Pa Shows Empathy Through Actions

One way Steinbeck depicts Pa's feeling for his family is through action. For instance, in the final Chapter of the novel when Rose of Sharon is giving birth, her pain fuels Pa's determination to save the camp from flooding by building a cut-bank to stop the water. When the bank fails to hold the water, and when Rose of Sharon's child is stillborn, we can see Pa struggle with a sense of responsibility for her loss. He asks Ma, ''Did we slip up?'' he pleaded. ''Is they anything we could have of did?'' Here we can see that it's as if Pa sees his failing to stop the flood as yet another, in an accumulation of things gone wrong, that he should have been able to prevent.

Lesson Summary

In this lesson, we learn that Pa is not a religious individual, does not write to Tom while he's in jail, and has a difficult time articulating his feelings. We also come to understand that Pa's idea of family evolves over the course of the novel. Finally, we learn of Pa's empathy for suffering in the way it drives him to take action, such as tirelessly trying to prevent the family's camp from flooding.

 

Jim Casy is a lost soul in ''The Grapes of Wrath''. He provides guidance in his travels with the Joad family, but in the process learns about himself and his role in life. This lesson shows his path to becoming a union leader and a martyr.

Physical Characteristics

John Steinbeck introduces Jim Casy in The Grapes of Wrath as a conflicted man. Just as most of us don't know who we want to be when we grow up, and sometimes long after that, John Casy struggles with the same thing. He only knows that he shouldn't be a preacher.

He has spent a great deal of time thinking about this while wandering around Oklahoma, and his characteristics show the effects of this inner conflict. His hair, for instance, is unkempt and ''stiff gray.'' He is scrawny, yet muscular, and his eyes show his anguish.

Under a large forehead, and between a ''beaked and hard'' nose, Jim Casy's eyes are ''heavy and protruding.'' Perhaps more telling are his eyelids, which are ''raw and red.'' He apparently rubs them quite a bit, either to alleviate stress or due to lack of sleep. Either way, he is alone, wandering in the wilderness with no responsibilities. It seems a simple life. So, what could possibly create so much stress in a man? Sin.

Former Preacher

Quite often Jim Casy has to remind people that he is a former preacher. He doesn't preach, even though he likes to talk, and he ''got no God''. He will pray when forced into it or the situation demands it, such as when Grampa Joad suffers a stroke. Jim Casy admits that ''it's a nice thing not bein' a preacher no more.'' His reasoning is because of his desire to be with women.

Jim admits that while he was a preacher, he would lay with some of the women in his parish. He knows he sinned. He explains to Tom Joad that as their preacher, these women are ''holy vessels. I was savin' their souls.'' After he administered to them as their preacher, he would ''take them out in the grass.'' He is supposed to behave and act one way as a preacher, but lapses into sin.

JIm wonders whether sin exists. He comes to the conclusion that ''there ain't no sin and there ain't no virtue. There's just stuff people do.'' This thought leads Jim to the next stage of his life.

As a preacher, he was constantly around people. He still needs to be around them, but in a different way. He watches and observes them. He provides guidance and support, such as with the Joad family, especially their eldest son, Tom. In the process, he becomes something more.

Future Leader

As the Joad family moves from Oklahoma to California, Jim asks to accompany them. Throughout the journey, Jim notices all the other people heading west. It seems to him that ''somepin worse'n the devil got hold a the country.''

Up to this point, he observes the actions and behavior of other people, concluding that people are moving because they ''want sompin better'n what they got.'' Jim is beginning to understand the plight of these people.

This comes to fruition when Jim takes the blame for knocking a deputy out while the Joads are staying in Hooverville, a camp of the homeless and unemployed. It is here that Jim realizes that people cannot live on the wages they earn. Jim is arrested and goes to jail. From meeting and talking with a great number of people, he realizes that they need someone to lead them. After his brief stay in jail, he steps up.

When Jim meets Tom Joad again days after the incident with the deputy, Jim is living in a tent alongside the highway. He is the head of a union, demanding better pay for the workers. The employers don't like this, they label Jim as a 'red', someone who agitates a situation and stirs up trouble. He gets a pick axe to the head for his effort, but not before he tells his attacker ''you don't know what you're a-doin'.'' Jim becomes a martyr for the cause.

Legacy

Jim Casy impacts the life of several people in The Grapes of Wrath, most notably Tom Joad. In their discussions, Jim helps Tom realize that ''prayer never brought in no side-meat.'' It takes a decent wage to put food in people's mouths.

It is this reasoning that motivates Jim to advocate on behalf of these people, and request higher pay. Just before he dies, his final words indicate that with his death, this movement will become stronger. The workers will understand that they have power to affect change.

In some ways, this stems from Jim's thoughts about religion and sin. Jim freely admits he is a sinner, and he isn't proud of what he did. He recognizes the responsibility he had, and he abused it. But in looking at sin and the soul, he comes to the conclusion that ''maybe all men got one big soul ever'body's a part of.''

He puts this thought into practice by showing the workers that only by joining together and acting in unison can they exert influence on the business owners. Through this one body can they effect change for the betterment of men - an idea that resonates in Christian belief. Maybe Jim was meant to be a preacher after all.

Lesson Summary

Jim Casy's story in The Grapes of Wrath is filled with hope. He shows that even when a man feels at his lowest, he can still have a positive effect on others. He tells everyone numerous times that he is no longer a preacher, yet he continues to counsel and act as an advocate and union leader. He recognizes the flaws in man and in society, and seeks a solution. He feels alone and apart from God, yet he continually does his work. He serves to lead a group of men to effect positive change, a belief he is martyred for. Others, such as Tom Joad, continue his efforts to preach the message he started. Despite his protestations, Jim Casy will always be a preacher.

 

 

Rose of Sharon is a young woman of 19 that endures the hardships of the Great Depression, along with her family, the Joads. This lesson discusses her character and her importance.

Rosasharn

Rose of Sharon Joad, or Rosasharn, as her family called her and as we'll call her from here on out, is a character in the novel The Grapes of Wrath and a young woman of 19 years of age. At the start of The Grapes of Wrath she was married and recently pregnant. She is a classic young woman, filled with self-importance and unable to see past anything but her own situation. Rosasharn is deeply in love with her husband, Connie, and has left her family to live with his. Ma Joad tells Tom about this when he gets out of prison, ''An' Rosasharn, she's nestin' with Connie's folks. By God! You don't even know Rosasharn's married to Connie Rivers. You 'member Connie. Nice young fella.''

The pregnancy of Rosasharn has just increased her internal focus. She hasn't yet matured enough to see that the trip to California was born of desperation. Instead, she is more concerned with going to the ''pictures'' with Connie when they move. When she comes over to see Tom, she takes her new status as married and pregnant even further, the narrator explains, ''smiling her wise, self-satisfied smile, mouth tipped at the corners a little fatuously.''

Everything in Rosasharn's life up until that moment seems to be about Rosasharn, except for Connie. Although, in the 1930s it was normal for young women to be pregnant and married at 19, Rosasharn had yet to take on the role of homemaker. She was more concerned with the superficial aspects of motherhood and had yet to take on the responsibilities that it carried.

The Journey

During the journey to California, Rose of Sharon stays selfish, thinking of only Connie and herself. She only helps her mother clean when pushed, and can usually be found hiding away with Connie, whispering and laughing. However, the difficulty of the journey starts to wear on the couple, and Connie becomes jaded about California. The couple had thought the trip and resulting work would come easy, and although Rosasharn still has hope, Connie loses it completely when they experience hardships in Hooverville. He abandons Rosasharn, leaving her to fend for herself.

This is a changing point for the character. Although Rosasharn, spends a good portion of her time feeling sorry for herself, she is also realizing more and more the responsibilities of motherhood. She struggles with the loss of her husband, but Rosasharn starts to help her family. Her evolution continues when she decides to pick cotton even though she is very pregnant. She realizes during this time that the family has to work together to survive, so she finally takes on that role.

Unfortunately, it has drastic results, because Rosasharn gets sick from working in the sun all day, which starts her labor early. Rosasharn's baby is stillborn, but the family cannot dwell on this horrifying tragedy that long, as they must find higher ground to get out of the flood. Her newfound generosity is shown as Rosasharn willingly breastfeeds a starving man. This shows the growth and maturing of the character; she has finally taken on the giving nature of her family, by giving the only thing she has.

Rose of Sharon Symbolism

Rosasharn has several symbolic moments in The Grapes of Wrath. Her pregnancy, the stillborn baby, and the controversial breastfeeding at the end of the novel.

The Pregnancy

Rosasharn's pregnancy symbolizes the hope the Joad family has for their future. They hope that eventually, work will come easier, so the pregnancy is a way to show that hope. Babies are something to look forward too, and although Rosasharn is concerned about raising the baby without Connie, the whole family is still excited for the birth.

The Stillborn Baby

The stillborn baby has religious symbolism. Rosasharn's baby was not buried; instead, John takes the baby in its apple box and puts it in the flooding river. His hope is that the baby will make it to the town and its people. This symbolizes Moses and how he was put in a basket and sent downriver, not only to save his life but save the message he was eventually going to bring to the Israelites. John Joad hopes sending the baby downriver will deliver a message as well, one of anger. He wanted to show what the landowners were doing to the people.

Breastfeeding

Lastly, at the end of The Grapes of Wrath, Rosasharn and her family escape to a barn to get out of the flooding waters. In the barn, they find a starving man and little boy. Rosasharn generously agrees to breastfeed the old man to save his life. This is a symbol for the generosity and love the Joad family continuously brings, even during the hardest of times. Even though Rosasharn had just given birth to a stillborn baby and they had to flee their train car, they still found a way to help another that was in more need.

Lesson Summary

Let's briefly review what we've learned.

Rose of Sharon Joad, or Rosasharn, as her family called her, is a character in the novel, The Grapes of Wrath and a young woman of 19 years of age. Rosasharn starts off as a superficial young woman, who is more concerned with her new love and pregnancy than she is about the desperation of the times.

However, the trip to California starts to open her eyes, and once Connie completely abandons her and the baby, she is forced to grow up. She really starts maturing towards the end of the novel, when she picks cotton with her family. Her generosity is portrayed the most when she breastfeeds a starving man at the end of the novel. This shows the reader how much Rosasharn has truly evolved since we first met her at the beginning of the novel, back when she was just a selfish girl who wanted to go to the pictures, as if she didn't have a care in the world.

 

 

Grampa Joad is the first to die after the Joads leave their home for a new life in California. Since money is tight, the Joads have no choice but to bury him beside the road. Casy argues that although his physical death was at the camp, his real death came before.

Grampa's Death

Shortly after the Joads enter Route 66 on the way to California, they stop to camp along the road, where they meet the Wilsons. Grampa feels ill, and goes to rest in the peace of the Wilsons' tent, where he has a stroke and dies. In addition to feeling shocked and saddened by Grampa's death, the Joads are embarrassed that he died in the tent of strangers. The Wilsons, however, are kind and generous about all of it, and do what they can to support the Joads as they cope with a death in their family. This is one of many examples in the book in which other migrant families show much more humanity than wealthy people with stable homes.

Grampa's Burial

The Joads debate what to do next, and decide that they do not have the money to go the legal route, which would involve a funeral and at least a 40 dollar payment. They decide to bury Grampa in the woods near the campsite, and leave a note about what happened, just in case someone comes along, finds the body, and suspect foul play. Tom writes, 'This here is William James Joad, dyed of a stroke, old old man. His fokes bured him becaws they got no money to pay for funerls. Nobody kilt him. Just a stroke an he dyed.' Tom reads the words to Ma, who approves, but wants to add something from Scripture. They flip through the Bible and eventually settle on, 'Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.' Tom writes the words carefully, then Ma places the paper in a jar to be buried with Grampa.

Funeral, Casy's Words

As the Joads gather around to bury Grampa, Casy agrees to say a few words. Since he no longer claims to be a preacher, his eulogy for Grampa is a bit unusual. He acknowledges at the beginning that he doesn't know whether Grampa was a good or bad man, and that he does not believe it matters anyway, because he's dead. He goes on to argue that it is less necessary to pray for someone who has died than for those who are still alive, since the dead have only one path in front of them, whereas the living have many possible paths. Casy says, 'An' if I was to pray, it'd be for the folks that don' know which way to turn.'

Irony in the Eulogy

His words about the living, in this case, are somewhat ironic, because the Joads have very little in the way of choice at any point in The Grapes of Wrath. For the most part, they travel to where the work is, they agree to take whatever work is available, and they move on when they are forced to. Their journey is always one of necessity rather than choice, and there is rarely a time when they have a genuine decision to make from among various options.

Grampa Was Already Dead

After the funeral, Casy tells the Joads that he believes that Grampa, in every meaningful sense, died when he left his home. Although he was still technically alive and breathing, his life ended when he was forced to go on a journey he never wanted to take. (In fact, Grampa tried to stay behind, but was forced by his family to come along.) Casy says, 'You fellas can make some kinda new life, but Grampa, his life was over an' he knowed it. An' Grampa didn' die tonight. He died the minute you took 'im off the place.'