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
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
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
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