Blog # 13

How does Jim Casey's moral philosophy guide the novel as a whole?

In the novel, Jim Casey the ex-preacher feels an obligation to practice and preach Christianity to the people. The characters christen faith is constantly being tested by the obstacles they face. Jim considered being himself like Christ, a savor of the common man even though doing so put his life in jeopardy. He encourages Tom to become more socially conscious to help his fellow man. Jim Casey see’s the good in all men. Casey develops strong morality and shares a handful of similarities with Jesus Christ. The Joad’s belief, that justices will ultimately triumph keeps them from giving up. Casey exemplifies the suffering of Jesus by becoming a martyr. His words are meaningful throughout the story which makes him the moral force of the novel

Jim Casey considers all people as a whole to be good. In the story, he states, “All that lives is holy”. Jim wants the Joad’s to not let go of their christian values no matter what. Jim was asked to say grace at the dinner table and says, “ …I been in the hills, thinkin’, almost you might say like Jesus went into the wilderness to think His way out of a mess of troubles. He says this because he wants the Joad's to know that he journeyed to the wilderness to seek answers to hidden questions thus made him feel like Jesus Christ. He does this to renew his faith. Furthermore, Casey provided comfort to them after the unfortunate death of Granma Joad, stating that, “every’body got to die” and helps them to understand and tolerate the inevitability of death.

Jim Casey’s strong sense of justices also leads him to try and organize a riot to demand fair and decent wages. Jim Casey speaks of consequences to the people saying, "Tell 'em [the people who are picking peaches] they're starvin' us an' stabbin' theirselves in the back.’Cause sure as cowflops she'll drop to two an' a half jus' as soon as they clear us out,", he knew that as soon as the riot had completely ended the laborer’s salaries would decrease to unfair wages. Just like Jesus Christ, a staunch friend of Tom Joad, Jim Casey allegedly takes the blame for the attack on the deputy and thus sacrifices himself for Tom.

In conclusion, Jim Casey is a very spiritual man who drives the story with the good moral values of life. Whether it’s helping other to better understand them or to accept faith for what it is. He will always be known as that Christ figure of the novel. He lives up to his title. I guess you can say that he was triumphant in his quest in helping the Joad’s and the unfortunate soles of the story.