Biblical Allusions in
The Grapes of Wrath
by
Emily Cline
Poem
I can't hear him, speaking back to me.
Sprinklin' the world with dust,
like what we will all eventually come to be.
I can't see him, or touch him, or see the ridges that draw his face,
from the hard work he has said to have done, answering prayers at this so called miracle pace.
Not mine though.
Money is the new king, the new fruit from the vine.
The juiciest, the ripest, for only those powerful enough to find.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwkCtuIauIE&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active
Rose Of Sharon
Jim Casy & Jesus Christ
Rose of Sharon is mentioned once in the bible reffering to a plain girl in the middle of the bigger things in life.
Rose of Sharon is a symbol of Mary the Mother of God
The
Bank and Corporations
Last Supper Allusion
"You don' know what you're a-doin"
The bank and corporations symbolize hell.
The bank owners and tractor operators symbolize the soliders from the bible that helped Jesus to his death.
Casy is like the spiritual compass always guiding the Joad family
JC and JC initial symbolism
The last supper allusion takes place as the Joad Family is eating there last meal in their home as a family.
"While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” 27 Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. "
This allusion is also suggesting the absence of God
The Promised Land
The promised land = California
Grandpa dreaming about eating all of the grapes when he arrives to California
Genesis 28:15
“I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."
Exodus 12:25
When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony.
Noah's Ark
The Baby Moses Allusion
Noah’s ark = the Jalopy
Flood = The rain in the last part of the book
Total reference = The Joads packing up their belongings and preparing for a journey
Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
Rose of Sharon’s baby = Moses
The baby is sent down stream just like Moses was (even though Moses was living)
Exodus 2:1-10
Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.