eir homes. In the novel, the Joads and the Wainwrights gather their belongings onto a platform and wait out the flood, much like Noah and his family gathered on the ark for forty days until the rain stops. These situations show again the importance of unity and helping one another to make it through troubles. Steinbeck also helps to create his theme by alluding to events in the Bible through situations among the Joad family. The novel can be broken up into three sections by the events that take place. The first part is the Joad’s eviction from their farms under the control of the banks and companies, which parallel the Israelites’ slavery to the Egyptians. Both groups struggled under the control of overwhelming forces and left in hopes of a better life. The second part is the Joad’s journey from Oklahoma across the Panhandle in search of the promised California that parallels the Israelites wandering in the desert in search of the Promised Land. Both groups experienced many troubles and hardships, and were forced to rely on their faith and on each other to survive. The third part is the Joad’s arrival to California, which parallels the Israelites arrival to Canaan. The journey for the Israelites lasted so many years that only the younger generation made it to the Promised Land. In the same way Granma and Grampa died before they reached the promised California just as the Hebrews wondered until the older generations died before they could enter the Promised Land. The flood at the end of the novel is another example of a Biblical allusion used by Steinbeck (Slade 245). This situation parallels to the Old Testament story of Noah’s Ark. In both events, heavy rains cause a flood that results in the families leaving their homes. In the novel, the Joads and the Wainwrights gather their belongings onto a platform and wait out the flood, much like Noah and his family gathered on the ark for forty days until the rain...
