Granma Joad
Granma Joad is the fiercely religious, cantankerous, and fiercely loyal matriarch of the Joad family, whose death during the desert crossing becomes a harrowing testament to Ma Joad's strength and the family's desperate will to survive. She is defined by her shrill, combative religiosity, her savage rivalry with her husband Grampa, and her gradual decline into senility and death as the family is torn from its land. Her final journey, in which she dies on the truck and is kept secret from the family and the authorities by Ma, marks a brutal turning point in the Joads' migration, stripping away the last vestiges of their former life and forcing them to confront the raw calculus of survival.
Identity and Character
Granma Joad is a small, wiry woman who has survived into old age by being as mean and tough as her husband, Grampa. She is described as having a "shrill ferocious religiosity that was as lecherous and as savage as anything Grampa could offer" . Her defining verbal tic is the battle cry "Pu-raise Gawd fur vittory," which she bleats at moments of high emotion, whether in genuine religious fervor or as a reflexive response to the world around her . She is fiercely proud of Grampa's wickedness, declaring him "a wicketer, cussin'er man never lived" who is "goin' to hell on a poker" . Her relationship with Grampa is one of constant, loving warfare; they "fought over everything, and loved and needed the fighting" . She once fired a shotgun at him, ripping his buttock, after which he admired her and stopped trying to torture her .
Arc Through the Plot: Decline and Death
Granma's physical and mental state deteriorates rapidly over the course of the journey. Early in the trip, she is still alert enough to demand a grace from Jim Casy, insisting, "Grace fust" . She also shows a childlike delight in the modern conveniences of a service station toilet, declaring, "It's nice in there... They got a patent toilet in there an' the water comes down. I like it in there... Would of took a good nap if I wasn't woke up" (E01431-E01432). However, as the journey wears on, she becomes increasingly confused and senile. By the time the family reaches Needles, California, she is described as being "all outa sense," babbling and talking to the dead Grampa as if he were still present . She suffers from the heat and is described as being "wore out" . Her decline is marked by a loss of recognition and a retreat into a world of memory and hallucination, where she speaks to Grampa, yelling at him and seeing him sitting there grinning .
The Secret of Her Death
The most powerful and harrowing moment involving Granma occurs during the crossing of the desert. She dies on the truck, but Ma Joad, realizing that an agricultural inspection stop could delay them and prevent the family from reaching California, makes the agonizing decision to conceal the death. Ma lies beside Granma's body all night, holding her and talking to her, telling her, "You know the family got to get acrost. You know that" . When the truck is stopped at the inspection station, Ma, her face swollen and her eyes hard, convinces the officer that Granma is merely very sick, and they are allowed to pass (E02654-E02661). The full truth is only revealed the next morning, when the family has reached the top of Tehachapi Pass and looks down on the San Joaquin Valley. Ma, her face stiff and putty-like, confesses, "Granma's dead" . She explains her terrible choice: "I was afraid we wouldn' get acrost... I tol' Granma we couldn' he'p her. The fambly had ta get acrost. I tol' her, tol' her when she was a-dyin'. We couldn' stop in the desert. There was the young ones—an' Rosasharn's baby" . The family looks at Ma with "a little terror at her strength" .
Thematic Significance
Granma's death and the manner of its concealment serve as a brutal microcosm of the Joads' entire journey. It represents the final, violent severing of the family from its past and its traditions. The family cannot afford a proper burial, and Ma must suppress her own grief and maternal instincts to ensure the group's survival. Granma's death is not a dignified passing but a grim, practical obstacle to be overcome. The event also underscores the theme of collective survival over individual need, a lesson that Ma has learned and that she will later pass on to Tom. Granma's fate—dying a pauper, buried by the county—is a stark illustration of the dispossessed's loss of dignity and control over their own lives, a fate that Ma is determined to prevent for the rest of her family. Her final act of lying beside the corpse all night is a profound, silent act of love and sacrifice, one that Jim Casy recognizes with awe, saying, "All night long, an' she was alone... John, there's a woman so great with love—she scares me" .
