Biblical Allusions During The Grapes Of Wrath example essay topic

The Grapes of Wrath includes many biblical allusions. First of all, we see Jim Casey as a Jesus figure. In the most obvious of senses, Casey has the same initials as Jesus, JC. Also, the 12 people who begin the journey with Casey represent the twelve disciples that Jesus had. The traitor in The Grapes of Wrath was Connie, and in the bible it was Judas. Connie and Judas both abandon their groups for their own selfish reasons.

Casey even goes so far as to compare himself to Christ by saying, "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" (109). In this first half of the book, he is thinking and gathering ideas. When Casey, like Christ, finally tries to put his ideas into action, he makes the authorities angry and is brutally killed. He dies saying to those who murder him, just as Jesus did, "You don't know what you " re a doin' " (527).

Rose of Sharon is another person in the novel who represents a biblical allusion. After she gives birth to a dead child, she gives life to a starving man by breast feeding him. Her sacrifice suggests the notion of rebirth through Christ's physical body which is still symbolized today in the ritual of communion. She also alludes to the Last Supper when she tells the man to drink from her breast as Christ said to his disciples, "Take, drink, this is my blood".

Rose of Sharon exemplifies the idea of helping others in need through her actions in the end of the novel. This is a very important concept in the bible. The Joads' journey from Oklahoma can also be paralleled to the Israelites flight from Egypt. The Joads are forced to leave Oklahoma because they are evicted from their farms when the Dust Bowl causes their land to become un fertile just as the Israelites leave Egypt to escape from slavery. The Joads travel through the "desert" which has been created by the Dust Bowl, like the Israelites travel through an actual desert in search of the Promised Land.

Both groups experience many troubles on their way to their own promised lands. In the case of the Israelites, this is Canaan, whereas in the case of the Joads, it is California. The journey to the Promised Land lasted many years, and the oldest generation died out before reaching it. In the same way, Granma and Grandpa die before they reach California. At the end of the novel, the flood is similar to the story of Noah's Ark. In both stories, heavy rains cause a flood to occur, and many other families leave their homes.

However, the Joads and Wainwrights, gather their belongings onto a platform and wait out the flood. Similarly, Noah's family gathers onto the ark for forty days until the rain stops. Lastly, we see that Christ's teaching throughout the novel which says that in the face of weakness, people must unite to become stronger. Steinbeck continually makes biblical allusions during The Grapes of Wrath.