On the way home, Joad told Kathy the story of his mother in his memory, who used a chicken as a weapon to teach the hawker a lesson. Her mother was as shrewd as a yaksha. When I got home, I had to see how my mother was doing after four years of absence: - Dad stretched his chin forward, turned his head and stared at the path for a while. Then he turned to Joad. "How do we tell her [Joad's mother]?" he said excitedly. "How do I walk in and say, 'There are two people who want to have breakfast at our house'? Or you just walk in and stand How about letting her see you there?" His face was full of uncontrollable excitement. "Let's not scare her," said Joad. He said, "Mom, two guys (son Joad and missionary Cathy) happened to be passing by and asked if they could give them some food." Joad heard his mother's voice, and he still remembered this calm, gentle, and gentle voice. A slow, friendly and humble voice. "Let them in," she said. "We have plenty to eat. Tell them to wash their hands. The bread is baked and the ribs are coming out of the pan." The grease dripped onto the fire and made a sizzling sound. Pa walked in, making way for the door, and Joad looked in, at his mother, who was picking shredded meat in the frying pan. The oven door was open, and a large plate of puffed-up yellow bread was placed inside. She glanced out the door, but there was sunlight behind Joad, and all she saw was a dark figure outlined by the bright yellow sunlight. She nodded happily. "Come in," she said, "fortunately I made a lot of bread this morning." Joad stood and looked in. Mom is well built, but not fat. It is the fruit of having children and hard work. She was wearing a wide gray cloth skirt, the original colorful flowers on it had been washed away, and the small flowers turned into a gray pattern that was slightly lighter than the background color. The skirt hung down to her ankles, and she walked quickly and flexibly on the ground with her two powerful bare feet. She has very little hair, iron gray, loosely pulled into a bun on the back of her head, her strong arms are covered with freckles, and her elbows that cannot be covered by her sleeves are exposed. Her hands were fleshy and dexterous, like those of a chubby little girl. She looked out at the sunshine. Her plump face was not soft, but full of restraint and kindness. Her hazel eyes seemed to have witnessed all possible tragedies, and the accumulated pain and suffering were like stairs, leaving her in a detached, calm and open-minded state. She is the shelter of the whole family and has an irreplaceable and important position. She seems to be very aware of her status and accepts and likes it. If she did not admit the hurt and fear, then Tom and the children would not feel the hurt and fear, so she continued to practice denying the hurt and fear in her mind. When happy things happen, everyone will check to see if she is happy, so she is used to laughing when encountering trivial pleasures. But more important than happiness is composure. Her composure is trustworthy. Her great and ordinary status in the family gives her a noble, pure and peaceful beauty. Because she wants to comfort others, her hands are steady and strong; because she wants to mediate conflicts, she is as calm as a flawless goddess when making decisions. She seemed to know very well that if she wavered, the whole family would be shaken; if she really hesitated and despaired deep down, the whole family would fall apart, and the willpower that kept the whole family functioning normally would disappear. She looked out at the sunny courtyard and the dark figure of the man. Dad stood nearby, trembling with excitement. "Come in," he shouted, "come in quickly, sir!" Joad crossed the threshold sheepishly. Ma looked up happily from the frying pan. Then, her hands slowly fell to her sides, and the fork clattered to the wooden floor. Her eyes were wide open, her pupils dilated, and her mouth was open wide, breathing heavily. She closed her eyes. "Thank God," she said, "Oh, thank God!" Suddenly, she looked worried again. "Tom, you're not wanted, are you? You escaped, right?" "No, Mom. He was paroled. I still have the documents here." He touched his chest.She walked towards him gently, her bare feet making no sound. With a look of surprise on her face, she touched his arm with her little hands, feeling his strong muscles. Then she raised her hand and touched his face, like a blind person. She was so ecstatic that she was almost sad. Joad bit his lower lip with his teeth. Her surprised eyes turned to his biting lip again, and she saw a trace of blood between the teeth and blood drops running down his lips. She understood, her self-control came back, she put her hands down and breathed out like an explosion. "Hey!" she shouted, "we almost left you. We were still worried about how you would find us." She picked up the fork, scraped away the hot oil, and took out a fried piece that was dark and curled up. crispy pork and put the boiling coffee pot behind the stove.
( John Steinbeck " The Grapes of Wrath ")
- This is the mother Joad saw busy on the stove. Although she was a foreign mother, it was reminiscent of the place in Chinese myths and legends. The Mother Goddess , but she is kinder, more generous, wise, capable and more smoky than the Mother Goddess of Earth. It reminds people of thousands of mothers in the world who work hard all day long, are generous, broad-minded and extremely persevering!
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