At the onset of The Grapes of Wrath we see the Joad family struggling just to keep their immediate family together. They are focused on just themselves. The Joad family's journey to California results in the breakup of their family. The breakup of their immediate family, and the embrace of the migrant family lead to a major change in the Joad's point of view. These changes are represented through the loss of their land, Ma Joad's maturity as a character, and Tom Joad's turn around and understanding.
             The very first cause of the breakup of the individual family was with the loss of their land. The Joad family had lived there for many generations and had very strong ties to the land. Losing their land was equivalent to losing their family history. This is expressed by "She puts them in her pocket, closes the box, stands and with resignation tosses the box on the fire". It is very evident that ma is reluctant to let her past go. On their journey they lose their first family member, Grandpa Joad. This shows that there is a strong connection between a man and his home. Grandpa's great longing for his homeland ultimately resulted in his death.
             Ma Joad grows throughout the course of the novel and becomes the anchor for the family. Her main concern at the beginning of the novel is her family. She wants to keep the unit together and works diligently to achieve this goal. However, one by one, family members leave the group for various reasons leading to the slow disintegration of the Joad clan. The first to go is Noah, then Grandpa and Grandma die, Connie walks off and leaves Rose of Sharon, young Tom leaves because he has gotten into trouble again, and Al becomes engaged and decides to go with his fiancée's family. When she tells Pa "Man, he lives in a jerk-baby born an' a man dies, an' that's a jerk-gets a farm an' loses his farm, an' that's a jerk." Ma i...