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How Does Steinbeck Use Biblical Allusions In The Grapes Of Wrath

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Biblical Parallels Are All That Is Needed
Weather has shaped this story into a Christian novel by giving Biblical parallels and giving another way to look into the eyes of the Joad’s and the migrants. Even in Biblical times weather has helped humanity by giving us a new start: Noah’s Ark or by leading us into something new that we will never be able to find: The Israelites wandering in The Desert for Forty Years. In The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, the reader rationalizes that Steinbeck hints that the novel is fundamentally Christian by using Biblical parallels: The Israelites in the Desert, Noah’s Ark, and God watching over them. The Joad’s are almost as nomadic as some of the ancient Indians that roamed the plains, or as nomadic …show more content…

“After 11 months in the region of Mount Sinai, the Israelites set out for the "promised land" (Numbers 10:11-12).” Just as the Joad’s have prepared very hard for their journey all the way to California the Israelites have done the same. “She said, ‘Tom, I hope things is all right in California.’ He turned and looked at her. ‘What makes you think they ain’t?’ he asked. ‘Well-nothing. Seems too nice, kinda… (Steinbeck 122) Just as the Israelites were going to this place too good to be true someone must question something, but what are they going to do if they don’t? They are going to perish just along with anything else that stays behind. “They soon began to complain about their hardships ( Numbers 11:1).” Thought the Joads never complained really, we can observe from tone and the mood of specific instances we can derive that the Joads were always holding something back. “The Lord said to Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me?" I will strike them down" (Numbers 14:11a, 12a)” Almost like how the migrants to California, the Israelites stopped believing in what they came for and had turned on God/the Lord. “Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up toward the high hill

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