The Death of Granma

Granma's death was not all that shocking to me. Ever since Grampa had passed on, I figured Granma would not last long without him; I was correct. I thought Granma was they type of person who needed her husband around to keep her sane. As soon as he passed on, she had no one left who understood her needs and wants like Grampa did, so she was suffering. In addition, she was old and was beginning to go insane as she was carrying on conversations with her dead husband like he was still around.

Once again, the Joad family showed almost no response to Granma's death. Ma had to sneak Granma's dead body in the truck past patrol guards. But no one but Ma knew Granma was dead until after the truck got past the guards. I also believe the members of the Joad family knew Granma did not have much life left in her by their reactions to her death. They were not in shock or disbelief when they heard Granma had passed on. They just said she needed a proper funeral, as that was what she would have wanted. Granma would also have wanted the Joad family to still eat and not go into mourning over her death.

A difference in Granma's death as compared to Grampa's was that the Joads took Granma's body to a coroner's office to determine the cause of death, and attempt to bury her properly. However, the Joads did not have enough money to bury Granma; they left her body at the coroner's office. The Joad family never got to bury Granma properly with a funeral and a gravestone because of their economic state. At least with Grampa, his body was buried even if it was done illegally; Grampa received the proper send off. I was sad that Granma passed on, but her death was sort of lost in the midst of everything that was happening. The Joad family had to once again move on, but they lingered on the fact that Granma was gone a bit longer than they had with Grampa. But at the same time, the Joads were still trying to get to California and Granma was one less person to worry about.