An ethical ballance

An Ethical Balance

Holiness, sin, and life are repeatedly questioned throughout John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, particularly by the former preacher, Jim Casey. As a preacher, Casey only preaches what the bible states and he resigns from his occupation after he feels the urge to pursue life's true meaning and values of the individual - basically to make sense of the world he resides in. Casey closely resembles the character and motives of Jesus Christ, as he is enthused to uncover the answers to his wonders and doubts and begins to hold new beliefs of sacrificing the self to sustain the rights of society.
All the while, questions concerning the ideas and beliefs of the world circulate through Jim Casey's mind and he makes the decision to separate himself from the teachings of society to determine logical resolutions to his convoluted uncertainties. After renouncing his job as a preacher, Casey first decides to ponder his questions by going "into the wildern...