The Grapes of Wrath - Jim Casy

The Joad family has a lot of inspirational characters in their adventure making it out West. From Ma Joad, a benevolent individual full of leadership and pride, to the little turtle dedicated to make it across the highway, even it means getting knocked down a few times. Each person (or turtle) plays a vital role in The Grapes of Wrath, but someone who I believe was extra special to the Joads sanity was Reverend Casy. He seems to be a besieged kind of character who is simply trying to find his place in the big ole’ world of corruption and poverty.

A rather large inspiration for the Joads, Casy is a man of great wisdom. The Joads consistently ask Jim Casy to say a blessing at a meal or funeral, and even to preach positive and uplifting words to keep the family going. I find the Reverend to be a very peculiar man only because he is very awkward at times. We learn of his wrong doing regarding “layin’ up with a girl” (Steinbeck 22). He tells the Joads that he does not see the harm in it if the girl is full of grace. I guess I sort of picture a creepy old man playing the part of Jim Casy. It is interesting how Steinbeck portrays the preacher and his immoral ways of life. A lot of people find religious figures to be very hypocritical, and I think Steinbeck tried to portray Casy as a human full of mistakes and bad decisions like all of us.

I think that Jim stands for a symbol of Jesus Christ. There are so many reasons as to why this could be true. For example, many people looked up to the Reverend for his acts of kindness and ability to speak so influentially, much like Jesus. This may be something very farfetched, but I also noticed that Jim Casy has the same initials as Jesus Christ. Coincidence? I think not. Steinbeck knew full well of the symbolism he was portraying through Casy. I think that this humble representation of Jesus adds to the novel’s 1930’s “olden days” feel. The biggest example that points to Casy’s Christ-like character is his death. Both men died of a worthy cause by people who were out to basically get them. Jesus died for the suffering of His people, and Casy died for the suffering of the migrant workers.

Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.