Grapes of Wrath - biblica comparison Essay -- essays research papers

Many novels written contain parallels to the Bible. This couldnt be truer in the case John Steinbecks The Grapes of Wrath. Steinbeck alludes to Biblical characters and events with the use of arise of Sharon, Jim Casy, and also the Joads journey to California. There are other events in the book that parallel the Bible, although the portrayal of Rose of Sharon and Jim Casy are the around obvious.The novel is broken into 3 contrasting parts, the time spent in Oklahoma, the journey on the road, and the time spent in California. Each section is closely related to the three stages of the Biblical exodus the Israelites time in bondage when God direct plagues to free them (chapters 1-11), the forty years of wandering in the desert (chapters 12-18), and the arrival in Canaan, the Promised Land (chapters 19-30). The plagues sent by God are paralleled by the drought in Oklahoma, the Egyptian oppressors by the bank officials, and the hostile Canaanites by the Californians (Monkeynotes , Th e Grapes...). Rose of Sharon is a character that is most directly related to the Bible. Her name in found in the Song of Solomon, I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys (Ganticles, 77). Most of Rose of Sharons parallels to the Bible take place in the last chapter of the novel. After the birth of her stillborn baby she nourishes a starving man with her milk. This is symbol...