Analysis Of The Joads Family In The Grapes Of Wrath

Ever wonder what it is like to live through the Great Depression as a farmer? Being able to work on the land and of a sudden people are leaving their homes because they were forced to leave. The only hope these farmers have now is to move out west to look for work and to have a better life. Would these farmers be able to rebuild their lives after having their old lifestyle they have known for so long to be ripped away from them or will this new idea of moving out west turned out to be hopeless in the end? This issue happens to the Joads family in the novel The Grapes of Wrath written by John Steinbeck. The book takes place during the Great Depression. Steinbeck’s novel is about a man named Tom Joad who travels with his family from Oklahoma

One of these allusions is that when the Joads travel to California the grandparents died before they were able to reach to California. The grandpa died from a stroke and the grandmother died in the back of the pickup truck. This relates back to the allusions of Moses because when he lead the Hebrews to Israel, however he was not allowed to enter. Both Moses and the grandparents can be seen as martyrs in the allusional sense. Another example of a biblical allusion in The Grapes of Wrath is the Exodus. This allusion is interpreted because the Joads embark on a mass migration with the other migrant farmers from Oklahoma to California, which is part of the main plot in the novel. One of the main characters in the novel Jim Casy, is also another example of biblical allusions. Jim Casy is a biblical allusion because he is resembled as Jesus Christ. One reason is that Jim Casy’s initials are the same as Jesus Christ. Another reason for this connection is that Jim Casy’s death was a sacrifice for the wellbeing of other people just like Jesus Christ who sacrifice himself on the cross. To add onto this reason, Jim Casy and Jesus Christ both died with honour and self respect along with having their final words being parallel to each other. Jim Casy said this before he died, “You don’ know what you’re a-doin” (Steinbeck 386). This is similar to what Jesus Christ said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do (Like 23:24)” (Rombold 157). Steinbeck has incorporated many biblical allusions into the novel; not only linking the allusions to the characters into the novel but also to empathize the struggle the Joad’s have endure on their journey to