Revolution Arts: Casey's Monologue (writing in role)

Revolution Arts: Casey's Monologue (writing in role)

Jim Casy character profile

Age: 35
eye colour: brown
Hair colour: brown
profession: ex-preacher

Beliefs: Casey who was once an evangelical preacher has questioned his belief in god and instead believes in humanity and thinks that what's holy is men and women working together to achieve one ideal and not relying on "god" or "Jesus" to make a miracle happen!

Family: Father- Deceased, Mother- Deceased, Brother and sister- both Deceased

Characteristics: Casey is a very independent character both in his beliefs and socially. His only real companion throughout the play is Tom who he develops a very close and unique friendship with tom that is very different from that of most characters in the play, Casey becomes Tom's mentor as the play progresses with tom acting as his protégé until Casey's death at the end when tom takes over and continues to spread Casey's Ideologies and beliefs. Casey is a listener, he hears everything that is said around him and is a very good observer of others, Casey understands people and behaviour and will take in everything that he hears. Casey only speaks when he feels he completely understands something, this is why when he speaks he generally has a lot to say and what he does say always seems necessary; Casey speaks when something needs to be said!

Hobbies: Casey plays the harmonica throughout the play, it  seems to be his way of relaxing and thinking, it also shows Casey as being a creative individual which is reflected through his music just as it is through his "sinful idears." Casey is a big drinker and always has a hip flask with him, he uses it as a way of escape and as a way of self therapy throughout the play! On the flip side Casey also drinks as a way of helping him to socialise with others as he is a very solitary person, not in a timid way, he just like's his own company alot of the time.

Jim casy Character analysis

A traveling preacher, Jim Casy was "lousy with the spirit" but troubled by the sinful sensuality that seemed to result from being "all full up of Jesus." He leaves preaching and wanders in the wild country, trying to come to terms with his own ideas about God, holiness, and sin. When we first meet him, he is still struggling with these concepts, but is beginning to narrow them down to an earthy interpretation of Emerson's theory of the Oversoul: All souls are just a small portion of a larger soul, this larger soul being the "Holy Sperit…the human sperit." Being part of this holy spirit means accepting all parts of people, thus "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." Realizing that these ideas will not be accepted in traditional worship, Casy has declared himself no longer a preacher, although he continues to be a speaker and teacher. Specifically, he shares his theories with Tom, who is an impatient, but not unwilling listener. At various points, Casy's teachings reflect the various philosophies of transcendentalism, humanism, socialism, and pragmatism.

Jim Casy is the moral spokesman of the novel and is often considered a Christ-figure. The initials of his name, J.C., are the same as Jesus Christ, and like Christ, he wanders in the wilderness. In Christ-like fashion, Casy sacrifices himself when he turns himself in to save Tom after an altercation with a deputy. Prior to this point in the novel, Jim has been primarily a speaker, more worried about figuring things out than acting on his ideas. His sacrifice for Tom marks the first time that Casy acts. For his sacrifice, Casy in put in jail, where his experiences with the positive effects of group organization lead him to a more complete realization of his beliefs. He leaves jail and begins to put his theories into practice. He dies a martyr's death, paraphrasing Christ's last words ("Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do") when he cries, "You don' know what you're a-doin." And, like Christ, his teachings are delivered to the rest of the world as the result of this death. Tom, who must be considered Casy's disciple, vows to spread his message as he works toward greater social justice.

Evaluation of Casy

One of the characters in Grapes of Wrath that experiences a departure from the “I” form of thinking, towards the “we” form of thinking is the ex-preacher, Jim Casy. Jim Casy is seen as much of a philosophical character, relating much in a biblical sense to Jesus Christ, revealing his thoughts on life and human nature to the other characters. Although he does not portray any form of selfish behavior at the start of the novel, he is nevertheless portrayed as an independent character, initially insignificant and unlinked to the rest of the characters. It is learned that before the start of the story, Casy had disappeared into the wilderness to think about his life and about his role as a preacher. He begins to learn the true meaning of life and the human spirit. He explains that the human spirit is just one great being and the human soul is a member of a larger soul that is formed by the love between each person. Tom recalls that “one time Casy 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 little piece of a soul wasn’t no good ‘less it was with the rest, an’ was whole” (70). This is the basic philosophy that the togetherness of the migrants is based on. Yet, at the start of the book, Casy only seems to be stumbling upon these ideas. He appears to be experiencing doubts about his former life and his lifestyle and beliefs as a preacher, rather than any doubts about the nature of mankind. His thoughts seem to be more focused around himself than the condition of the migrants. For example, Casy tells Tom that he is “just Jim Casy now. Ain’t got the call no more. Got a lot of sinful idears—but they seem to be kina sensible” (27). His scepticism regarding the true meaning of the sins that mankind commits is more centred on his duty as a preacher, than on human nature. He starts to present some philosophical ideas at the start of the novel, but it is not until later that he reaches a complete understanding of such ideas. 

writing in role rev casey

35 years I lived here, walked off a little bit east or a little bit wes’ but I always come back here. This is my home, my fambly’s home, this is the place my father lived and his father before him and dammit I thought it’d be the place where my son an’ his son ‘ould live aswell. Guess that just aint the way, the world has all kinda changes, guess some are good an’ some bad. A man’s gotta get on with ‘em all the same aint no point in wining ‘bout stuff a man’s gotta adapt. It sure is nice of the Joad’s to take a guy like me along with ‘em on this journey, I feel kinda bad if truth be told I always knowed they aint got the money to take me with ‘em, it’s just I can’t stay in Sallisaw no mor’ aint got nothin’ left here for me, aint no crops, aint no rain, there aint no nothin’ here no more ‘cept hunger an’ death.

Harmonica

I have  decided to learn to play the Harmonica because throughout the play there are points where Casey starts to play the harmonica, I think this is how Casey thinks and it helps him to build his thoughts. For these reasons I will ensure that i carry my harmonica with me at all times and when i am thinking and relaxing I will start to play just as Casey does, as a way of getting that little bit further into the mindset of Jim Casey. I feel that this shows Casey as being quite a solitary character who uses his music to keep him company when out on his own in the wilderness.

Jim Casey's accent

I want to ensure that I perfect my accent in time for when we perform Grapes of Wrath in November, I feel that this will be easier when i know all of my lines by heart as it allows me to focus much more on my character.

Because I have quite a deep voice normally I find it quite easy to achieve the southern drawl however i feel that in order to perfect my accent that i must refine my pronunciation of words in the right way and a ensure that the pitch of my syllables go up and down accordingly(something i believe needs to be rather subtle)

In order to get the accent i want, I though that it would be a good idea to find an accent that I liked done by another actor, then build around it and with it to make it my own. Making the accent my own is something i feel is completely key as I believe that the accent should reflect a persons life experiences and way of being for example a person who is a with schizophrenia may talk in a very quick, almost hysterical voice, whereas a philosopher may talk slower in a more calming and though out way.

I feel that Casey is a very self assured and enlightened man and doesn't tend to speak fast and higher pitched because he likes to convey his points of view so they affect people and because Casey knows that people will listen to him and what he has to say, the preacher isn't in a rush to get his words out.

I would like the basis of my characters voice to be  similar to that of tom Hardy's voice in lawless as I feel that it fits very well With both characters generally mellow and wise way of being http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOl0wRIIsWc

Family leadership changes in grapes of Wrath

When the novel begins, the Joad family relies on a traditional family structure in which the men make the decisions and the women obediently do as they are told. So invested are they in these roles that they continue to honour Grampa as the head of the family, even though he has outlived his ability to act as a sound leader. As the Joads journey west and try to make a living in California, however, the family dynamic changes drastically. Discouraged and defeated by his mounting failures, Pa withdraws from his role as leader and spends his days tangled in thought. In his stead, Ma assumes the responsibility of making decisions for the family. At first, this shocks Pa, who, at one point, lamely threatens to beat her into her so-called proper place. The threat is empty, however, and the entire family knows it. By the end of the novel, the family structure has undergone a revolution, in which the woman figure, traditionally powerless, has taken control, while the male figure, traditionally in the leadership role, has retreated. This revolution parallels a similar upheaval in the larger economic hierarchies in the outside world. Thus, the workers at the Weedpatch camp govern themselves according to their own rules and share tasks in accordance with notions of fairness and equality rather than power-hungry ambition or love of authority.

Jim Casey or Jesus christ?

Reverend Casy is a martyr, he's basically killed because of his beliefs. When we think long and hard about this preacher's life – how he disappeared from Sallisaw for a while and wandered around, how he loves people and being among people so much – we realize that he reminds us of someone. He reminds us of another martyr who wandered in a wilderness for a while, developing his own philosophy, and who loved people so much. He reminds us of Jesus Christ. Jim Casy even happens to share the same initials as Jesus Christ – J.C.

Tom Joad encounters Casy on his way home from jail. Casy sits under a tree and talks on and on about all of the times he slept with women when he was a practising preacher. He has some serious guilt about this, and this guilt does not go away. At the same time, however, Casy is drawn to life and to the people who live life. While he was a preacher, Casy was put on a pedestal and was distanced from the people around him. He doesn't want to be isolated from mankind ever again. It's too lonely and too unnatural. Casy has realized that being with people what life is all about.

Though this isn't quite how i would like to play Casy, i believe that this is a very relevent way of interpreting this character. To me Casy's role in this novel isn't so much about him having how he was a preacher, to me Casy is a clever man but not in an academic way, Jim Casy is clever-i believe- because he listens and takes in every word that is said by everyone some times from up close and sometimes from afar, he then will then sit around and mull what is said so that when he gives an opinion it is relevant and poinient, Casy doesn't speak for the sake of it, he speaks when he feels he has a point worth speaking about; which is why many of his lines are long and deep, because he doesn't believe in small talk and general conversation!