Jim Casy

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Jim Casy is the religious element in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. Jim Casy stands in for Jesus Christ, signified by their initials J.C.

A former preacher who gave up his ministry out of a belief that all human experience is holy. Often the moral voice of the novel, Casy articulates many of its most important themes, among them the sanctity of the people and the essential unity of all mankind. A staunch friend of Tom Joad, Casy goes to prison in Tom’s stead for a fight that erupts between laborers and the California police. He emerges a determined organizer of the migrant workers. Steinbeck employs Jim Casy to articulate some of the novel’s major themes. Most notably, the ex-preacher redefines the concept of holiness, suggesting that the most divine aspect of human experience is to be found on earth, among one’s fellow humans, rather than amid the clouds. As a radical philosopher, a motivator and unifier of men, and a martyr, Casy assumes a role akin to that of Jesus Christ—whose initials he shares. Casy begins the novel uncertain of how to use his talents as a speaker and spiritual healer if not as the leader of a religious congregation. By the end of the novel, he has learned to apply them to his task of organizing the migrant workers. Indeed, Casy comes to believe so strongly in his mission to save the suffering laborers that he willingly gives his life for it. Casy’s teachings prompt the novel’s most dramatic character development, by catalyzing Tom Joad’s transformation into a social activist and man of the people.

Jimy Casy has a major role as an alienated character. Henceforth, his alienation from society helps to illuminate one of Steinbeck's most prominent themes: conformity inhibits growth.