Jim Casy in Grapes Of Wrath
"A man sat on the ground, leaning against the trunk of the tree. His legs were crossed and one barefoot extended nearly as high as his head." (Pg. 25) That comfortable man was Jim Casy. At this point in the book Tom Joad meets the ex-preacher. Tom invites Casy along with him to find his family, once they find the rest of the Joads; Casy is invited to go on the journey to California with them in hopes of prosperity. Casy's initial introduction of a comfortable, simple man is truly a misleading understatement of his true character. Jim Casy, is a very complex, and dynamic man. He has an almost a Christ-like existence. Jim Casy is an interesting, and complicated man. He can be seen as a modern day Christ figure, minus the belief in the Christian faith. The initials of his name, J.C., are the same as Jesus Christ. Casy was hailed and respected by many for being a preacher. Casy and Jesus both saw a common goodness in the average man and saw every person as holy. Both Christ and Casy faced struggles between their ideals versus the real world. (Despite Casy's honesty, goodness, and loyalty to all men, he would not earn a meal or warm place to stay. Although Jesus had many followers, still other
Jim Casy came across conflicts between himself and the rest of society. He attempted to organize the migrants but saw great difficulty. After Casy was let out of jail he (and other wise men) picketed outside a peach-picking camp for higher wages. Although he managed to organize those few men, and kept the wages at a reasonable price while on strike, he could not persuade the others inside the workplace to join him. "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," Casy said referring to the fact that unless the people in the camp did something- like went on strike- they would 'stab themselves in the back' because the wages would go back down. However, the people in the camp only cared about the five they were making at the time and nothing else. A reason Casy's attempts at organizion failed was because the people were afraid to organize. As soon as there is a group of strikers the cops throw them in jail or threaten them. Casy is also a harmonious man. He believes in unity and that because people are all part of something greater than themselves, we should help one another out, and work together because otherwise we are all lost. "Why do we got to hang it all on God or Jesus? Maybe,' I figgered, 'maybe it's all men an' all women we love: maybe that's the Holy Sperit- the human sperit- the whole shebang. Maybe all men got one big soul ever'body's a part of." He thinks that people working in cooperation is holy: "When they're all workin' together, not one fella for another fell, but one fella kind of harnessed to the whole shebang -- that's right, that's holy"(pg 71). Tom once said Casy recited to him Ecclesiates 4: "Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken". Tom Joad also said, "maybe like Casy says, a fella ain't got a soul of his own, but on'y a piece of a big one. ... I'll be ever'where-wherever you look." Casy was a Christ-like, and harmonious man although he still had his own personal conflicts. In conclusion, Jim Casy is a rather Christ-like, harmonious, and a very realistic character who has seen the c
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Approximate Word count = 1699
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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