4. Write an essay on Jim Casy. Discuss his growth and his role in the novel.
In The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck there is a character, Jim Casy, who is both larger than life and a common man. His background as a preacher lends to his greatness while his decision to live on his own shows off his humbleness. He can relate to both the haves and the have-nots, allowing him to analyze situations and provide practical explanations for them. His growth through the novel ranges from roadside stranger to companion to family member and finally to martyr. His relationship with the common man (personified by Tom Joad) manifests itself into the start of a better life for the migrants.
Jim Casy first appears to us as a stranger sitting under a tree. Tom Joad meets him on the way back to his house and they soon recognize each other and get to talking. Casy talks about why he quit preaching and Tom talks about jail and they get along fine. Jim explains how he'd get the church-goers full of the spirit then he'd go lie with one of the girls from the congregation. He knows that God says making out is the devil's work, but can't reason out how the devil can get in her when she's so full of the spirit. Then he figures maybe that the furvor they get in them has nothing to do with God or the devil, that it's just how people feel about each other that gets them worked up to speaking in tongues. This gets Tom intrigued because he respects how Casy figured it all out for himself. After four years in prison, though, talking about anything but the daily routine must be enlightening. The idea of an oversoul that connects everyone is introduced here. This scene, where Jim first makes contact with the common man, portrays how easily he relates and how his revelations help the common man understand his predicament.
Later, Casy follows Tom to his old house so he can meet Tom's dad. When they arrive, though, only Muley is there and the house is wrecked. They have a meager dinner of jackrabbits which seems like a feast because it's shared food with friends. While they're eating, Casy has a realization that he may be able to preach again, to lonely people on the road. This foreshadows his eventual rise to head up a group of like-minded people. This is also where he decides to travel with the Joads cross-country. When the pair leaves the next morning to Uncle John's, where the Joad clan is staying, Casy predicts that Muley will eventually get run down like an animal by the cops. He quickly analyzed Muley's situation and saw his future like a prophecy, as any leader would. When they get to the Joads, Casy says a grace for breakfast where he again alludes to the oversoul, saying that mankind was pure and holy when they were one and only stopped being holy when someone went his own way. His fascination with the oversoul is very important here because he finds that men can only be holy when they're united. This is the motivation for him to organize the strike later on. This speech is also important because it draws him into Ma's (and thereby the whole family's) good graces. Ma sees him as a voice, not a human, that pops up and tells her what she had speculated on, but had never voiced.
At this stage he is now a family member because Ma likes him and lets him go on the trip with them. When on the trip, Casy first senses the desperation of the common man in the form of a fat gas station owner who keeps asking, "What's it comin' to, what's it comin' to?" His station is being put out of business by a chain of stations and he can't imagine why anyone would want to put him out of business. Casy tries to offer him solace by saying that once enough people get displaced by corporations they'll decide to fight back. This effort is in vain, though, because the fat man just says, "I dunno what we're coming to." This is where Casy learns you can't help people that don't want to help themselves. A little furthur down the road Casy's hope for a better life is validated by the Wilsons, who lend their tent for Grandpa to die in and lend their car space to the cramped Joads. When the Wilsons' car breaks down Casy has a revelation that he relates to Tom. He says that he's seen hundreds of families going west just like the Joads and they're all just putting one foot in front of the other without thinking, but when they finally connect with each other they'll do something that will change the country. Later, when they reach California, Sairy Wilson is about to die and Casy says a prayer for her. The parallel between her and Grandpa is evident in that he says a prayer for each even though he's not a preacher. Like any leader who is thrust into a position of power unwillingly he has the favorable quality of a leader who isn't power hungry. Crossing the desert, John approaches Casy with his sins. Casy tells him that a sin is only a mistake unless you think it's a sin. When John asks what he should do to get rid of his sins Casy says he doesn't have the right to tell him what to do. This lack of bossiness is another noble quality. At the Hooverville, Casy takes the blame for Tom taking out the cop to save Floyd (the revolutionary). This act makes him a martyr to Tom. It finally strikes Tom that there's something bigger than him that he needs to try to help out - the oversoul. Casy's sacrifice is the jolt Tom needed to begin to realize his purpose.
When Tom rejoins Casy, Casy has amassed a following and has led a strike with them. The strike has effectively bettered the wages for others. His leadership skills have successfully bettered life for the migrants, right in front of Tom's eyes. Since Tom personifies the common man, his realization means that all the migrants are now starting to realize that only by banding together can they defeat the corporations. Only by tapping into the oversoul will the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, and the human spirit will triumph over the machine. Even though the build-up to Casy's leadership position was long and complex, and his reign was short-lived you may think his mission was a failure, but you must keep in mind that he was merely a tool to help all the Tom Joads discover how to help themselves.
