"Why do we got to hang it on God or Jesus? Maybe it's all men an' all women we love; maybe that's the Holy Sperit- the Human Sperit- the whole shebang. Maybe all men got one big soul ever'body's a part of"
Do you think that this is Steinbeck's personal belief about God?
Do you think that this is Steinbeck's personal belief about God?
20 comments:
I do think that Steinbeck is mirroring his personal believes. Several other times throughout Chapter 4 he shows his beliefs through the preacher's words.
I don't know his religious beliefs, but I know he was a radical leftist, so he's a pretty good guy. He was friends with John Kennedy too. And he was criticized for being socialist, but I don't think he actually was
I do not know. They could be Steinback's own beliefs or the beliefs of other people in that time.
I think that it is. Christians believe in convincing everyone else that they are right. To me, he seems to be convincing everyone that Christians are wrong. No sane religious person would do that.
"Maybe it ain't a sin. Maybe it's just the way folks is. Maybe we been whippin' the hell out of ourselves for nothin'." (31)
Sounds anti-Christian to me.
i wouldn't have a hard time believing that these were his personal beliefs...don't authors do that a lot???
Maybe he was doubting his own beliefs. Maybe Steinback went through something like the preacher did which tested his beliefs if he was a radical leftist like fool killer said.
I agree, jeUSAves. They do that a lot. And isn't that kind of one purpose of writing a book? To influence other people to your beliefs?
I don't know fool killer, I think Steinback was writing his book to tell people about what life for croppers was like.
Hmm. I'm torn. On one hand, it seems incredibly likely that these are the religious beliefs of Steinbeck. Fool killer, I agree completely that the purpose of writing is, more often than not, to influence the reader in your beliefs. He may also just have been stating these seemingly "radical" beliefs for effect. I don't really know.
I that maybe they are his beliefs or maybe not. I'm not totally for sure yet. But I'm leaning towards that they are his beliefs.
yeah, it would definitely make sense for steinbeck to be using the preacher to express his own thoughts on religion. lots of authors (mark twain, for instance) do that. i don't know that he necessarily believes what he has the preacher say, or is trying to convert anybody though. they could just be some random musings he had...
Perhaps Steinbeck does believe this and thats why he's voicing this belief through a character so that he can say what he really thinks without actually saying it himself and having people get mad at him. That sneak!
The preacher seems to be a little repulsive sounding in the writing. to me at least. Maybe it's reverse psychology or something.
To the average Christian American at that time, A preacher doing those things would probably be shunned.
This is just me but i think Steinbeck is merely pointing out the logistics of religion. I don't believe that God intended us to live in constant fear of stepping outside boundary lines. "One big soul" that includes everyone and everything is the basis for many of the world's greatest religions. So maybe he was just trying to let us see things from a different angle.
Steinbeck seems to be showing opposition to the Christian faith, or at least confusion with it. Will this follow Joad throughout the story?
I think that Steinbeck was trying to express his own religious views through the words of the preacher, well ex-preacher. It also could have been Steinbecks attempt to foreshadow the events to come in Chapter 5 where there was a lot of desperation and sadness from the tenant farmers. Steinbeck might have used this to create a mood of Godlessness and human self devestation with the men that own the banks actually are taking the land and not the machine that the owner men said was actually taking the land.
I agree dreamcrusher, I definitely had Mark Twain in mind as an author that used his work to voice his own religious beliefs. That's not to say that all authors do. For instance, although people cite his works as having Christian undertones and/or being a Christian allegory, J.R.R Tolkien did not intend for his books to reflect his personal religious beliefs (as a Christian). Sometimes it's all in the reader's perspective.
i have a sneaking Suspicion that Steinbeck is not using his own beliefs but is using the ideas of some one else for example maybe mark twain...i also disagree with Rev. casey's opinion about loving God. i feel that a person can love god and people the same... mark 40:25 "unto the least of these my brethren..."
For someone as anti-religious as Steinbeck seems to be, he alludes to the Bible an awful lot... Maybe he used to be religious and this book was written after he had developed a disdain for religion...
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