In the novel "The Grapes of Wrath", by John Steinbeck, the life of a migrant family, who is forced off their land in Oklahoma and who is in search of employment in California, is portrayed. During the course of the novel, the Joads move from a concern for themselves and their own personal welfare to a concern for all the people of the world. This becomes one of the major themes in the novel. It is traceable through many of the characters such as Jim Casey, Tom Joad, Ma Joad, and Rosa of Sharon. It is also traceable through many different actions taken by the Joad family on the whole.
The character of Jim Casy plays a strong role in bringing forth the theme in.
discussion. Casey is a preacher like none other. He does not preach the orthodox ideas of the Christian religion. Instead, he preaches the Emersonian doctrine of the Oversoul. Tom Joad once recalls that "one time Casey went into the wilderness to find his own soul, an" he foun" he didn't have no soul that was his"n Says he foun" he jus" got a little piece of a great big soul.his lilttle piece of a soul wasn't no good "less it was with the rest, an" was whole." This is part of Emerson's views of the Oversoul; man's soul is breaking away from some larger soul and in death this individual soul is reunited with the larger Oversoul. It is through Casy's beliefs in the concept of the Oversoul and his prison experience that reveals to Jim that only through the unity and concern for the entire human race will the migrants succeed.
Rose of Sharon is another character which can be used to trace the progression of the Joads from a concern for themselves and their own personal welfare to a concern for all the people of the world. Through out the novel rose of Sharon is shown as a sick and whining girl. It is easy to blame this on the fact that she is a pregnant woman who is expected to deliver at any time. However, her attitude and actions show that she is grouchy and irritable beyond limits.