Cases of the Bible in Grapes of Wrath

There can be many references to the Bible in Grapes of Wrath. One example is when Tom Joad returns from prison. Once disgraced, he returns to lead his family through their ordeal. Tom becomes a symbol of a simple man trying to do the right thing; he wants to redeem himself in a world that does not play by the rules. In the Bible this can be compared to the "Prodigal Son". He wants to do the right way and the way he thinks would make him a better person after his decision, not a worse or immorally poor man. He is a good man even though he does do things that you would not think a good man would do such as murder another man and go to prison, or hit a man in the head with a stick and kill him out of vengeance.

Another example of a Bible reference in this book is in Chapter 30 when Rose of Sharon milks the man back to health(Steinbeck, Chapter 30). She takes care of this man who is in need and she uses one of her motherly attributes on him even though he is not related to her and she does not even know this dying man. She does what she knows is the right thing, like Mary did by birthing a child that was not really hers because she was a virgin. She cares for him just the same because she knows that it was a miracle that he was born, just like Rose of Sharon knowing that it is a miracle that she can save this poor man. The Virgin Mary birthed a baby in a barn also and in some sense this is what Rose of Sharon is doing by suckling this man. She is giving him another chance, a new life to start over with, and she acts saintly and calm about an ordeal that could make her afraid to do. She does feed the man though and that is all that matters.

Steinbeck, John, and Robert J. DeMott. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 1992. Print.