mother makes the most important contributions to the family stability.) Placing such importance on family values is not without reasons. Family is all the Jodes have to hold onto in the uncaring world in which they live. It is the only way they survive in the system which thrives on the exploitation of the poor. (The real power of Grapes of Wrath is the savage anger at the impersonal process that uproots men from the land and rapes it...) The best way for the Jodes to gain strength was through groups. Each time a fairly stable group or community was achieved, those in power attempted to destroy the group, effectively taking their strength away. Sylvia Jenkins Cook explains the theme of teamwork... (...a more positive characterization of group behavior emerged...where workers could acquire dignity, strength, and power, all inaccessible to the exploited and impotent individual.) ...
