Jim Casy

E57047

Jim Casy is a former preacher turned moral philosopher in John Steinbeck’s "The Grapes of Wrath," whose evolving beliefs about collective human spirit and social justice profoundly influence the Joad family.


Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf fictional character
literary character
moral philosopher
preacher
advocatesFor collective organizing
workers’ rights
appearsIn The Grapes of Wrath
associatedWith Dust Bowl migration
basedOn Jesus Christ
surface form: Jesus Christ (symbolic)

Jim Casey
createdBy John Steinbeck
deathCause killed by strikebreakers
diesIn The Grapes of Wrath
firstAppearance The Grapes of Wrath
gender male
hasPhilosophy belief in collective human spirit
belief in social justice
emphasis on human unity
idea that holiness resides in people rather than institutions
rejection of traditional organized religion
influences Ma Joad
Tom Joad
Joad family
surface form: the Joad family
inUniverseRelationship companion of the Joad family on the road
friend of Tom Joad
joins the Joad family on their journey to California
literaryRole mentor to Tom Joad
moral center of the novel’s early chapters
moralView individual suffering is part of a larger social wrong
narrativeFunction inspires Tom Joad’s political awakening
nationality American
notableQuote "I ain’t preachin’ no more much."
"Maybe all men got one big soul ever’body’s a part of."
occupation former preacher
migrant laborer
rejects conventional notions of sin
setting California migrant camps
Oklahoma
U.S. Route 66
surface form: Route 66
symbolizes Christ figure
collective conscience of the migrants
labor organizer
themeConnection collective action
religion versus humanism
social injustice
the dignity of the poor
timePeriod Great Depression

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Tom Joad hasFamilyMember Jim Casy