Rose of Sharon Grape of Wrath

John Steinbeck presents many different significant ideas throughout The Grapes Of Wrath using a variety of characters. The significant character of Rose of Sharon displayed the theme that any human has the capability of being kind and selfless. Although this young, whiny woman did not show the idea of benevolence to Mankind until the end of the novel, Steinbeck does a great job of leading up to the idea. Steinbeck constantly reminded the audience of how stubborn and pouty of a teenager Rose of Sharon was. Yet, especially being newlywed and pregnant, her only concern was herself and her baby. It was very clear to the audience of how self centered and selfish she felt the need to be. “...she was all secrets now she was pregnant, secrets and little silences that seemed to have meanings. She is pleased with herself and she complains about things that don’t matter…world had drawn close around...Rose of Sharon”(Steinbeck 129). Steinbeck used dramatization to stereotype Rosasharon into the typical sassy teenager. She did not have any type of helpful contribution to her family and their migration. But of course, this was all fine and expected since she was pregnant and was allowed to be focused on only herself, right? The Joad family experienced many changes with their journey, just as Rosasharon did internally. When the Joad family is settling in Hooverville, Connie abandons Rose. Rose is very miserable because of this and spends a long time feeling bad. “I ain’t feelin’ good...Connie shouldn’ of left me,”(Steinbeck 268) Rose cries out. Steinbeck made it clear to the audience of the extent of how dependent she was. The young woman always relied on people surrounding her and did not even have any doubt that she would face any serious problems. With her husband leaving her, Rose experienced a feeling she never knew existed. Although her views may have altered after Connie left, Steinbeck still presented Rose with her single-minded worries and dreams about herself and her baby living the “California life.” But as the novel went on, so did the maturity of Rose of Sharon. Steinbeck made sure that the readers could now notice the change in Rosasharon’s towards the end of the novel by constantly noting how she persisted to help with the hard labor . “Goin’ out to pick cotton...I’m goin’...Ma, I got to go…”(Steinbeck 429). The attitude of this