The Character Of Casy

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“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (The Holy Bible John 13:34) Jesus teaches this commandment to his disciples. Jim Casy tries to live this way by preaching and showing others that God cares. In The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck shows Casy as a prime example of Christ-likeness during the Great Depression. Through his commitment to save mankind and by living a life that reflected Jesus Christ; he shows others how to live like him. He believes in his mission so strongly that he willingly gives up his freedom and his life like Jesus Christ did. In the book, he discovers in himself a commitment to save mankind (Owens 40). He tells Tom Joad: “I figgered about the Holy Sperit and the Jesus road. I figgered, ‘Why do we got to hang it on God or Jesus? Maybe,’ I figgered, ‘maybe it’s all men an’ all women we love; may be that’s the Holy Sperit-the human sperit- the whole shebang. Maybe all men got one big soul ever’body’s a part of.”(Steinbeck 32-33) Jesus also had a commitment to save mankind from their sins; that is why he died on the cross. Jesus came as a leader for humanity and as a sacrificial figure. His death offered people another chance and a brand new beginning. Casy is a leader for the protest against the unfair treatment of the migrant workers. In comparison, Casy lived a life that mirrored Christ. Like Christ, Casy goes into the desert to wrestle with his faith (Owens 40). He tries to figure out who he is and what he actually believes. Right before Casy dies, he tells Tom, “Here’s me, been a-goin’ into the wilderness like Jesus to try find out somepin.”(521) Jesus went into the wilderness too. “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.” (The Holy Bible Matthew 4:1) Although Casy is not being tempted by the Devil like Jesus, he is still
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