Biblical Allusions in The Grapes of Wrath (adapted from ...
|Biblical Allusions in The Grapes of Wrath |
|As you may have already noticed, The Grapes of Wrath contains many allusions to the Bible. Several of the novel’s characters parallel or recall |
|figures from the Old and New Testament; some are easily recognizable, others, more subtle in their construction. |
|The Joads and the Book of Job |
|The Joad family can be directly compared to the eighteenth book of the Hebrew Bible (also known as the Old Testament),the Book of Job. The |
|Biblical story makes an example of people whose faith is tested through struggle. Satan visits God and God asks him, 'Have you seen my servant |
|Job? He is the finest man in all the earth - a man of complete integrity. He fears God and has nothing to do with evil.' (Job 1:8). God permits |
|Satan to test Job in any way, without harming him physically. After losing all his material processions and family, Job remains strong in his |
|faith, although he struggles and wrestles with such dramatic changes in his life. We observe a similar situation with the Joad family, who |
|experience drastic changes and great suffering, and who, like Job, survive due to their inner strength or faith. |
|Noah and the Flood |
|When the Joad family crams their car with their processions, it can be likened to Noah and his family in Genesis, who spend time loading the ark |
|with animals, as God has ordered. The Joads must also gather all the important things they need in order to ensure survival. As we continue |
|reading the novel, consider Noah Joad’s connection to the river and the water, as well as his relationship to the Joad family as a whole. |
|The Promised Land |
|The Book of Numbers in The Hebrew Bible tells of the arduous journey of the Israelites, who had suffered under slavery in Egypt and left to seek |
|the Promised Land. Read the following passage from Numbers 13:23: |
|When they came to what is now known as the valley of Eshcol, they cut down a cluster of grapes so large that it took two of them to carry it on a |
|pole between them! They also took samples of the pomegranates and figs. |
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|Note the similarities to Grampa Joad’s dreams about eating as many grapes as he desires once he arrives in California. Find a quotation from the |
|text that exemplifies this parallel: |
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|Jim Casy as Christ-like Figure |
|Jim Casy is believed by most literary critics and other scholars to be a Christ figure. The most obvious indicators are the shared initials |
|between the two of them and also the religious agenda they both explore. |
|Find an example from the text where Casy is described as Christ-like in appearance, behavior, or thought. |
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|Casy is the voice of the modern faith, constantly thinking and re-evaluating his ideas about how people live their lives. However, despite his |
|initial questioning and self-doubt, he also becomes a powerful champion of the poor. Casy is likened to Jesus Christ as an advocate for change, |
|and in his generosity and love for the common people. |
|Tom Joad as an apostle of Jim Casy |
|At the beginning of the novel, Tom’s return home is much like the parable of the prodigal son. However, even as a former jailbird and convicted |
|murderer, he evolves throughout his journey to become like a disciple of Jim Casy. |
|Rose of Sharon |
|The Rose of Sharon is the common name used for several plants, most commonly Hibiscus Syriacus, a medium-sized ornamental shrub with large, |
|colorful blooms. Sharon refers to a large coastal plain in what is today Western Israel and which was formerly a part of Palestine. The area was|
|settled by members of the Jewish Zionist movement beginning in the 19th Century and had fairly high population density as early as the 1930s. |
|As for the character Rosasharn in The Grapes of Wrath, her name is likely an allusion to this line from the The Hebrew Bible: "I am the rose of |
|Sharon, and the lily of the valleys" (Song of Solomon 2:1). The Song of Solomon is a collection of love poems that has been interpreted by many |
|Jewish and Christian scholars as allegorical. These scholars interpret the poems not as being about sexual or romantic love between humans, but |
|about God’s love for humanity. It is interesting to note that so far in the novel, the character Rose of Sharon seems to be a sexually active |
|young woman, but she is also described as having been transformed by her pregnancy into someone who is almost saintly in demeanor and appearance. |
|Find an example in the text that supports this claim: |
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Symbolism
.......Among the symbols that Steinbeck uses in the novel are the following:
Dust: (1) Utter ruination of a way of life; death; (2) forces beyond the control of the Joads.
The Turtle: Perseverance of the Joads.
Light Truck That Hits the Turtle: Law officers and others hostile toward the Joads.
Bulldozer: The brute power of the unfeeling, indifferent banks.
Route 66: The lands traversed by Moses and the Israelites on their way toward Canaan.
The Thousands of Migrants on the Road: The Israelites in their exodus from Egypt.
California: False Promised Land.
Rose of Sharon: Fertile and plantable future for the Joads. Sharon is a fertile plain along the coast of Israel, and a rose of sharon is a shrub with showy flowers. Early in the novel, Rose is the showy flower; late in the novel, she is the fertile plain full of promise and nourishment for survival. In the Bible, the rose of Sharon is mentioned in Chapter 2, Verse 1, of the Canticle of Canticles (or Song of Solomon).
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