Jesus as a Cultural Hero: Stein beck's Use of the Christ Figure in The Grapes of Wrath

Abstract

Steinbeck turned to Bible for his fictional pattern, symbolism, and imagery although he rejected Christian orthodoxy not surprising since first book Steinbeck learned thoroughly was Bible, which his mother began teaching him when he was only three years old. Further, as Brian St. Pierre notes, Bible was the most important literary influence on Steinbeck's work (5). Steinbeck's fictional use of scripture is quite intriguing, especially in larger context of Bible's impact on American culture and arts. My students, many of whom are traditionally Christian, enjoy discussing somewhat elusive issue of Christ figure in The Grapes of Wrath (1939).1 In a typical fifty-five-minute class setting, we discuss who Christ figure is in novel and why Steinbeck used a Christlike character. Through this session, students learn how plot and characters of The Grapes of Wrath are loosely but clearly modeled after life of Jesus. They also learn how Steinbeck, like many other historically non-Christian writers of twentieth century, uses a humanized, demythologized, or de-Christianized Christ figure to deliver his message to modern readers. In addition to New Testament, I refer to over a dozen Steinbeck schol-