The concept of one central over-soul among humans often exhibits a religious connotation in The Grapes of Wrath.
Casy's shift from a standard religious preacher to one who lauds "the Holy Sperit - the human spirit" (33) begins to
evoke a questioning of standard religious views. Steinbeck redefines the standard view of preaching through a dialogue
between Casy and Tom. Casy suggests that he isn't preaching any longer, as he has stopped "tellin' folks stuff" and has started
"askin' 'em" instead. Tom replies that "Preachin's a kinda tone a voice, an' preachin's a way a lookin' at things. Preachin's
bein' good to folks when they wanna kill ya for it" (128). Although Tom and Casy reach a consensus that Casy is not preaching,
Steinbeck ironically refers to Casy as the preacher following this incident, even emphasizing that "he was a good preacher
and knew his people" (136).
Steinbeck also evokes readers to reconsider the concept of
sin. Early in the book, Casy expresses that there "ain't no sin and there ain't no virtue. There's just stuff people do. It's
all part of the same thing" (32). Much later, Casy says that "if you think it was a sin - then it's a sin. A fella builds
his own sins right up from the groun' " (306). [
Explanation].
By redefining the words and ideas of standard religion, Steinbeck is able to more strongly support the idea
of the over-soul.
