The Biblical Structure Of John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath
1 Introduction
This seminar paper tries to give some insight into the biblical structure of John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath. The reason why I chose this novel is that I am really fascinated by Steinbeck's style of writing which varies from symbolic to allegorical. After I have finished reading The Grapes of Wrath, which I consider to be one of the most effective social documents of the 1930s, I started thinking about which aspects would be the most interesting to concentrate on. Before I actually started reading books on John Steinbeck and his novels I was sure that in my paper I will deal with Christian parallels and biblical allusions. I must admit that it was a big problem to get information on this topic because most …show more content…
To every chapter dealing with the Joads, Steinbeck adds a shorter, more general, but often not less powerful chapter on the general situation. These sixteen so-called interchapters present the social, economic and historical background, telling the story of all the migrants. The novel's three well-marked divisions the drought, the journey, and sojourn in California correspond to oppression in Egypt, exodus, and settlement in Canaan. In the bibles book of Exodus, Moses guided thousands of people (God's family, the Israelites) 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. In The Grapes of Wrath the members of the Joad family are the struggling Israelites, Casy acts as a leader who directs the Joads out of famine and hard times during the 1930's in Oklahoma and into California where they can begin a new life with hope and …show more content…
In the roadside camps the migrants, like the Hebrews, formulated codes of laws to govern themselves: "Then leaders emerged, then laws were made, then codes came into being. The families learned what rights must be observed the right of privacy in the tent; the right to keep the past black hidden in the heart; the right to refuse help or accept it, to offer help or to decline it; the right of son to court and the daughter to be courted; the right of the hungry to be fed; the rights of the pregnant and the sick to transcend all other rights" (Steinbeck 1976: 250).
The laws, like the Mosaic law, forbade murder, theft, adultery, rape, and seduction, and they too included rules of sanitation, privacy, and hospitality. The migrant law breakers were banished from all camps, the Hebrew law breaker was either banished or stoned. Steinbeck's repeated "It is unlawful" echoes the "Thou shalt not" of the Decalogue. "It is unlawful to foul near the camp; it is unlawful in any way to foul the drinking water; it is unlawful to eat good, rich food near one who is hungry, unless he is asked to share" (Steinbeck 1976: 251).
2.3 Sojourn in
This seminar paper tries to give some insight into the biblical structure of John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath. The reason why I chose this novel is that I am really fascinated by Steinbeck's style of writing which varies from symbolic to allegorical. After I have finished reading The Grapes of Wrath, which I consider to be one of the most effective social documents of the 1930s, I started thinking about which aspects would be the most interesting to concentrate on. Before I actually started reading books on John Steinbeck and his novels I was sure that in my paper I will deal with Christian parallels and biblical allusions. I must admit that it was a big problem to get information on this topic because most …show more content…
To every chapter dealing with the Joads, Steinbeck adds a shorter, more general, but often not less powerful chapter on the general situation. These sixteen so-called interchapters present the social, economic and historical background, telling the story of all the migrants. The novel's three well-marked divisions the drought, the journey, and sojourn in California correspond to oppression in Egypt, exodus, and settlement in Canaan. In the bibles book of Exodus, Moses guided thousands of people (God's family, the Israelites) 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. In The Grapes of Wrath the members of the Joad family are the struggling Israelites, Casy acts as a leader who directs the Joads out of famine and hard times during the 1930's in Oklahoma and into California where they can begin a new life with hope and …show more content…
In the roadside camps the migrants, like the Hebrews, formulated codes of laws to govern themselves: "Then leaders emerged, then laws were made, then codes came into being. The families learned what rights must be observed the right of privacy in the tent; the right to keep the past black hidden in the heart; the right to refuse help or accept it, to offer help or to decline it; the right of son to court and the daughter to be courted; the right of the hungry to be fed; the rights of the pregnant and the sick to transcend all other rights" (Steinbeck 1976: 250).
The laws, like the Mosaic law, forbade murder, theft, adultery, rape, and seduction, and they too included rules of sanitation, privacy, and hospitality. The migrant law breakers were banished from all camps, the Hebrew law breaker was either banished or stoned. Steinbeck's repeated "It is unlawful" echoes the "Thou shalt not" of the Decalogue. "It is unlawful to foul near the camp; it is unlawful in any way to foul the drinking water; it is unlawful to eat good, rich food near one who is hungry, unless he is asked to share" (Steinbeck 1976: 251).
2.3 Sojourn in