t her strength. Tom said, 'Jesus Christ! You layin' there with her all night long!' 'The fambly hadda get acrost,' Ma said miserably." (Page 294) Her dedication to the family is remarkable. She becomes dedicated to their new lives, and develops a new insight on life. "'You got to have patience. Why, Tom - us people will go on livin' when all them people is gone. Why, Tom, we're the people that live. They ain't gonna wipe us out. Why, we're the people - we go on.'" (Page 360) Her strength and power unfold throughout the story and her journey is one of survival. She evolves to become the strongest pillar in the Joad family. Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath is a novel that enables one relate to the struggles of humankind. Yet it is his evolution of the characters that takes on a great impact as one can witness the transitions in a human's whole being that occurs after heartache and misery unfold. Through Casy's, Tom's and Ma's own spiritual journeys, one can see that there are brighter things that arise from tragedy. That although situations may be at their bleakest, one adapts, and may even turn out better than he or she started out. It is a shame that horrid situations are the ones that urge people to change their lives, but it is at least enlightening to see that the majority of these changes are for the better....
