essay on the Grapes of Wrarh

The novel, The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck, forced out of their Oklahoma farms by agriculture disasters (dust bowls) the Joads family begins a journey to the promise land of California and like many other migrants and immigrants have before them. As they travel cross-country they face the blunt realities of an America divided into haves and have-nots. However, the majority of each character's personality happens to lie within what they are to the Joad family. One character is Jim Casey, a former preacher and long-time friend of the Joads. In this story, Casey represents Christ figure whose philosophy is that all migrants are connected to one big soul and longs to bring religious morals to the migrant families moving west.

Steinbeck gave Jim Casey the exact initials as the past savior (J.C.). Yet, Casey's relation to Christ goes beyond such twist of fate. One of the many similarities between Casey and Christ is that Casey had also drifted out to the forests in order to "soul-search" and discover the answers to hidden questions.

Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglican Ch...

Trailer for the 1940 black and white film The Grap...

Ma Joad and Tom Joad discuss Tom's future.

In this particular situation, Casey states the comparison of Christ's and his actions while giving grace at the Joad's breakfast table, "...I been in the hills, thinking', almost you might say like Jesus went into the wilderness to think His way out of a mess of troubles". Casey additional goes on during his confused grace, "I got tired like Him...I got mixed up like Him...I went into the wilderness like Him, without no campin' stuff". With Casey admitting, that he and Jesus Christ are in some way similar.

Another similarity between Jim Casey and Jesus Christ can be seen when Casey decides to take off and join a union group in order to prevent strike wages from falling even farther. This represents the event of...