Grapes Of Wrath Christ Figure Analysis

John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath has several criticisms on who plays the best role in being a Christ figure in the novel. According to Martin Shockley, a critic. States, “The Grapes of Wrath is itself a direct Christian allusion, suggesting the glory of the coming of the Lord, revealing that the story exist in Christian context, indicating that we should expect to find some Christian meaning” (90). Four critics lean towards Jim Casy being the Christ figure whereas Charles Dougherty is the only one to argue for Tom Joad. Even though Dougherty makes valid points to identify Tom as the Christ figure, Jim Casy’s evidence outweighs Tom’s; therefore Jim Casy is the Christ figure in the novel. To be considered and classified as a Christ figure one must meet certain requirements. The major requirements, according to a critic, Thomas Foster, is being …show more content…
This part in the novel represents the crucifixion of Jesus. In the Bible, Jesus did not try and fight against the others because He knew that time would come to prove that He was the Son of God. A critic, Dougherty, explains, “Our response to Casy in The Grapes of Wrath is that of pity for one inexorably doomed to die for the people at the hands of a brutal mob, but it is essentially one of pathos rather than of awe” (116). In actuality, Casy did stand up for the people because of what he said when he was about to be beaten in the head (crown of thorns). Before Casy was killed he stated, “You fellas don’ know what you’re doin’. You’re helpin’ to starve kids” (386). In the Bible, it is the same thing as what Jesus said when He was being crucified. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (NIV Luke 23:34). This is why Jim Casy is the best candidate for the Christ figure. He basically said the exact words that Jesus Christ himself said to the people before his