The Biblical Structure Of John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath

1 Introduction

This seminar paper tries to give some insight into the biblical structure of John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath. The reason why I chose this novel is that I am really fascinated by Steinbeck's style of writing which varies from symbolic to allegorical. After I have finished reading The Grapes of Wrath, which I consider to be one of the most effective social documents of the 1930s, I started thinking about which aspects would be the most interesting to concentrate on. Before I actually started reading books on John Steinbeck and his novels I was sure that in my paper I will deal with Christian parallels and biblical allusions. I must admit that it was a big problem to get information on this topic because most
of the books only dealt with the social structure and the historical background of the novel. Therefore most of the assumptions made in this paper are based on my thoughts and interpretations, which are accompanied by various quotations taken out of Steinbeck's novel.

In the first part of this paper I will deal with the construction of the novel. The similarities between the three well-marked divisions of the novel – drought, journey, and sojourn in California – and the ancient biblical events will be discussed in detail. In chapter 3 the biblical symbolisms of the grapes of wrath, the flood and the snake will be analysed. In the chapters 4 and 5 the major and minor characters of the novel will be dealt with in terms of biblical allusions and Christian symbolisms.

2 Construction of the novel

The Grapes of Wrath is divided into thirty chapters, fourteen of which carry the Joad story.
To every chapter dealing with the Joads, Steinbeck adds a shorter, more general, but often not less powerful chapter on the general situation. These sixteen so-called interchapters present the social, economic and historical background, telling the story of all the migrants. The novel's three well-marked divisions – the drought, the journey, and sojourn in California – correspond to oppression in Egypt, exodus, and settlement in Canaan. In the bibles book of Exodus, Moses guided thousands of people (God's family, the Israelites) out of severe slavery and harsh treatment in Egypt. From there he led them into the promised land of Canaan that flowed with milk and honey. In The Grapes of Wrath the members of the Joad family are the struggling Israelites, Casy acts as a leader who directs the Joads out of famine and hard times during the 1930's in Oklahoma and into California where they can begin a new life with hope and
future. The first section ends with chapter 10. It is separated from the second section, the journey, by two interchapters. The first of these chapters presents a picture of the deserted land – "The houses were left vacant on the land, and the land was vacant because of this" (Steinbeck 1976: 148). The second interchapter is devoted to Highway 66 and is followed up by chapter 13, which begins the Joads' journey – "The ancient overloaded Hudson creaked and grunted to the highway at Sallisaw and turned west, and the sun was blending" (Steinbeck 1976: 157). The journey section ends with chapter 18, "And the truck rolled down the mountain into the great valley" (Steinbeck 1976: 296), and the next chapter begins the California section by introducing the reader to labor conditions in that state.

2.1 The drought The drought and erosion are the plagues of Egypt, the banks and land companies are Pharao and the Egyptian oppressors. The Joads are forced off the land by the banks and the large farming interests, which can farm the land much more cheaply and efficiently than individual tenant farmers. The agricultural corporations found it more profitable to combine many farms into one plantation, and put it all to cotton. In Oklahoma the dust filtered into every house and settled on everything, as in one of the Egyptian plagues the dust became lice which settled on man and beast (Exodus 8: 17). The dust ruined the corn, as hail ruined the Egyptian's flax and barely (Exodus 9: 34). "All day the dust sifted down from the sky, and the next day it sifted down. … It settled on the corn, piled up on the fence posts, piled up on the wires; it settled on roofs, blanketed the weeds and trees. … Men stood by their fences and looked at the ruined corn, drying fast now, only a little green showing through the film of dust" (Steinbeck 1976: 6). Before leaving, Ma Joad, alone in the farmhouse, holds an ancient pair of earrings to her ears and remembers her youth. "She bit her lower lip, thinking, remembering" (Steinbeck 1976: 140).Then, grabbing her few possessions, she emerges to say she's ready – a scene that movingly conveys the pain and courage of the Oklahomans' migration. On the eve of departure the Joads slaughtered two pigs, more likely victims in Oklahoma than the lambs sacrificed by the Hebrews on Passover. But whereas the Hebrews despoiled the Egyptians of jewels before leaving, the Joads and other Oakies were despoiled of goods and money, by sharp businessmen in the land that they left.

2.2 The journey

The journey for the Israelites lasted so many years that only the younger generation made it to the promised land. In the same way Granma and Grampa died before they reached the promised California. In both cases people crossed a river and a desert. On the road west the Joads met men who were going back to Oklahoma from California. These men reported that although California was a lovely and rich country the residents were hostile to the migrant workers, treated them badly, and paid them so poorly that many migrants starved to death. In Number 13, scouts whom Moses sent ahead into Canaan came back with the report that "surely it floweth with milk and honey". Nevertheless they made "an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land … is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof." However, the Joads continue west along Route 66, joining the mass exodus from the Dust-Bowl-ravaged lands. "And as the worlds moved westward, rules became laws although no one told the families" (Steinbeck 1976: 251).
In the roadside camps the migrants, like the Hebrews, formulated codes of laws to govern themselves: "Then leaders emerged, then laws were made, then codes came into being. … The families learned what rights must be observed – the right of privacy in the tent; the right to keep the past black hidden in the heart; the right to refuse help or accept it, to offer help or to decline it; the right of son to court and the daughter to be courted; the right of the hungry to be fed; the rights of the pregnant and the sick to transcend all other rights" (Steinbeck 1976: 250).

The laws, like the Mosaic law, forbade murder, theft, adultery, rape, and seduction, and they too included rules of sanitation, privacy, and hospitality. The migrant law breakers were banished from all camps, the Hebrew law breaker was either banished or stoned. Steinbeck's repeated "It is unlawful" echoes the "Thou shalt not" of the Decalogue. "It is unlawful to foul near the camp; it is unlawful in any way to foul the drinking water; it is unlawful to eat good, rich food near one who is hungry, unless he is asked to share" (Steinbeck 1976: 251).

2.3 Sojourn in
California

To the Joads California represents a place of great wealth, freedom, and prosperity. It is a Garden of Eden, so to speak. But when the Joads get to California they find that the grapes which Grampa dreamed of are inaccessible, that the grapes of promise inevitably turn into the grapes of wrath. California is Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey, and the Californians, like the Canaanites, are hostile to the immigrants. As soon as they reach California, the Joads are confronted with the epithet "Okie," and the attitude that lies behind it: "‘These goddamned Okies are dirty and ignorant. They're degenerate, sexual maniacs. These goddamned Okies are thieves. They'll steal anything. They've got no sense of property rights'" (Steinbeck 1976: 363). "Them goddamn Okies got no sense and no feeling. They ain't human. A human being wouldn't live like they do. A human being couldn't stand it to be so dirty and miserable. They ain't a hell of a lot better than gorillas" (Steinbeck 1976: 284). In California the Joads are not allowed to vote and they are kept continually on the move, from one miserable campsite to another, working as migrant laborers. It is no longer a flight west but simply a flight down the road, to the next government camp, to another ranch, to many more dead ends of hope. The meanness of California officers at the border, the efforts to turn back the migrants, the refusal of cities and towns to let migrant workers enter, except when their labor was needed – in all this we may see the efforts of the Edomites, Moabites, and Amorites to keep the Israelites from entering their countries. What promised to be the land of milk and honey turns to sour grapes and the hopes and dreams of a generation turn to wrath.

3 Christian symbolisms in The Grapes of Wrath

3.1 The meaning of the title The title "Grapes of Wrath" is a direct Christian allusion, suggesting the glory of the coming of the Lord, revealing that the story exists in Christian context, indicating that we should expect some Christian meaning. The title was taken from Julia Ward Howe's "Battle Hymn of Republic". Steinbeck valued its American emphasis and believed it would offset communist criticism or identities: "Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored. He has loosed the fateful lightening of His terrible swift sword. His truth is marching on" (Fontenrose 1963: 75). As Julia Ward Howe's "Battle Hymn of the Republic" was a religious call for America to live up to its democratic principles, so too is The Grapes of Wrath a plea for America to reaspire to the spiritual idea of democracy. In Jeremiah (31:29) we find: "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and their children's teeth are set on edge." In Revelation (14:19) "the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God." Similarly, in Deuteronomy (32:32) "Their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter. Their wine is the poison of serpents…" Steinbeck also uses the grapes as symbols of plenty, as the one huge cluster of grapes which Joshua and Oshea bring back from their first excursion into the rich land of Canaan is a symbol of plenty. Grampa, the oldest member of the Joad family also talks of the grapes as symbols of plenty. All his descriptions of what he is going to do with the grapes in California suggest contentment, freedom, the goal the Joad family strives for: "'I'm gonna pick me a wash tub full of grapes, an' I'm gonna set in 'em, an' scrooge aroun', an' let the juice run down my pants'" (Steinbeck 1976: 119).

3.2 The flood The flood with which the novel culminates bears within its own religious symbolism. This situation parallels to the Old Testament story of Noah's Ark. In both events, heavy rains cause a flood that results in the families leaving their homes. "In the boxcar camp the water stood in puddles, and the rain splashed in the mud. Gradually the little stream crept up the bank toward the low flat where the boxcars stood. … Now, without the seperation, the two families in the car were one" (Steinbeck 1976: 557).

In the novel, the Joads and the Wainwrights gather their belongings onto a platform and wait out the flood, much like Noah and his family gather on the ark for forty days until the rain stops. These situations show again the importance of unity and helping one another to make it through troubles. 3.3 The snake

As a further religious symbol I would like to mention the snake which Tom encounters on the road to California. To the Joads California represents a place of great wealth, freedom, and prosperity. It is a Garden of Eden, so to speak. The Garden of Eden had a serpent that brought the Wrath of God upon Adam and Eve. The serpent supplied them with the forbidden fruit and in the same way California is forbidden to outsiders and migrants. The snake represents the Eden Serpent and its betrayal to Adam and Eve as well as California will betray the Joads. It represents the agricultural system of California, which the immigrants are destined to crush.

4 Major Characters

In the following pages I will give a detailed description on what I consider to be the most important characters of the novel in terms of biblical allusions and Christian symbols. I will discuss Jim Casy's role as a Christ figure, Rose of Sharon as the resurrected aspect of Christ, Tom Joad's role as Casy's disciple and spiritual successor, and the embodiment of love and endurance in the character of Ma Joad.

4.1 Jim Casy

John Steinbeck uses the character of Jim Casy in order to portray the importance of religion in people's lives in such times of hardship, when a family's unity and faith in God were the only things that kept them going. Casy represents the search within the group to discover one's true identity and beliefs.

Early in the novel Casy makes known his desire to accompany the Joads on their trek west: "The preacher … stood looking into the coals. He said slowly, ‘Yeah, I'm goin' with you. An' when your folks start out on the road I'm goin' with them. An' where folks are on the road, I'm gonna be with them'" (Steinbeck 1976: 121). The statement foreshadows Tom's credo expressed to his mother at the end of the novel, perhaps even influencing the attitude that inspires the credo. Noteworthy is the switch from the more personal "your folks" to the more generalized "folks," for Casy has begun to see himself as responsible not only to the Joads but to all people everywhere in flight. However, the Joads still see Casy in his role as preacher, and if Casy no longer considers himself as a preacher, he has yet to convince the Joads. He is still the spiritual guide of the Joads and their community. Casy fulfils his old role as preacher by saying grace at meals. But he uses one occasion as an opportunity to speak of the inner change he has undergone, suggesting his transfiguration: "Nighttime I'd lay on my back an' look up at the stars; morning I'd set an' watch the sun come up; midday I'd look out from a hill at the rollin' dry country; evening I'd foller the sun down. Sometimes I'd pray like I always done. On'y I couldn't figure what I was prayin' to or for" (Steinbeck 1976: 36).

The following passage shows that Casy's view of the world was not limited to any abstract sense of oneness with a cosmos, whether metaphysical or social, but rather extended into a real ethos of love: "An' I got thinkin', on'y it wasn't thinkin', it was deeper down than thinkin'. I got thinkin' how we was holy when we was one thing, an' mankin' was holy when it was one thing. An' it on'y got unholy when one mis'able little fella got the bit in his teeth an' run off his own way, kickin' an' draggin' an' fightin'. Fella like that bust the holiness. But when they're all workin' together, not one fella for another fella, but one fella kind of harnessed to the whole shebang – that's right, that's holy. An' then I got thinkin' I don't even know what I mean by holy. … I can't say no grace like I use' ta say. I'm glad of the holiness of breakfast. I'm glad there's love here. That's all" (Steinbeck 1976: 105).

As a teacher of a social gospel Jim Casy is like Jesus Christ. Throughout the novel Jim Casy grows as a speaker, a mediator, an organizer, and, most remarkably as a martyr. Not only does Jim Casy have the exact initials as the historical savior, but also did he retire to the wilderness in order to "soul-search" and discover the answers to sometimes hidden questions, and came forth to teach a new doctrine of love and good work. In chapter eight Casy himself states the comparison of Christ's and his actions while giving a grace at the Joad's breakfast table, " … I been in the hills, thinkin', almost you might say like Jesus went into the wilderness to think His way out of a mess of troubles" (Steinbeck 1976: 104). Casy goes on during his grace, "I got tired like Him … I got mixed up like Him … I went into the wilderness like Him, without no campin' stuff" (Steinbeck 1976: 105). In this way Casy openly admits that he and Jesus are in some way similar. His gospel coincided in certain respects with Jesus' doctrine: love for all men, sympathy for the poor and oppressed, toleration of men's weakness and sensual desire, and realization of the gospel in active ministry. Jim Casy is identified simply and directly with Christ, and his words paraphrase the words of Jesus, who said, "God is love," and "A new commandment give I unto you: that ye love one another." "'I only love people'", Casy says. "'An' sometimes I love ‘em fit to bust, an' I want ‘em to make happy'" (Steinbeck 1976: 30). This is the truth Casy has found in his wilderness, the gospel he brings back to the people he loves. Jim realizes, as did Jesus, that organized religion will reject his new teaching. Tom points this out: "You can't hold no church with ideas like that," he said. "People would drive you out of the country with ideas like that" (Steinbeck 1976: 31). Casy's doctrine went beyond Christ's. He had rejected the Christianity through which he saw himself as wicked and depraved because of the satisfaction of natural human desires. He preached his "eye for an eye" religion, much as Jesus, starting out as John the Baptist's disciple, abandoned and transformed John's teachings. John the Baptist, Tom's uncle, had practiced asceticism and emphasized remission of sins. He lived a lonely, comfortless life in a spiritual desert, and he was obsessed with sins. It is John Joad's Christianity that Casy rejected. After worrying about his sexual backsliding Casy came to the enlightening conclusion that people cannot be judged "good" or "bad" and that "Maybe it ain't a sin. Maybe it's just the way folks is … There ain't no sin and there ain't no virtue. There's just stuff people do: It's all part of the same thing. And some of the things folk do is nice, and some ain't nice, but that's as far as any man got a right to say" (Steinbeck 1976: 30).

Casy, who knows, as Emerson knew, that he "'can't hold no church'" (Steinbeck 1976: 36) with such unorthodox ideas, preaches not only fundamental Christian love, but an equivalent of the Emersonian Oversoul as well: " … ‘Maybe … it's all men an' all women we love; maybe that's the Holy Sperit – the human sperit – the whole shebang. Maybe all men got one big soul ever'body's a part of. Now I sat there thinkin' it, an' all of a suddent – I knew it. I knew it so deep down that it was true, and I still know it'" (Steinbeck 1976: 31).

Casy's knowledge of the Oversoul is derived from the same source as Emerson's and Whitman's, from within himself, from God speaking within him. "All that lives is holy" (Steinbeck 1976: 33) he said, and this meant that he should be with other men: "a wilderness ain't no good, ‘cause his little piece of a soul wasn't no good ‘less it was with the rest, an' was whole" (Steinbeck 1976: 38). As his beliefs develop, Casy begins to see that all of creation and human kind is united, and that he must not work for the improvement of the souls of individuals, but for the improvement of the total human condition. To better appreciate Casy's role as a transcendentalist, one has to consider Steinbeck's emphasis on family unity and on the unity of the migrants as a whole. When Casy joins the group he learns that only through united action the underdogs could better their social conditions. Jim Casy went into the Oklahoma wilderness to save his soul. And in the wilderness he experienced the religious feeling of identity with nature which has always been the heart of transcendentalism: "There was the hills, an' there was me, an' we wasn't separate no more. We was one thing. An' that one thing was holy. … I got thinkin' how we was holy when we was one thing, an' mankin' was holy when it was one thing. An' it on'y got unholy when one mis'able little fella got the bit in his teeth an' run off his own way, kickin' an' draggin' an' fightin'. Fella like that bust the holiness. But when the're all workin' together, not one fella for another fella, but one fella kind of harnessed to the whole shebang – that's right, that's holy" (Steinbeck 1976: 105).

Casy's affirmation of democracy, as Whitman's, does not depend upon the destruction of the individualist. Casy believes in unity and that because people are all part of something greater than themselves, we should help one another out, and work together because otherwise we are all lost. The theme that family interests must be subordinate to the common welfare, that all individual souls are part of one great soul, corresponds to Jesus' rejection of family ties for the kingdom of heaven's sake: "For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother" (Matthew 12: 50). Ma Joad makes us aware of Casy's special role when early in the novel, after one of Casy's unusual graces, "she watched him as though he were suddenly a spirit, not human any more, a voice of the ground" (Steinbeck 1976: 98).

In the scene when Casy is killed, the parallel to Jesus is clear: Casy says, "'They figger I'm a leader ‘cause I talk so much'" (Steinbeck 1976: 494). Then he is identified by the vigilantes as "'that shiny bastard'" (Steinbeck 1976: 495). His final words, before he is beaten to death, are "'You fellas don' know what you're doin''" (Steinbeck 1976: 495). Jesus said, as they crucified Him, "Father forgive them; they know not what they do." The difference between them is that Christ speaks to heaven, while Casy speaks directly to his killers. This more direct, personal approach shows us that Casy is not meant to be more human than Christ. Casy's death is symbolic because as Jesus he is killed while preaching what he believes and therefore becomes a martyr for all the migrant workers.
Just as Jesus was exalted by many for what he stood for, Casy was hailed and respected by many for simply being a preacher. Both saw a common goodness in the average man and saw every person as holy. Both Christ and Casy faced struggles between their ideals versus the real world. Casy wished to reach out to others in spite of his own troubles. He wanted to give them spirit, hope and rejuvenate their souls. Jesus too felt that need and can be considered "the great consoler of life." Like Christ, Casy was jailed and later aroused the antagonism of the people in authority and was brutally slain. Both believed that everyone is created equal no matter what their physical differences, political class, or position in the world might be. Casy shows this by never uttering a hurtful word at anyone, and sacrificing his own welfare to picket and raise the wages of other workers. He was forever grateful to the Joads for travelling with them and talked of going off by himself to pay them back several times. He once said, "I want to do what's bes' for you folks. You took me in, carried me along. I'll do whatever'" (Steinbeck 1976: 183). Casy never asked for money while he was preaching because he knew the position his listeners where in, even though he was also desperate for money. In chapter four he said, "'I brang Jesus to your folks for a long time, an' I never took up a collection nor nothin' but a bite to eat'" (Steinbeck 1976: 183). Since he believes that we all have a small part of a larger soul, and everybody is holy, we are therefore equal. Throughout The Grapes of Wrath Jim Casy battles with his faith. He started to question his own beliefs and what was said in the Bible. He lost man hours of sleep just thinking about this, and went through many days without even speaking. He spent many a night sleep-deprived and many a day mute philosophising to himself. Tom said: "'Say , Casy, you been awful goddamn quiet the las' few days … you ain't said ten words the las' couple days'" (Steinbeck 1976: 153). Even Casy himself had trouble speaking at all: "Now look, Tom. Oh what the hell! So goddamn hard to say anything" (Steinbeck 1976: 153). He began to have doubts about God, Jesus, and about the afterlife altogether. He went from a man of God to a man of everyone. Casy once said, "'An' I says, ‘Don't you love Jesus?' Well, I thought an' thought an' finally I says, ‘No, I don't know nobody name' Jesus. I know a bunch of stories, but I only love people'" (Steinbeck 1976: 30). After Casy challenged his inner belief of God and Jesus, he began to openly accept and tolerate unorthodox behavior. Some of his new beliefs not only questioned the basic belief in God and Jesus, but also the content of the Bible. He openly condemns certain situations, labels, sexual orient, behavior, and practices. Casy gave up preaching because he recognized his own hypocrisy, and felt remorse that after every meeting he used to "take one of them girls out in the grass … an' … lay with her" (Steinbeck 1976: 29). Casy offers himself as the sacrifice to save his people and takes upon himself the sins of others. When Tom is about to be arrested, Casy tells the police that he is the guilty one. "It was me, all right … I'll go ‘thout no trouble" (Steinbeck 1976: 343 ).

However Jim Casy is a symbol of hope, dreams, spirit and the oneness of all humanity. He is a role-model to anyone who aspires to think original thoughts. His defiance of organized religion is in my opinion thought-provoking and inspiring. His essence of understanding, dreams, love, hope and belief in an almighty holiness can be summed up in one quote,

"An' Almighty God never raised no wages. These here folks went to live decent and bring up their kids decent. An' when they're old they wanta set in the door an' watch the downing sun. An' when the're young they wanta dance an' sing an' lay together. They wanta eat an' get drunk and work. An' that's it – they wanta jus' fling their goddamn muscles aroun' an' get tired" (Steinbeck 1976: 32). The Grapes of Wrath traces the transformation of the Protestant individual into the member of a social group – the old ‘I' becomes 'we'. It also continues the poetic though of Walt Whitman – the transformation of the passive individual into the active participant. "One's self I sing, a simple separate person," Whitman had proclaimed. But Steinbeck emphasizes the group above the individual and faces the problem of social integration. "This is the beginning," he writes, "from ‘I' to 'we'" (Steinbeck 1976: 194). "And from this first ‘we,' there grows a still more dangerous thing: ‘I have a little food ‘ plus 'I have none.' If from this problem the sum is ‘We have a little food,' the thing is on its way, the movement has direction" (Steinbeck 1976: 194). A new social group is forming, and in this new group the individual may become greater than himself.

Jim Casy's philosophy motivates and gives significance to the lives of Tom Joad, and Ma, and Rose of Sharon. His ideas direct the Joads' actions. They continue, develop, integrate, and realize the thought of the great writers of American history: the mystical transcendentalism of Emerson and the earthy democracy of Whitman. The Transcendentalists believed "in the essential unity of all creation, the innate goodness of man, and the supremacy of insight over logic and experience for the revelation of the deepest truth" (Tedlock 1957: 243). By the end of the book these ideas find embodiment in character and action. "For the first time in history, The Grapes of Wrath brings together and makes real three great skeins of American thought. It begins with the transcendental Oversoul, Emerson's faith in the common man, and his Protestant self-reliance. To this it joins Whitman's religion of the love of all men and his mass democracy. And it combines these mystical and poetic ideas with the realistic philosophy of pragmatism and its emphasis on effective action" (Tedlock 1957: 249).

Jim Casy "translates American philosophy into words of one syllable, and the Joads translate it into action" (Tedlock 1957: 242).

4.2 Tom Joad

At the beginning of the novel Tom's attitude is individualistic. He is only concerned with his own wants and desires and feels no trace of shame for having killed a man. As he puts it, "'I'm still laying my dogs down one at a time,'" and "'I climb fences when I got fences to climb'" (Steinbeck 1976: 224). Tom Joad seems just another Okie, a man who had killed another man in a brawl at a dance, often rough of speech, and not always kind to others. At first Tom does not show any sympathy with Casy's idea of One Big Soul. But we gradually become aware that he is different from his kinsmen. His mother said to him, "'I knowed from the time you was a little fella … Ever'thing you do is more ‘n you. When they sent you up to prison I knowed it. You're spoke for'" (Steinbeck 1976: 531). Tom's killing of a Californian deputy for having, in his turn, brutally slain the non-violent Casy parallels with the biblical Moses who has also killed to avenge another in justice. For "when Moses was grown" he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew laborer, and killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand. The next day, seeing that his deed was known, Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Median. Like Moses, Tom experiences no sense of guilt but only the urge to flee those who would prosecute him. After Tom kills the California deputy he must escape into a completely different way of life. Ma Joad's role in Tom's flight is to recognize the probability of him being caught and found guilty by a court of law. Even perhaps more than Tom himself she sees the necessity for his escape: "'You got to go away, Tom …'" (Steinbeck 1976: 535). When Tom is hiding out in the cave, after having struck down the vigilante, he has time to think of Casy and his message, so that in his last meeting with his mother, in which he asserts his spiritual unit with all men, it is evident that he has moved from material and personal resentment to ethical indignation. When Tom says, "'An' when our folks eat the stuff they raise an' live in the houses they build – why I'll be there,'" (Steinbeck 1976:537) he is paraphrasing Isaiah: "And they shall build houses and inhabit them, they shall not build and another inhabit, they shall not plant and another eat" (65: 21-22). When Casy is killed, Tom is chosen to lead his people. He becomes the new Moses who will lead the oppressed people. Ma explains: "'They's some folks that's just theirself, an' nothin' more. There's Al for instance he's jus't a young felly after a girl. You wasn't never like that, Tom'" (Steinbeck 1976: 184). Because he has been an individualist, but through the influence of Casy and of his group idea has become more than himself, Tom becomes a leader of the people. Tom feels compelled to remember his teaching and reflects on Casy's ideas and decides to translate them into actions. He now believes that his soul is part of a big soul and that he will always be present everywhere. He has learned to work and love for humankind and embraces Casy's mixture of Emersonian idealism and a particular form of American communalism. He finally realizes that he too is part of mankind's collective soul and that the only way to fight poverty and poor treatment is to take unified action. At the end of the novel, when Tom tells Ma goodbye and explains why he must leave he tells her that he must take up the struggle where Casy had fallen. Casy "Spouted out some scripture once, an' it didn' soun' like no hell-fire scriptures" (Steinbeck 1976: 535). He tells her that "he was like a lantern. He helped me to see things too" (Steinbeck 1976: 535). Tom explains to his mother Casy's theory of Christian symbolism and at this point becomes Casy's disciple. He has learned from his master, and now he takes up his master's work. He becomes determined to make a difference, to make Casy's death a gain instead of a loss. Though he would vanish from his parents' sight and they would not know where he was, Tom will ‘live' because his life becomes a part of all life. Ma says to him: "'They might kill ya an' I wouldn't know'" (Steinbeck 1976: 537). And Tom answers: "'Then it don' matter. Then I'll be all aroun' in the dark. I'll be ever'where – wherever you look. Wherever they's a fight so hungry people can eat, I'll be there. Wherever they's a cop beatin' up a guy, I'll be there. If Casy knowed, why, I'll be in the way guys yell when they're mad an' – I'll be in the way kids laugh when they're hungry an' they know supper's ready. An' when our folks eat the stuff they raise an' live in the houses they build – why, I'll be there'" (Steinbeck 1976: 537).

It is not only "Lo, I am with you always" (Steinbeck 1976: 35) but also "where two or three are gathered together … there am I in the midst of them" (Steinbeck 1976: 34) and it is identity with the hungry, thirsty, sick, naked, and imprisoned, as expressed in Matthew 25:35-45. When Tom Joad, Casy's disciple and spiritual successor, leaves his family to join the larger social body of migrants, he has learned Casy's lesson that each man's "little piece of a soul wasn't no good ‘less it was with the rest, an' was whole. … I know now a fella ain't no good alone" (Steinbeck 1976: 535). Tom leaves as a reborn individual who has taken on a new identity: he is no longer the Tom Joad who had stepped out of a penitentiary in Oklahoma. Tom Joad's personality thus undergoes a change brought on by the kind of education he has received at the hands of society, especially at the hands of the deputies who for him represent that society. In the end preacher Casy has come to embody everything Tom has begun to respect. If Casy is the novel's Christ figure, then Tom can be identified with one of the most important figures in the early Church, Saint Paul (Levant, 43). Like Paul (Acts 9), Tom suddenly undergoes a conversion: "Then it don't matter. … See? God, I'm talkin' like Casy. Comes of thinkin' about him so much. Seems like I can see him sometimes" (Steinbeck 1976: 537). One could compare Tom's intended objective with Paul's letters to the churches in the New Testament: they both have an evangelical goal. Both would like to see their vision materialize in the people and do social good. Both of them are promoting doctrines that support the equality of all human beings.

4.3 Rose of Sharon At the end of the novel the Joads have reached a condition of utter desolation. Rose of Sharon represents a Biblical allusion toward the end of the novel. She has given birth to a dead baby, she is weak and her breast is heavy with milk. The Joads come upon a boy and a starving old man, too weak to eat the bread his son had stolen for him. Ma knows what must be done, but the decision is Rosaharn's : "Ma's eyes passed Rose of Sharon's eyes, and then came back to them. And the two women looked deep into each other. The girl's breath came short and gasping. "She said, ‘Yes'" (Steinbeck 1976: 580). In this, her Gathsemane, Rosaharn says, in effect, "Not my will, but Thine be done." The meaning of this final paragraph is clear in terms of Christian symbolism. Rosaharn gives what Christ gave, what we receive in memory of Him. Her sacrifice suggests the notion of rebirth through Christ's physical body which is symbolized in the ritual of communion.
The ultimate mystery of the Christian religion is realized as Rosaharn "Looked up and across the barn and her lips came together and smiled mysteriously" (Steinbeck 1976: 581). This is my body, says Rosaharn, and becomes the life-giver and the resurrected aspect of Christ.

When she tells the man to drink her milk she alludes to the Last Supper when Christ tells his disciples "Take, drink; this is my blood." Rose of Sharon realizes this man will die without her, in the same way Christ said that without him people will die spiritually. Rose of Sharon exemplifies the idea of helping others in need through her actions in the conclusion of the novel. Another noticeable reference to religion occurs when an old woman in Weedpatch comes to Rose of Sharon and tries to scare her into submission to the lord. The woman states: "'They ain't but a few down Jesus-lovers lef'" (Steinbeck 1976: 396). Steinbeck, through this old woman, is warning us of the impending death of religion. Yet, he seems to have no problem with this if the manager's sentiments as reported by the old woman are any indication: "'He don't believe in sin. Tol' me hisself. Says the sin is bein' hungry. Says the sin is bein' cold. Says – I tell ya', he tol' me hisself – can't see God in them things'" (Steinbeck 1976: 398). This serves as a warning that perhaps the reason for the death of religion is in the sorry state of current affairs. We also see the symbolic "death of religion" in Rose of Sharon herself. In the Christian tradition, Rose of Sharon is another name for Mary, the mother of Jesus. Thus, Rose of Sharon's son can be said to symbolize Christianity and thus organized American religion in general. Thus we come to the conclusion that religion is dead and there is no home for salvation. Another parallel to the bible occurs when uncle John sets Rose of Sharon's stillborn child in an old apple crate, like Moses in the basket, sets the box in a stream "among the willow stems," and floats it towards the town saying, "Go down an' tell 'em. Go down in the streets an' rot an' tell ‘em that way. That's the way you can talk. Don' even know if you was a boy or a girl, Ain't gonna find out. Go on down now, an' lay in the street. Maybe they'll know then" (Steinbeck 1976: 571f). John sends the dead baby down the flood as a judgment and curse on the society that produced it.

4.4 Ma Joad

"Her full face was not soft; it was controlled, kindly. Her hazel eyes seemed to have experienced all possible tragedy and to have mounted pain and suffering like steps into a high calm and a superhuman understanding. She seemed to know, to accept, to welcome her position, the citadel of the family, the strong place that could not be taken. … And from her great and humble position in the family she had taken dignity and a clean calm beauty. From her position as healer, her hands had grown sure and cool and quiet; from her position as arbiter she had become as remote and faultless in judgment as a goddess" (Steinbeck 1976: 95f). Ma is the strongest character of all. She is a tower of strength in all that concerns the family welfare and the great mission of keeping them together and intact. She is the voice of right feeling and generous impulse and she represents the state of natural grace to which Casy aspires from the beginning. But it is her misfortune to see them fall away one by one under the terrible stress of their misfortunes: Granma and Grampa die on their journey to California, Noah and Connie desert the family for selfish reasons, Casy dies, and in the end Rosaharn gives birth to a stillborn child. Even after Noah and Connie desert the family, the identity of the clan remains Ma Joad's primary fixation. Trained by years of suffering hardships silently, she is prepared to hold the family-group together until the men are once again ready to assume responsibility. She is the real rock upon which the family has built its trust and she looks to the future with gritty determination. Before the family was forced to leave their country Ma was a wife and mother whose only occupation in life was a housewife. Ever since the family travelled to California, she slowly began to take charge. She becomes increasingly influential in the decision-making process and acts with authority. Ma chooses to take command. She wants to motivate her family in every possible way and encourages joy and survival. She is patient in her labors and determined to reduce fear in her family. By doing this, she and her family, are successfully able to overcome their hardships. Ma's attitude and position as a leader gives the family hope and inspiration. Her behavior as a mother and as a commander proves to me that she is a strong and wilful person. Throughout the novel she emerges as a symbol of love, a person who instinctively cares for others. There is no question that Ma Joad makes the most important contributions to the family stability. When Ma Joad proudly asserts "'Why, Tom, we're the people that live. They ain't gonna wipe us out. Why, we're the people – we go on. … Rich fellas come up an' they die, an' their kids ain't no good, an' they die out. But, Tom, we keep a-comin''" (Steinbeck 1976: 360), she is reflecting the attitude that sustained the Israelites in their days of troubled fight. When Tom is looking for a suitable verse to bury with Grampa Ma tells Tom "Turn to Psalms, over further. You kin always get somepin outa Psalms" (Steinbeck 1976: 183). And it is from Psalms that she gets her phrase: "For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand" (95: 7). This "chosen people" motif is pervasive in the novel and suggests several possibilities: the migrants, like the people of Israel, are "chosen" to wander in search of a promised land, to suffer indignities as a test of their right to survive, and to receive a new code of law from which to build their new world: "Then leaders emerged, then laws were made, then codes came into being" (Steinbeck 1976: 250). Finally the Joads were chosen to bring forth a Christ who will preach a new faith. Jim Casy is that Christ. The fact that Jim Casy joins the Joads on their journey to California is the first remarkable illustration of Ma's strength and willpower. Only because Ma overrides the objections of her husband, whose concerns for their space needs, and the small amount of money and little food they have, lead him to think it unwise to take an extra person on the trip. Questioned on the matter, Ma replies: "'It ain't kin we? It's will we? … As far as ‘kin,' we can't do nothin', not to go to California or nothin'; but as far as ‘will,' why we'll do what we will' … ‘One more ain't gonna hurt; an' a man, strong an' healthy; ain't never no burden'" (Steinbeck 1976: 132). When the conversation ends, Casy has been accepted and Ma has gained new authority. Another example of Ma's leadership occurs on the family's way to California when they meet the Wilsons whose car had a breakdown. Tom suggests that the family continues driving while he and Casy stay behind to fix the Wilson's car. Ma Joad is furious with this idea. She brings out a jack handle and says, "'You done this ‘thout thinkin' much. What we got lef' in the world'? Nothin' but us. Nothin' but the folks. … An' now, right off, you want to bust up the folks'" (Steinbeck 1976: 181). Ma does not want the family to separate at such a crucial time. An important illustration of Ma's centeredness in the family occurs at the time of the death of the grandmother on the long night in which the family crosses the desert into California. Lying with the dead old woman all night to hide Granma's death from the rest of the group, Ma's only thought is: "The fambly hadda get acrost" (Steinbeck: 294). The fact that she is alone with her secret of the true state of the old woman's condition, and her consideration for the other members of the family, especially for the future of the younger children and for her daughter's unborn child, show her great determination to protect the family. Only after they have arrived safely on the other side of the desert does she give the information to the others.

During the family's month's stay in the government-run migrant camp at Weedpatch they find a communal haven. There are no cops, there is hot water, there are inside toilets and there are Saturday night dances. But because there is no work there for the family discontent creeps in and Ma is the first to recognize its signs and revives their anger and their spirit: "You ain't got the right to get discouraged. This here fambly's goin' under. … We got to git goin', an' goin' quick. It ain't a-settin' here no longer, no matter how nice" (Steinbeck 1976: 451f ). Ma's position as a commander is very well illustrated when she makes a decision without consulting the family. As soon as she hears that there is a job in the north of California, she says, "'We're a-goin'' … ‘I don' care what the pay is. We're a-goin''" (Steinbeck 1976: 451). Her husband's reaction is, "'Seems like time is changed. Time was when a man said what we'd do. Seems like women is tellin' now. Seems like it's purty near time to get out a stick" (Steinbeck 1976: 452f). But Pa Joad makes no attempt to beat her, for she quickly reminds him that men have the "right" to beat their women only when they are adequately performing their masculine roles. "You get your stick Pa," she said. "Times when they's food an' a place to set, then maybe you can use your stick an' keep your skin whole. But you ain't a-doin' your job, either a-thinkin' or a-workin'. If you was, why, you could use your stick, an' women folks'd sniffle their nose an' you ain't lickin' no woman you're a fightin', ‘cause I got a stick all laid out too" (Steinbeck 1976: 453).

5 Minor characters In the same way as the major characters, the minor characters also play an important role in understanding the biblical structure of the novel. In the following pages I will deal with Pa Joad's role as the struggling Christian, Connie Rivers as the Judas figure, Noah Joad and his biblical namesake, and possible reasons for Granma and Grampa's sudden death.

5.1 Pa Joad

Pa has a weaker personality than Ma Joad. He undergoes a loss of identity when his stable life as a farmer is destroyed. Pa does not adapt to the new migrant way of life, in the same way as Granma and Grampa do not. Pa Joad continues to live in the past and cannot face the present circumstances. He is the helpless victim of an indifferent environment and cannot understand the new forces of capitalism. Pa spends all his free time thinking about how it used to be. His foolishness is shown when he sells the entire belongings of the Joads for only eighteen dollars. Despite his shortcomings, Pa is a good man who is not afraid of hard work. But his concept of family is more constricted than that of Ma Joad. Pa questions whether they can afford to take Casy along and wonders if they will be able to feed an extra mouth. "'But I'm wanderin' if we can all ride, an' the preacher too. An' kin we feed an extra mouth'" (Steinbeck 1976: 131)? Pa's primary concern is only for the immediate family members. He is more self-absorbed than Ma, who shows no hesitation in taking the ex-preacher along. Pa never shows any awareness of the implications of Casy's philosophy. He is merely concerned with himself and shows no desire to sacrifice for others. As Tom correctly observes, Pa is merely concerned with earning his own meal even if it is at the expense of others. Throughout the novel, he never acts for the good of humanity at large. When Pa Joad needs help and seeks guidance during the journey, it is Casy who he turns to. Steinbeck implies that Pa Joad is symbolically a typical Christian who is struggling in a world of sin. He represents a child of God who turns to Jesus Christ for salvation and release from the sin in his life. Casy and Grampa display both the giving and receiving sides of God's love towards his children. Jim Casy gives his guidance and direction as Pa Joad and his family take in his advice.

Pa Joad relinquishes his authority over the family and looks to Ma for direction in making decisions. He sadly remarks, "'Funny! Woman takin' over the fambly. Woman sayin' we'll do this here, an' we'll go there. An' I don' even care'" (Steinbeck 1976: 458). Ma consoles him by saying that women adapt themselves to changing circumstances more readily than men. Pa's effort of building a mud embankment proves futile, and he is unable to check the advancing flood waters in the box car camp. In the beginning of the novel Pa was offended by Ma's authority but at the end he obeys her decision that they must move to a saver and drier shelter. "'Maybe the water – maybe we'll have to go.' ‘When it's time to go – we'll go. We'll do what we got to do. Now hush.'" (Steinbeck 1976: 568).

5.2 Connie Rivers

Another parallel to the bible occurs when Connie Rivers, Rose of Sharon's young husband complains about the hopelessness of the Joads' plights, to which he sees himself tied. In this way Connie represents the traitor, the Judas figure who had betrayed Jesus the night of his arrest when he walks out on his family for selfish reasons. Not only did Connie desert the Joads selfishly at the critical moment of reaching Hooverville, but just before he did so he told his wife Rosaharn that he would have done better to stay home "an' study ‘bout tractors. Three dollars a day they get, an' pick up extra money, too" (Steinbeck 1976: 324).
Connie continues to move on. It does not matter where, so long as it is away from responsibility.

5.3 Noah Joad

In the same way as Connie Rivers, Noah, the eldest son of the Joads family is unable to cope with the hardships of a new start, unlike his biblical namesake, and because he lacks the will power to continue the tiresome journey to California he abandons the family at the Colorado River. When the rains come at the end of the novel they flood the desolate country. Of course, Noah is nowhere to be found and cannot lead the people nor the animals to safety.

5.4 Granma and Grampa

Granma and Grampa are vividly depicted. "He fought and argued, told dirty stories. He was as lecherous as always. Vicious and cruel and impatient, like a frantic child, and the whole structure overlaid with amusement" (Steinbeck 1976: 54). Grampa is a rather childish old fellow. He retains his position as the titular head of the family, but his position was honorary and a matter of custom. When the Joads gather around the truck in a family council to decide about when to leave for California, Grampa has the right to make the first comment but actual decision is made by the strong and wise, by Pa and Tom, and above all by Ma. At first, Grampa is enthusiastic about the prospect of moving to a more fertile land:

"'Jus' let me get out to California where I can pick me an orange when I want it. Or grapes. There's a thing I ain't ever had enough of. Gonna get me a whole big bunch a grapes off a bush, or whatever, an' I'm gonna squash ‘em on my face, an' let ‘em run offen my chin'" (Steinbeck 1976: 107).

But when the moment for departure arrives, Grampa refuses to leave the land, which he settled. His roots in the ground are too strong and he cannot bear to tear them up. "Me – I'm stayin'. I give her a goin'-over all night mos'ly. This here's my country. I b'long here. An' I don't give a goddamn if they's oranges an' grapes crowdin' a fella outa bed even. I ain't a-goin'. This country ain't no good, but it's my country. No, you all go ahead. I'll jus' stay right here where I b'long" (Steinbeck 1976: 143).

Grampa has to be drugged and physically carried to the truck. But Grampa belongs with the land and dies of a stroke on the very first night of the journey. He is buried alongside the road in Oklahoma and Casy says a few words for him: "This here ol' man jus' lived a life an' just died out of it. I don't know whether he was good or bad, but that don't matter much. He was alive, an' that's what matters. An' now he's dead, an' that don't matter" (Steinbeck 1976: 184).

Granma is the most devoutly Christian of the Joads and fervent in her beliefs. She asks Casy to say grace before breakfast and orders him to pray when Grampa is dying: "'Pray, you. Pray, I tell ya.' … ‘Pray, goddamn you!'" (Steinbeck 1976: 176). Granma's life loses meaning with the death of Grampa, and she dies soon after his death.

Ma regrets that neither Grampa nor Granma survived to see the fertile Californian valleys. Tom rightly perceives that both of them were too advanced in age to redefine themselves and to confront any new experiences. "'They was too old,' he said. ‘They wouldn't of saw nothin' that's here. Grampa would a been a-seein' the Injuns an' the prairie country when he was a young fella. An' Granmy would a remembered an' seen the first home she lived in. They was too ol''" (Steinbeck 1967: 295).

Conclusion

As you could see in my paper there is a sequence of familiar Christian symbols in The Grapes of Wrath, appearing at structural crises of the plot, dominating the narrative, determining the characterization, revealing the theme as conscious and consistent Christian allegory.

In my paper I have not only listed the most important biblical parallels but also have I tried to figure out which role the most essential characters of the novel play in this biblical context. My main sources for this paper were Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath itself and The Holy Bible and I really tried hard to support all my theories by concrete examples.

I believe that the reason Steinbeck uses so many references to religion in the novel is that as a society, we are used to and supposed to look to religion as a source of answers and guidance. Through his sometimes negative representation of religion, Steinbeck criticizes this ideal. He makes the readers examine their own view of the religious life and truly forces them to think.