In the novel The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck implements such chaos as death and destruction to enhance his writing. The first death he used was that of Grandpa Joad, once the patriarch of his family now reduced to only the titular head of the family. He, being the original settler of the farm on which the Joad family lived on, has a strong connection with the land and refused to leave when the family made the decision to move out to California in hopes of jobs and money. When Grandpa Joad died, the strong bond that existed between the Joad family and the land was destroyed. When he refused the leave, the Joad family drugged him in order to take him along. His bond with the land seemed to be so strong he died when the Joads took him away from his land. After Grandpa died Jim Casey says, "jus" stayin" with the lan". He couldn" leave it" in reference to grandpa's substantial connection to the land which they took him away from. When Grandpa died it had positive and negative effects on the family as a whole. With his death came the arrival and the union of the Joads with the Wilson's adhering to Jim Casey's "one big soul" theory.
The second death that he used was that of Grandma Joad. Her death was significant because it brought about the respect for Ma Joad as a strong leader in the family. She lied to the boarder patrol in order to make sure her family got across safely. Grandma's death also brought about changes in the Joads life. If grandma Joad hadn't died, and Ma Joad hadn't lied to the border patrol they wouldn't have reached California where they are thrust into a different economic area. Instead of mass farming there is also a lot of industry in addition to the agriculture, something the Joads were not very familiar with before arriving in California. In short you could say that grandpa's and grandma's death though obviously a negative occurrence, positively affected the family and they were better off for it.
