of lost faith, you know like in having a job again, in having good food again.

 

Tom: Well you aint the only one, I though I was going to be sent to jail, fearing that the police of California would catch me and say that I was causing trouble or something, and that would a meant them sending me back to Oklahoma, to a jail.

Pa: Yeah, I felt great fear when I heard that because of you being in parole you couldn’t leave the country.

 

Tom: I felt a great change at the end of our lives.

Pa Joad: Yes, I felt It too. At first I felt that I made the important decisions in the family. But then I realized you were the one making them.

Tom: I think that Ma started to make the decisions because you where more and more depressed by the fact you couldn’t find work.

Pa Joad: Well… maybe I should thank her because of taking the head of the family, because its true that each time more I felt bad and impotent because I couldn’t do nothing to help my family.

Tom: Yes, Ma did the right thing…

Pa: Maybe… But what really matters is that now we are all together and united once again as a family.

EB