Feudalism In The Grapes Of Wrath

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In John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath”, the American cultural mainsteam ideas on capitalism, religion. During the great depression, as the dust bowl struck the Midwest, many people fell on extreme hard times and began to question cultural assumptions in America. Tom Joad represents the socialist counter-culture emerging in America, while Casy represents the movement away from a more traditionalistic religious identity, expressing his belief that there is no heaven or hell, and discussing the concept of a shared soul. At the beginning of the novel, Tom is released from jail and emerges into a changed world. In stark contrast the world he grew up in, the new world is one devastated by famine, where his people starve and die. But, in spite …show more content…

As a former preacher, a distinction he holds dear, Casy will make it very clear that he doesn’t believe in conventional ideas like sin, or even God and Jesus. Towards the beginning of the book, Casy remarks that “ 'Why do we got to hang it on God or Jesus? Maybe, ' I figgered, '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.” Jim Casy’s ideas on religion harken back to the beliefs of Ralph Waldo Emmerson when he discusses the “big soul”, or as Emmerson would have called it, the Oversoul. Casy also remarks on sin, that “Ever 'body got sins. A sin is somepin you ain 't sure about.” In his beliefs, Casy is a direct counter to the traditional view of religion, favoring a more holistic interpretation in which men can decide for themselves what is right is wrong. Following the great depression, a period of great prosperity overcame America. However, as a side result of this prosperity, many of the ideas expressed by writes of the 1940’s regarding the counter-culture began to die down. In their wake, the traditional ideas of conformity and support of capitalism increased. However, over the course of the documentary “Woodstock”, American ideas on love, profanity, and war are questioned by the Hippie counter-cultural

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