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; ma

With the Joads, the journey west is also a journey from the personal concern to a larger concern for all humanity. This is brought about expertly by John Steinbeck through the development of many characters such as Rose of Sharon, Ma Joad, Jim Casy, and Tom Joad. Through the journey the family suffers through many horrors such as losing a new born child and losing grandpa and grandma. However, they succeed by reaching a new spiritual height in which they become part of the larger Oversoul.

Tom Joad is the main character in the novel. He enters the novel as a man who is just getting out of prison for killing a man and is interested in his own personal comforts and wants. As he tells Jim Casy, “I’m just gonna lay one foot down before another.” He shows that he feels no regret or guilt for having killed a man. As a grown man he values his own individuality very heavily and does like to be pushed around. All this changes once he begins to truly listen to the preaching of Jim Casy. When Tom is forced to hide in a cave because he kills a police officer involved in killing Jim Casy, he has lots of time to think over the ideas of Jim Casy. It is during this time that Tom realizes that man cannot live with the single concern for himself, that man must live by joining together with the other men because strength comes from unity. It is here that he has officially gone from his individualistic ideals in the beginning of the novel to devotion to his family and the family of man kind at

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