The name signifies struggle. The old, white south fear blacks in many ways; the blacks are stereotyped in the 1930's as less than clean or righteous; Jesus of Nazareth is also confronted with this stereotype. He is feared by the Romans because of his followings and ideas of change as well. The traditional, old south is extremely against change in any way. The old trees are like the Romans, Jews to Jesus of Nazareth and his followers; they also represent the white people as opposed to the black people. When Jesus of Nazareth walked from place to place preaching about Christianity, people scrutinized his views and were often in fear of even recognizing his new values and teachings; this is much like the way that the blacks were persecuted and scrutinized for their values and place in society. Jesus of Nazareth signifies the same thing in the metaphor as the black Jesus in the story; the grapes represent both Jesus". Keeping in mind that technology is needed for a thriving modern society, blacks were needed to smoothly run a household as well as carry out the grunt work that the white men and women were not willing to succumb to in most cases. It can also be said that this reference insinuates the future push of the blacks into the white world, especially during the 1960's Civil Rights Movement. Of course the time at which Faulkner wrote That Evening Sun, the Civil Rights Movement had not truly begun, however, his depiction of things as "bloodless", "ghostly", and "bloated," echo the criticisms made against the black society prior to and during the Civil Rights Movement of 1960. The bloated reference describes the full and hungry feelings that the blacks have about their need for acceptance. .
Faulkner's Jesus says, "I can cut down the vine it did come off of" (79). Jesus insinuates a certain level of violence and physical strength that he has. This is also his expression of domination and power over another individual.
