The Grapes of Wrath Exposition took place in 1939 in Oklahoma, at the time of the dust bowl. It begins on the Joad family farm as they prepare to travel to California before the conditions of The setting is very significant to the story because the dust bowl made life difficult for the people of Oklahoma. Page 17 states: “Joad took a few steps and dust like flour sprang up in front of his new one. yellow shoes, and the yellowness disappeared under the gray dust. » The dust bowl caused many people in Oklahoma to move west because conditions were not suitable for farming. Characterization: There are 3 main characters involved in The Grapes of Wrath. Joad: Ma Joad is the matriarch of the family. She cooks dinner, tells the men what to do, does laundry, and runs errands. She didn't want the men to have anything to do with meal preparation and threw a tantrum when the men did. the men tried to salt the pork. Ma is a very strong character because she has kept the knowledge that grandmother had passed on before arriving in California. Mom often told the family what to do. When they were at the Weedpatch government camp, she decided the family would go north to Tulare to pick cotton. Ma is a very important character throughout the book. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"?Get the original essayTom Joad: Tom Joad, known throughout the book as "Joad", began the book as he had just been paroled after 4 years in prison and is trying to get home. When he walked over the hill to the Joad farm, he saw that they were leaving. He decided to surprise the family with a visit, and they told him they were going to California. He decided to continue and avoid getting caught. Near the end of the story, Joad was walking along the river and found a homeless encampment. In this camp, he finds Jim Casy, the preacher of the novel. While Joad and Jim were talking, the owner came in with a pickaxe and hit Jim Casy in the head and killed him. Joad went to tell Ma that he had found Jim Casy, but now deceased, the police were looking for Joad as he was suspected of Jim Casy's murder. Joad went to hide in blackberry bushes to stay hidden from the police. Pa Joad: Pa Joad is the head of the family. He planned the entire trip to move to California. As Dad grew older, he tried his best to maintain his position as head of the family, but he was no longer able to do what he used to do. He complained of having "confused" thoughts and had difficulty deciding in difficult situations, such as whether to go north to Tulare or stay at Camp Weedpatch. As they head north toward Tulare, they get a flat tire and a man tells them about the work that awaits them. When they leave the Cooper farms to pick cotton, they experience a severe rainstorm and Pa shows his commitment to the family by building a dam to prevent the river from overflowing. Plot Elements: At the beginning of this story, we are introduced to Tom Joad. He hitches a ride home from prison with a delivery guy and discovers his family is packing up to move to California. They told Tom they were looking for work and couldn't find any, so they were hoping California would have work for them. When the long journey was over, they looked up from a hilltop and looked down at the San Joaquin Valley and they were speechless.