End of Novel Discussion

What did you think of the novel?
– Style of writing – macroscopic vs. microscopic
view; simple, straightforward narrative about the
Joads and “experimental” writing in the intercalary
chapters
– Covers a range of issues – transcendentalism,
exploitation of the weak/poor, ties to the Old/New
Testament, concepts of family and how it extends to
a grander idea of family
– He leaves you with some ambiguous scenes/ending

Is the ending of the novel hopeful or
despairing? What gives you this impression?
– Last intercalary chapter (29)?

Is there a feeling of closure with the Joad
family members? What is happening to the
members of the family?
– Conversations between Ma and Tom (417-419) &
Ma and Pa (423)
– Rose of Sharon: Interesting behaviors (425 & 455)
– Uncle John: “burying” the baby (448)
Religious References

Jim Casy as Jesus Christ
– Share the same initials
– Jesus went into the wilderness to find his
direction as does Casy when he loses his faith
in religion

Casy says, “I got tired like Him, an’ I got mixed up
like Him, an’ I went into the wilderness like Him,
without no campin’ stuff.”

Casy stirs unrest in the view of the
establishment and has abandoned the
hellfire and brimstone preaching style of his
earlier life
– Similar to Jesus changing from the teaching of
the Old Testament to promote a new harmony
and sense of brotherhood

His disciple can be seen as Tom Joad, who
follows him initially, learning from him, till
he is ready to take over the message himself

Both try to help the weak and poor
 Last lines are similar, “You don’ know what
you’re a-doin.”
– (Luke 23:34) “Father. Forgive them; for they
know not what they do.”

Jesus and his twelve disciples = Casy and
the Joad family (Granpa, Granma, Uncle
John, Ma, Pa, Noah, Tom, Rose of Sharon,
Connie, Al, Ruthie, and Winfield)
– Connie could represent the Judas figure who
betrays Jesus the night of his arrest when he
walks out on his family for selfish reasons
More religious references
References to the sins of characters – especially
Uncle John
 Biblical names – John, Noah, Rose of Sharon

– Rose of Sharon = from the Song of Solomon (Old
Testament): “I am the Rose of Sharon, and the lily of
the valleys …”

Burying Rose of Sharon’s baby
– Similar to the story of Moses being sent down
river in hopes of being found and saved

The dialogue/dialect of the various
characters constantly use words like, “Jesus
Christ,” “Christ Almighty.”
– There are even lines like “Jes us” (394) when
the speaker is saying “Just us”

The title comes from “The Battle Hymn of the
Republic” and is emphasized in the Jeremaid (tale
of grief, named after the Old Testament prophet
Jeremiah) in chapter 25
– “In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are
filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the
vintage.” (349)

Book of Revelation shows God’s wrath in the
prophecies of the Apocalypse
– “And the angel thrust his sickle into the earth, and
gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great
winepress of the wrath of God” (Rev. 14:19)
Joad family’s journey to California is similar to
the Israelites’ journey from Egypt to Canaan
 Casy’s character could also be tied to Moses

– In the Bible’s book of Exodus, Moses guided
thousands of people (God’s family, the Israelites, 12
tribes) out of severe slavery and harsh treatment in
Egypt. From there he led them into the promised
land of Canaan that flowed with milk and honey.
– Steinbeck could be inferring the Joad family as being
the struggling Israelites. Casy acts as a leader who
directs the Joads out of famine and hard times during
the 30s

Steinbeck infers that Casy, who happens to be a
preacher, is somewhat a Christ figure to the
Joad family
– When Pa (and Uncle John) needs help and seeks
guidance, Casy is who he turns to
– Implies that Pa (Uncle John) is symbolically a
typical Christian who is struggling in a world of sin
 Famine and horrible conditions of the Great
Depression stand for the sin that is surrounding
this battling Christian
 So as a final resort this child of God turns to
Jesus Christ for salvation and release from the sin
of his life
Test Review

Character ID: Joad family, Muley Graves,
the Wainwrights, Lisabeth Sandry, Timothy
and Wilkie Wallace, the Wilsons, Floyd
Knowles, Jim Casy, Jim Rawley
 True/False & Multiple choice based on
events in the story and intercalary chapters
 Quote ID/Significance & Short Answers