The Grapes of Wrath | Biblical Symbolism in The Grapes of Wrath

In the following essay, R. Moore explores the biblical symbolism in Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, examing different viewpoints on the topic in light of the seeming absence of any character aspiring to a higher spiritual plane.

The biblical symbolism in John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath can be viewed as essentially messianic in nature. However, this is not to say that the message or point of the novel is in itself religious. Walter Fuller Taylor, in his commentary on the work, makes the relevant point that Jim Casy, a figure who is depicted in a very Christ-like manner by Steinbeck, actually denies any similarity between the Son of God and himself. Indeed, “the theology and ethic of Casy’s religion have little…to do withChristianity.”(1) All of life, as Casy conceives it,...

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