Manself Essay, Research Paper

In the novel the Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbach, Steinbech develops a concept of

manself. Manself is a kind of self confidence that can t be taken away. Three character

in the novel that have manslef are Grandpa, Ma and Mugsley Graves.

Grandpa is the oldest of the Jode family. He has the last say in everything that the

family does. Grandpa decides right before the family is to leave for California that he

isn t going to go with the family and that he is going to stay in the farm. When the family

forces him to go he dies in the emotional sense. But it only takes a few days for his body

to join his heart.

Ma is another character with manself. Ma is the glue that holds the Jode family

together. Ma makes her way into the decision making process of the Jode family. An

unheard of idea in that time. Ma lays with Grandma s dead body the whole way through

the desert as to make sure that her family s journey through the desert does not get

prospered.

The last character in the novel with manself is Musley Graves. Musley decided

he wasn t going to let the bank kick him off his own land. Musley roams around his and

the nearby farms in Oklahoma constantly hiding from the sheriffs and bank owners.

Manself is a theory that people who believe in themselves can be very effective

and hard to change. One person with their mind made up can change lots of peoples

minds.