"He’s dyin’, I tell you! He’s starvin’ to death, I tell you."
"Hush," said Ma. She looked at Pa and Uncle John standing helplessly gazing at the sick man. She looked at Rose of Sharon huddled in the comfort. Ma’s eyes passed Rose of Sharon’s eyes, and then came back to them. And the two women looked deep into each other. The girl’s breath came short and gasping.
She said "Yes."
Ma smiled. "I knowed you would. I knowed!"
– John Steinbeck
The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 30. While walking the highway the Joads shelter in a barn from a downpour and encounter a starving man and his son. The boy cries out for help for his dying father. In this scene we see in action Ma Joad’s earlier comment that the poor are the ones who help if you are in need. Ma realizes that her family can save the man from starving to death. Aware that Rose of Sharon’s breasts are still full of the milk meant to feed her stillborn baby, she glances at her daughter. Her unspoken request is understood by Rose of Sharon, who in a remarkable act of kindness, generosity and self-sacrifice immediately says yes. This powerful scene closes the novel and reflects the idea of Emerson’s "Over-Soul," the universal soul that connects everyone, a philosophy that finds expression through the character of Jim Casy. Rose of Sharon’s decision to nurse the stranger back to life is also a strong message of hope in the strength and resilience of the human spirit.