The Joads' Truck as Noah's Ark

Packing the Truck

As you read The Grapes of Wrath, you'll come across several descriptions of the Joads' truck. Since they, like other migrant families, can only take as much as they can carry with them, they have to get pretty creative in their packing and traveling. In Chapter 10, we read the following description of the packing process:

'Out in the dark yard, working in the lantern light, Pa and Al loaded the truck. Tools on the bottom, but handy to reach in case of a breakdown. Boxes of clothes next, and kitchen utensils in a gunny sack; cutlery and dishes in their box. Then the gallon bucket tied on behind. They made the bottom of the load as even as possible and filled the spaces between boxes with rolled blankets. Then over the top they laid the mattresses, filling the truck in level.'

On top of the mattresses, several of the family would ride along, sitting on the level mattresses.

Similarities to Noah's Ark

Descriptions like this can bring to mind Noah's Ark. Just like Noah had to gather all the animals who would be able to survive the flood, the Joads have to gather together everything they own that they want to survive the current upheaval in their world. While it is difficult to imagine this kind of traveling, in our modern world of seatbelt laws and car seats, the migrant families were essentially in the same position as Noah and his family: watching the destruction of their world and finding a way to travel to the next one.

Jim Casy as Jesus Christ

Traveling with the Joads on their make-shift Noah's Ark was another figure who brings to mind the Bible: Jim Casy, the stand-in for Jesus Christ in The Grapes of Wrath.

Jim's Sacrifices

As you have probably noticed in your reading, many times if a character has the initials J.C., it is not by coincidence. A good rule of thumb is that if you come across a character with these initials, you should probably begin looking for imagery to Christ. Jim Casy does not let us down on this front. As he travels with the Joads he has several opportunities to sacrifice himself for those close to him. His first major sacrifice is when he takes the blame for something Tom has done, and ends up in jail. His second and more significant sacrifice is when he leads some workers in striking for fair pay, and ends up being murdered by the men sent to break up the strike.

Jim's Words

Just in case these moments of self-sacrifice are not enough to convince you that you are dealing with a Christ figure, Jim also utters some familiar words just before he is murdered. Tom tells Ma in Chapter 26, 'Casy said 'You don' know what you're a-doin'.' Ma is startled to hear these words because they bring to mind what Jesus is reported to have said at his Crucifixion when He asks for forgiveness for his killers because 'they know not what they do.'

The Promised Land

Perhaps the most significant nod to the Bible is the promise of California, which signifies the promised land in the novel. The migrant families pin their hopes on California as a place where they will be able to get jobs and live in relative comfort. Throughout their difficult journey to California, the Joads frequently dream about what life will be like when they arrive in this place where food is plentiful. This theme is meant to bring to mind the land of Canaan, which is promised to the Israelites who are fleeing Egypt in the book of Exodus. The Joads and their fellow migrants, however, reach their promised land but are unable to partake of any of its bounty. In essence, they work the land and can admire its beauty, but they are not able to benefit from it.

Rose of Sharon's Baby

Near the end of The Grapes of Wrath, Rose of Sharon finally gives birth, but the baby is stillborn. Uncle John is given the task of burying the baby. However, in the end, he decides to put the baby in an apple box and send the body down the river and into the town, hoping that the baby will cause the townspeople to wake up to the reality that the migrant families have been living with. The image of a baby being sent down a river brings to mind Moses from the Old Testament, who was placed in a basket of reeds by a river in the hope of saving his life. Back then, the Pharaoh had ordered all Hebrew children to be killed in an effort to keep the numbers of Israelites down. The sad conclusion to the story of Rose of Sharon's baby turns the Moses story on its head. The people of California fear the migrant families just as the Pharaoh feared the Israelites, but in the case of Rose of Sharon's baby, this fear indirectly brought about the baby's death because of the way Rose of Sharon was forced to live.

Lesson Summary

The Grapes of Wrath includes several instances of Biblical imagery, including Jim Casy as an allusion to Jesus Christ, Rose of Sharon's baby as an allusion to Moses, California as a 'promised land' like Canaan, and the Joads' truck as a more modern version of Noah's Ark. Generally speaking, the events in The Grapes of Wrath don't turn out as well as their Biblical counterparts, which reinforces the undercurrent of tragedy throughout the book.

 

In 'The Grapes of Wrath', Steinbeck uses war imagery to illustrate the difficult lives of the migrants as well as the conflict between the different classes during the Great Depression. This lesson looks at some examples of this imagery in context.

The Context of The Grapes of Wrath

Imagine if you and your family were suddenly told you had to leave the home where you'd lived for years. You would have to pack up what you could and hope to find a new life in an area you knew nothing about. Would this experience feel like evidence of economic adjustments to you? Or would you feel similar to a victim of war?

Although the Great Depression was not a war, this is surely what it must have felt like to its greatest victims. John Steinbeck uses war imagery to make this point throughout his work. Imagery is when writers use descriptive language to paint a picture that evokes certain emotions in their readers.

Tractors as Tanks

The Grapes of Wrath begins with descriptions of families being driven away from their homes and off their lands. The sharecroppers are no longer relevant in the new economy, which depends on machines working the lands more efficiently and for less cost. Although the families are not expelled with the kind of violence that is associated with war, Steinbeck makes the case that the effect of the expulsion is not much different.

In Chapter 14, he cleverly compares the tractors to tanks in order to make this point: 'But this tractor does two things - it turns the land and it turns us off the land. There is little difference between this tractor and a tank. The people are driven, intimidated, hurt by both.'

While most of us look at tractors as benign machines that do not pose a threat to people, it is likely that the families who lost their homes looked at them somewhat differently; they were forced to leave their homes by these machines, just as they might have been driven away by tanks.

 

Steinbeck compares tractor to tanks

 

The Positive Side of War

In Chapter 14, Steinbeck highlights the silver lining of difficult times in human history. He makes the case that mankind is constantly moving forward, but has occasional setbacks. These setbacks are merely a 'half a step' backwards, and will not hold humanity back for long before people take another step forward toward progress.

Steinbeck argues that mankind goes into battle because of the passions on both sides, and that the time to worry is when people no longer care enough to fight. He writes, 'If the step were not being taken, if the stumbling-forward ache were not alive, the bombs would not fall, the throats would not be cut. Fear the time when the bombs stop falling while the bombers live - for every bomb is proof that the spirit has not died.'