Justice In John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath

When perusing The Grapes of Wrath, a reader is taken on an emotional roller coaster. Characters die left and right, to the point where their deaths become almost meaningless - but not quite. Steinbeck uses these deaths to highlight injustices against the migrants, and also uses his characters to explain justice by leading each one through the search for understanding. Each character has a different definition of justice, and a different significant role in Steinbeck’s passion play - one might even say it’s like The Passion of the Christ. Indeed, Biblical references and allusions permeate the story, weaving themselves into characters and plotlines. Each main character could be compared to a person from the Bible, so of course the question of

the day is: Who is Jesus Christ in The Grapes of Wrath? While an argument can be made for multiple characters, the one who has the strongest evidence backing him is Reverend Jim Casy. Jim Casy goes on an epic journey to find himself, and along the way he discovers what justice is to him. Reverend Casy’s search for justice brings him to understand that fairness requires a love for people; he has to “want to make ‘em happy” (23). His journey reinforces the Biblical themes of the novel, placing Casy in the role of Christ.
After questioning himself and observing the migrant’s oppression, Casy realizes that one can only be just if one loves humanity intensely. When we first meet Casy, he is still searching for true meaning in his life. He used to be a preacher, but he realized that his own actions made him a hypocrite and abandoned the practice. Extensive reflection on his soul and actions brings him to the conclusion that “There ain’t no sin and there ain’t no virtue. There’s just stuff people do… some of the things folks do is nice, and some ain’t nice, but that’s as far as any man got a right to say” (23). This is where Casy’s notion of justice begins: nobody has the right to judge others for what they do. He also states that “I only love people… I want to make ‘em happy, so I been preachin’ somepin I thought would make ‘em happy” (23). By this standard, Casy views justice as being impartial toward others at least and actively trying to help them at best. This notion influences his actions as he travels with the Joads to California. Whenever he is called upon to pray, although he is no longer a preacher, he fulfills the request because it is the right thing to do. It is his simple way of helping those he can. Along the journey, however, readers witness Casy’s personal development from a person removed from society - perhaps separated by the lingering aura of a pulpit preventing him from reaching his congregation - to a fighter in the trenches of the migrant workforce. The key moment of change lies in the Hooverville camp fight, when Casy kicks a policeman and knocks him out. During the brief respite before reinforcements arrive, Casy certifies that none of the Joads will be associated with the altercation, although Tom had tripped the deputy first. In this small act, Casy feels justified, as he is the person of least consequence in the family (265-266). It’s an act born of love, the love he has developed for the Joads and for people as a whole. His love for the Joads leads to his protecting them by taking blame from Tom’s shoulders. When in jail, Casy has his second great revelation. He witnesses a strike succeed, when the prisoners protest the food they are given. This success, coupled with the conversations he has with men in prison - often arrested due to minor offenses or trumped up accusations - inspires him to fight back against the system. His expression of justice becomes one of grandiose gestures, expressing his love for humanity as a whole. Casy sees the injustices dealt to the migrants clearly and acutely, and tries to change them if he can through activism. Unfortunately, his search for true justice is cut dramatically short before it reaches its peak, as Casy dies at the hand of a policeman breaking up the strike against low wages. Does this mean his success was invalid? No, because his search led him to the path of justice and a deeper understanding of true equality. Also, his death made a disciple of Tom Joad, who carries out his legacy by fighting for the rights of the migrants.
The Grapes of Wrath is riddled with Biblical references and imagery, and Casy is Steinbeck’s Christ figure.

While fairly obvious to anyone looking for it (Jim Casy’s intials are J.C….), Casy’s search for justice and subsequent journey just reinforces the comparison. One might say, “But Casy was a preacher already! How is he Jesus?” Well, Jesus actually had a pretty good following before he was baptized by John, and traveled in the desert for forty days. Like Jesus, Casy wanders in the “wilderness” for a time, searching his soul for sin and trying to reconnect with God. During this time he is developing his philosophy on the world and returns to civilization with a new take on spirituality - the over-soul. (It’s interesting to note that Steinbeck incorporates transcendentalism into a novel so rife with Biblical imagery; one would normally see them as separate as grape jelly and grilled cheese. However, like those happy hearts who have tried the heaven that is jelly and grilled cheese, one can understand how transcendentalism is a wonderful combination with the Bible!) Commonly preached in Christianity is the idea of one bread, one body in Christ. This very easily translates into the One Soul which Casy now touts. Casy also concludes that no man has the right to judge another man, which echoes the biblical sentiment of Luke 6:37: “Do not judge, and you will not be judged.” This sense of what judgement, what justice is, guides Casy on his travels. Casy starts his journey when he collects his first disciple in the form of Tom Joad. Tom is Casy’s Simon Peter, his right hand man and brother in all but blood. Casy joins the Joad family naturally, with hardly a second thought. While traveling west, Casy is called on to be the spiritual leader multiple times: at grandpa’s funeral, Sarah Wilson’s deathbed, etc. Much like how Jesus sometimes reluctantly performed miracles, Casy has a hesitation before prayer, but bows to the request out of love for those asking. Once in

California, Casy reaches the end of both his search for justice and his Christlike journey. The scuffle in the camp is his Garden of Gethsemane, and these lines particularly highlight the parallel: “Between the guards Casy sat proudly, his head up and the stringy muscles of his neck prominent. On his lips there was a faint smile and on his face a curious look of conquest” (267). It seems like Casy premeditated his arrest, just as Jesus was fully aware of his impending doom. Finally, the clincher moment that confirms J.C. as J.C. is when he dies the death of a martyr. Casy is leading a strike, and men come to scatter the protesters. While trying to calm one of the attackers, Casy is killed by a shovel to the head. His martyrdom for a cause, for his desire for justice, makes him into Steinbeck’s Christ figure. Like Jesus died for the sin of the entire world, Casy died for the good of his entire world; that is, the migrants.
Jesus’ main message was one of love; love for one another, love for one’s enemies, love for all of humanity. Casy discovers that love is the key to administering true justice to others. Both men sacrificed themselves for a cause they strongly believed in. So, what is the significance of Steinbeck crafting a social protest novel using aspects of the Bible? Given that his audience, 1940’s America, would be overwhelmingly Christian, it’s unlikely the similarities would go unnoticed. Steinbeck uses the biblical savior story in his novel because it’s familiar to his audiences and easy to understand. A “savior” only serves as a catalyst for change, not as the change itself. Tom, Simon-Peter, both men were inspired by their mentor’s sacrifice and went on to actually execute the plans laid in place. He uses the concept of a “savior” and puts it into a starkly realistic context - the savior is idealistic, and honorable, and has a pure philosophy, but ultimately cannot save the people. The people must save themselves.