Abstract

In 1962, Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize for Literature for his realistic and imaginative writings. Frequently, Steinbeck used his fiction to pay much attention to the lives of the lower class. Just as many intellectuals in 1930s, Steinbeck always show deep concern about the working class. The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck’s masterpiece, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and adapted to the screen.
In the novel, Ma Joad is the most splendid character, who is loving, compassionate, determined. At first, she only played the role of an ordinary housewife in her family, who was just obedient to her husband or son. In fact, from the first half of novel, we can obviously see that women have lower social status than men. The men’s oppression to women is similar to human beings’ suppression to nature from the view of eco-feminism. Just as human beings tend to overuse nature, men make great efforts to control women’s flesh and spirit. At the beginning of the novel, Ma Joad can be regarded as the most traditional housewife and she submits to her husband without preconditions. However, when the family was forced to leave for California, earthshaking changes happened to Ma Joad. Because Pa Joad is discouraged by the troubles he meets, he has lost the capability to be a qualified supporter and breadwinner. In that case, Ma Joad replaced his position to be a leader of her family. From the perspective of eco-feminism, this change can be regarded as subversion for the traditional relationship between men and women. This thesis’ aim is to analyze the image of Ma Joad and the influencing factors. It will mainly demonstrate the virtues of a great mother and the awakening of women.
This thesis is composed of four chapters. Chapter One introduces Ma Joad, The Grapes of Wrath, previous studies and the structure and purpose of the novel. Chapter Two gives a detailed description of eco-feminism. Chapter Three analyses the growth process of Ma Joad and causes of the transformation of Ma Joad. Chapter Four concludes all the things above and formulates a series of the limitation of this study.

Keywords:  Ma Joad  The Grapes of Wrath  Eco-feminism  Transformation
 
摘要

斯坦贝克在1962年获得了诺贝尔文学奖，他的作品现实又充满想象力。他的小说常常探及社会底层人民的生活，就像许多20世纪30年代的知识分子一样，他对工人阶级怀有深深的同情。《愤怒的葡萄》是斯坦贝克的代表作，1940年该小说获得了普利策文学奖，并被搬上荧幕。
乔德妈妈是这部小说中最为出彩的人物，她是一位意志坚定，富有爱心的女性。一开始，她只是一位普通的家庭主妇，依附于她的丈夫和儿子。在小说的前半部分，我们会发现女性的地位明显低于男性。从生态女性主义的角度来看，人类对自然地掠夺就相当于是男性对女性的压迫。就像人类过度开垦自然，男性也是想法设法的要控制住女性的肉体和灵魂。在小说的开始部分，乔德妈妈可以说是一位典型的传统的家庭主妇，她会无条件的听从她的丈夫。但是，当他们一家被迫离开家乡，前往加利福利亚，乔德妈妈发生了翻天覆地的变化。乔德爸爸被困难所打倒，没有能力再成为一家之主。而乔德妈妈则取代他的地位成为家庭的领导者。按照生态女性主义的观点，这个变化是对传统男女关系的一种颠覆。本论文旨在分析乔德妈妈的人物形象和影响该形象转变的因素，从而揭示这一伟大母亲的优良品质和女性意识的觉醒。
本论文由四部分构成。第一部分介绍乔德妈妈，《愤怒的葡萄》,前人研究和论文的结构和目的。第二部分详细的介绍生态女性主义这一概念。第三部分分析乔德妈妈的形象和她的转变过程，还有影响她转变的因素。第四部分则是对上述内容的总结。

关键词： 乔德妈妈；愤怒的葡萄；生态女性主义；转变过程