Christianity, Reality, and Hum
The harshest conditions of the first half of the twentieth century are portrayed with great power and veracity by one of the greatest American authors, John Steinbeck. Through his writings, Steinbeck is able to let the world visualize and comprehend the struggles of the poverty-stricken working man in such a way that the reader becomes part of the working man's struggle to survive on a day-to-day basis. Because the plight of the working class is an ongoing struggle, Steinbeck's works of social realism stand the test of time and prove to be just as influential on the people of today as they were on the people of yesteryear. Through his innovative use of Christianity, reality, and humanity, John Steinbeck proves himself to be an American literary icon who surpasses the test of time.Steinbeck's use of Christian symbolism is seen in most of his major works. Throughout the novel East of Eden, Steinbeck makes references to the story of Cain and Abel as well as the word timshel. According to Fontenrose, the primary focus of East of Eden is to "make aware the problem of evil" by portraying the main characters (Adam, Charles, Aron, Caleb, Abra, and Cathy) as present-day Cain and Abels (3379). The story of Cain and Abel is correlated in E
Instead of the Wilsons having a run down car and the Joads having a functioning auto, the two families together have one run down car and one functioning auto. According to Bloom, Tom is seen as a "populist prophet, Biblical rather than Marxist" (Bloom Intro). When the two families merge and unite their resources, the merger has more than the individual, making survival easier. Steinbeck directly refers to Christianity by making one of the main characters, Jim Casy, an ex-preacher. This is how migrant workers in the 1930s spoke. Thus, Jim Casy becomes the Joad's Christ-like figure (Bloom Introduction). If the Joads had refused to share their resources with the Wilsons, the Joads' possessiveness would have made them unable to become part of the "we" unity. For example, the Wilsons are stranded on the side of the road because their car is continually breaking down.
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Acceptance Essays
