Throughout the book there are many references that point out the different role each member of the family has. In the book Tom likes to call it the "government". During the 1930s the family was very different than what it is today. The mother was the housewife and she did all of the cooking and cleaning. The mother took care of the children and kept the household running smoothly. The father on the other hand was the person who made all of the major decisions for the family. He also working and brought home money for food shelter and clothing for the family. When the men lost their jobs after the depression hit they felt like failures and that they couldn't provide for their families. It was up to the women to keep the family together. We see this theme a lot throughout the book with Ma Joad and her constant worry about the family splitting apart.
In today's society, family life is much different. Women also work to help bring in income to the family. In some cases the women are the only ones working in the family. Also many men are helping out more with raising the children and making sure they are maintaining a good lifestyle. I think that we can learn from our past and how the family "government" has changed and understand how it has become what it is today.
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| Men and Women during the 1930s had many different roles than what they have today. |
Works Cited:
"The 1930s: Lifestyles and Social Trends: Overview." American Decades. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 15 Oct. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.
I agree that the women do begin to play a bigger role as families start to move West. Keeping the family together is very important especially when venturing into the unknown.
ReplyDeletewemon played a huge role in keeping the family together and keeping spirits up. family roles were very inportant at this time because with out them there would have been confusion and no real family structure
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