In, The Grapes of Wrath, Ma Joad and Rose of Sharon graphically portray Steinbeck's themes of strength and sacrifice. They are universal characters, the people who hold up the fabric of society. Through them we view the need for unity and desperation of all those who went west only to find life as bleak as when they left it. Throughout the story Ma is a model of the strength of the human spirit. For example, Steinbeck says of her, "if she swayed the family shook, and if she ever really deeply wavered or despaired the family would fall, the family will to function would be gone". She is the foundation upon which th