The Danger in Self-Sacrifice
In his second novel, To a God Unknown, John Steinbeck explores his protagonist's relationship with and worship of the land. While the use of the land as a character in itself is nothing unusual in Steinbeck's work, this novel is somewhat different in that it explores a more mythological perspective on man's relationship to his land. Joseph Wayne's hunger for the land was a common sentiment among those who settled the west. A yearning for land is, in fact, the dream upon which most of the Western United States was founded. Where Joseph differs drastically from his pioneering brethren, however, is in his belief and participation in pagan forms of vegetative worship, beginning with the deification of an oak tree and ending in Joseph's self-sacrifice in an attempt to bring rain. At the heart of Steinbeck's portrayal of Joseph as a man ultimately disappointed by his unknown gods is a thinly veiled caution against reliance upon unseen forces and unproven rituals. When Joseph Wayne arrives in the valley of Nuestra Senora, he falls to the earth and makes love to the land. He even sees the land as his wife. This is the start of his tragic relationship with the land and its demands. When he builds hi
Joseph is not only the king of the land, however, but also its priest. Father Angelo sees this in him (p. 171) and both fears and respects it. As the land's priest, Joseph is subject to "the individual's religious submission to whatever power he conceives to order his universe." In the last several chapters of the novel we get the distinct impression that he is no longer acting under his own will but rather reacting to the desires of the land, much as a priest under a religious trance might do. There is very little conscious thought in his last two actions, the sacrifice of the calf and of himself. When he kills the calf, his hope is that it might contain a power similar to the one he believes the old man at the beach had. He quickly sees this is not the solution, and almost accidentally reaches the conclusion that only his own blood will do. Instead of the ancient practice where, "in time of drought, when they wanted rain, they used to sacrifice a black heifer, a black he-goat, and a black cock to the thunder god in the depths of the woods," Joseph strikes upon a modern and much more personal interpretation of the old ritual. As the novel progresses toward its final chapters, Joseph gives away his son and leaves his ranch, returning to the grove of pines and the rock which shelters the only still-living spring. His final moments, in which he sacrifices himself upon the rock, can be seen as the summation of his retreat into a planting culture, in which "when a figure is sacrificed...that figure itself is the god." This is a time-honored ritual practiced by many cultures, in which "Somebody had to die in order for life to emerge....The way to increase life is to increase death." In many versions of the myth, the old king must die to make way for the new. Thus Joseph's self-sacrifice is not an act of atonement for the tree's death, nor a reaction to the tragedies which have befallen him and his family, but rather an attempt to bring life back to the dying land. He has become the Fisher King, who must die in order to bring rain to his land. We gain a sense of this generational passing when Joseph blesses Juanito's child, and even more so when he regrets not having given the correct blessing.(p. 176) The novel's cautionary message, though, is found in the ironic final words: "'That man must be very happy now,' Father Angelo said to himself." Yes, Joseph is happy - but he is also dead, having given up everything to achieve an end to the drought, without thought to the after. What good is rain without a ranch to grow on, a family to feed, a life to live? This is Steinbeck cautioning us against thinking our little lives can have an imp
Some common words found in the essay are:
Joseph Wayne, Mundaris Assam, Father Angelo, Greece Europe, Nuestra Senora, Lisca Joseph, Western United, Yes Joseph, Immediately Joseph, Fisher King, oak tree, actions acting, father tree, figure god, final moments, relationship land, king die, attempt bring, joseph's self-sacrifice, collective unconscious,
Approximate Word count = 1804
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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