leader, it does not mean she is motivated to be one. Her primary desire is to continue nurturing the family and keeping it together. "Twenty families became one family, the group was welded to one thing."Ma’s primary responsibility is to take care of her family and to provide them food, upraise, support, and love. She is the center of the family, and with that responsibility, she must exhibit her love to the family. Her love is best shown in chapter eighteen, where the family begins to crumble. Her strength to pull the family together comes from her love. She is the definition of Jim Casy’s idea of love, "For if they fall, one will lif’ up his fellow, but woe to him that is alone when he falleth for he hath not another to help him up." These powerful words, spoken by Casy, prove that in order to survive, the family must unite as one by helping each other through love. Ma follows through with the statement through many examples in the story. One prime example would be when Ma is talking with Tom in the cave, "well, they liable to get men out to look, jus’ in case. Tom, you got to go away." Ma knows that sooner or later Tom will be found and killed. Although she does not want to see her son leave, her love for him and the family are so great that she must sacrifice greatly. "I-sent ‘im away. Far off."Ma shows her strong character when she loses both her parents, and still finds the energy to help the family move on. The death of the father came first, which hurt Ma, but she needed to be strong and continue through the trip to California. The second death was Grandma. "I wuas afriad we wouldn’ he’p her. The fambly had ta get acrost. I tol’ her, tol’ her when she was a-dyin’. We coudln’ stop in the desert. There was the young ones- an’ Rosasharn’s baby. I tol’ her." As Ma’s mother, the death of her took a great toll on her. But...
