Jim Casy In John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath
In the Grapes of Wrath, there many characters who play key roles in driving the plot. Jim Casy seems to be the one character who is irreplaceable making him one of the most influential characters in this novel. At the beginning of the book, he has unique thoughts about sins, but he is perceived at first as only a preacher. He is just along for the ride when Tom finds him. However, he turns into much more than that not only by being a unifier for the Joad family, but also one for the migrants and mankind overall. Jim Casy is just an average preacher when he is first presented in the novel, but he is lost. He does not know what he truly believes and realizes he cannot preach until he understands his own thoughts. His ideas of sin and God seem unconventional, but they play a huge role later on in the novel. He slowly progresses to the idea that there is an oversoul, meaning all souls are just a smaller portion of a bigger soul. Casy expresses his own philosophical views on religion to Tom which are absurd to Tom. He tells Tom that “there ain’t no sin and there ain’t no virtue. There’s just stuff people do. It’s all part of the same.” Tom doesn’t really take notice to Casy’s views, but later in the novel he comes to the realization that what Casy was preaching to him does indeed
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He started off as nothing but a preacher with unconventional ideas and ended as a respected philosopher, changing how people act and deal with hardships. He was able to find himself despite all the other issues that were going on around him. This attests to Casy’s want to help everyone around him. Jim Casy’s views don’t only apply to this novel, they should apply to human kind. People should explore their purpose in life, finding ways they can better themselves and society as a whole. Overall, Jim Casy is an influential character who makes an impact in many people’s lives in The Grapes of Wrath
He started off as nothing but a preacher with unconventional ideas and ended as a respected philosopher, changing how people act and deal with hardships. He was able to find himself despite all the other issues that were going on around him. This attests to Casy’s want to help everyone around him. Jim Casy’s views don’t only apply to this novel, they should apply to human kind. People should explore their purpose in life, finding ways they can better themselves and society as a whole. Overall, Jim Casy is an influential character who makes an impact in many people’s lives in The Grapes of Wrath