what are ma's outstanding characteristics?

The mother of Noah, Tom, Rose of Sharon, Ruthie and Winfield, Ma Joad is a woman accustomed to hardship and deprivation. She is a forceful woman who is determined to keep her family together at nearly all costs, yet remains kind toward all, even sparing what little the family has for those even less fortunate. Ma Joad never gives up. She keeps hopeful through all the horrible camps. She shares what food she has with other families, and she tries her best to keep the family together.

Ma is rough, tough, experienced, and she possesses the strength on which her family depends. She is intuitive, supporting, and provides a safe haven for her family. Her strength is quiet, and her sense of understanding comes from the depths of her heart.

"Her hazel eyes seemed to have experienced all possible tragedy and to have mounted pain and suffering like steps into a high calm and a superhuman understanding" (Chapter Eight).