"A man is the sum of his deeds, not his words. It is only when belief becomes action that we really accept the belief."

In "The Grapes of Wrath", the author illustrates that a man is judged by his actions, not only by his words, by the character of Jim Casy. Jim Casy does plenty of both things, but the ones that stand out the most are the ones where he takes physical action. He speaks out against the banks and the farmers, but the people are scared of listening to him for fear of having even more taken away from them. He stands out and pickets so that the farmers keep the wages up to at least enough to give the people enough money to survive. Jim Casy constantly risks his life for what he sees as the greater purpose, which is for mankind to survive.

Jim Casy realizes this himself, when he says that all he does when he preaches is jump around and say things to get the people excited about the bible, but not what is real to them. He speaks, even he does not know the purpose of what he is saying if it does not help the people. Religion and God are supposed to help people in some way, by giving direction and something to believe in, but what Jim Casy is preaching at first gives no direction towards something that could help the people solve their problems. He is not doing anything to help the people except read what is in the Bible. He does want to help the people and he knows that there is something wrong with what is happening to the people and he goes out on the road, to be with the people, to see what the problem is.

When Tom trips the deputy in defense of Floyd, Casy steps out to protect Tom. He saves the family by taking the blame for everything so that Tom does not get in any more trouble, which could hurt them. Casy could have just told Tom to go hide and done the same himself, but his reaction was to take the blame himself instead of risking of putting the family in danger. He gained respect from the family by protecting Tom that way. He does receive recognition for being a preacher, but he gains more respect for actually helping the family in a real way, by sacrificing himself.

The reason that Casy is killed is that he speaks out for his beliefs and the farmers and police think that he is the leader of the people joining the strike. He is considered the leader because he talks so much, but he talks about what they are doing and giving the people ideas that are possible to go through with and he is giving them the example himself. Jim Casy knows that he can get work in the farm, but he will not go and do it because he knows that the wages will drop when he stops his actions. When he gives up, it will hurt the family. He takes the blame for being the leader and ends up dying for his actions that hold up his beliefs. .

It is only after Jim Casy's death that Tom begins to realize the importance of what Jim Casy had been saying all along. Jim Casy showed that he believed in what he said by his actions that jeopardized his own life. Jim Casy knows that there is something wrong with the society and goes out to find what it is. On the way, he discovers what that is. "It is need that makes all of the trouble." It is only when he goes to jail and sees the pain and suffering and the inhumane effect that it has on the guards, does he realize what is wrong.

Steinbeck himself points out that actions are the ones that count. "Need is the stimulus to concept, concept to action." In order for change to occur, actions must be made. Jim Casy takes action by urging the other people and educating them on how it should be. He does not just speak, though, he takes action himself. Jim Casy does not just endanger himself just by standing up to the land owners, but he also stands up and preaches to the people to do the same. He urges them to fight for their land and not to sit down and take it. He constantly talks about what seems right and what seems wrong to the Joad family and to the greater family, which is considered dangerous enough for agitating the people. Tom is so influenced by Casy's speeches that he wants to continue on his work.

The intent of the book is a call for action. Nothing can be done by just waiting. History has shown that one drastic action can change everything. The more people that join that quest for action, the greater the reaction will be. In the book, Jim Casy is the one constantly looking for the puzzle of that thing that just seems wrong to him. He eventually understands what that is and takes action to try to change the thing for the better. He takes broader actions such as informing the public and urging them to take action. He also shows that he believes in what he says by risking his life and freedom to fight for the things that he speaks of so greatly.