Cain And Abel In John Steinbeck's East Of Eden

East of Eden, written by John Steinbeck, is a profound, complicated retelling of the biblical story of Cain and Abel, focused around the overall struggle between good and evil . John Steinbeck wrote this for his own sons, John and Tom, to show them not only the history of their family in the Hamiltons, but also the concept of sibling rivalry emerging from the competition over paternal love and acceptance (Shillinglaw). This was first evident in Adam and Charles Trask, and then in Adam’s sons, Aron and Cal Trask. The absence of a true mother figure in these two instances of brotherly contention enhances the need for acknowledgment and love from their parental figures. And yet, both mother figures in East of Eden choose to abandon their

It is then, when Caleb plans to give Adam 15,000 dollars that he made by investing in bean business. Caleb hopes that this money will make up for a great loss of money that Adam suffered when a plan to send lettuce to the east coast in refrigerated train cars failed. Adam rejects Caleb’s money, following the pattern of God rejecting or rather neglecting Cain’s gift as Cyrus ignoring Charles’ knife. On the other hand, it seems that Aron does not give their father any apparent gift, although many scholars, for instance David McCright argues that Aron’s gift “is a subtle one. He simply returns home from college for Thanksgiving and he is warmly received” (McCright 24). This time, Steinbeck let the readers know the most information about the gift that Caleb plans to give Adam. In the first offering, we only knew about it thanks to Charles and his memories of it, but this is different, the readers can actually see how much thought Caleb gave to it. He talks about making the money with Samuel’s son, Will Hamilton, who is also very clever and business-oriented man. Will asks him why he wants to make that money and give it to his father and he directly asks him if he wants to buy Adam’s love, to which Caleb replies that yes, he wants (East of Eden

Choice can be defined as the act of selecting or making a decision when faced with multiple possibilities. In John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, the motifs of houses, hands, and money reflect how the pattern of good and evil repeat due to the reoccurring theme that one has the right to choose.

Dated back to the 10th century B.C., the story of Adam and Eve is told in Genesis chapters 2 and 3 of the Christian Bible. The creation is the main focus of chapter 2 and their fall and punishment is the main focus in chapter 3. God creates Adam in his image from mud, he blows to his face and gives him life. God presents all of the animals of the land to Adam and he is not satisfied, so God created Eve out of Adams rib as a companion and helper for him, and he is satisfied with Gods work. God commands Adam and Eve to not eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But, the serpent persuades Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, and she persuades Adam to do so as well. After they eat the forbidden fruit they realize they are naked

East of Eden is a story that is based on the biblical stories of Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel. Like the story of Adam and Eve, East of Eden has characters that embody Adam and Eve to an extent. While the story of Adam and Eve tells about the beginning of man, how we came to be on this earth, and why we have original sin, East of Eden uses Adam Trask and Cathy Ames as the beginning of a complex and conflicting story of good vs. evil. Adam Trask is presumed to be Adam, good natured and goodhearted, while Cathy is presumed to be Eve. Only while Eve was deceived into committing sin, Cathy embraces it wholeheartedly and commits evil simply for its own sake.

Throughout the novel East of Eden, Steinbeck uses many biblical references to illustrate clearly the conflict between the opposing forces of good and evil. Much of the plot of East of Eden is centered upon the two sets of brothers representing Cain and Abel.  Both pairs are similar to Cain and Abel in the way they go about winning their fathers’ favors.  All four give gifts to their fathers, and the fathers dismiss the gifts of Charles and Caleb, the Cain representations (Marks, Jay Lester. p.121).  Caleb and Charles Trask are obviously the more malignant brothers.  They are also the more loving towards their father.  Steinbeck’s purpose in this is to illustrate the need of the Cain character in

In the novel, East of Eden by John Steinbeck, biblical allusion is a literary device that references characteristics of judeo christian doctrine. Steinbeck alludes to the bible with his characters and setting in East of Eden. Salinas Valley and Adam Trask’s garden allude to the Garden of Eden. Steinbeck portrays the biblical allusion of the chapter Genesis from the bible throughout the book. The characters in the novel are allude to those in the book of Genesis. Steinbeck’s characters alluded to Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel, and Seth. All the conflicts in the book of Genesis, parallel the conflicts in the novel. The conflicts of represent the same fundamental theme of the choice between good and evil. Which is how the research question, To what extent does biblical allusion impact the structure and theme in John Steinbeck, East of Eden, shows its significance. To answer the research question, the investigation will look at the biblical allusion to the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and Lilith. The investigation will further seek to explain how each biblical allusion impacts the structure and theme of the novel.

Sibling rivalry is a crushing reoccurrence in East of Eden. First Adam and his brother Charles, then Adam's sons Cal and Aron, act out a drama of jealousy and competition that seems fated Lee calls the story of Cain and Abel the "symbol story of the human soul." Steinbeck illustrates the central theme of good versus evil through two of his primary characters Samuel Hamilton, who represents goodness, and Cathy Ames, who represents pure evil. Both characters play crucial roles in the spiritual development of the protagonist, Adam Trasks and influence of on his sons and how it effects them.

Adam was clearly an Abel, good to the core. In contrast, Charles, his jealous brother, was a Cain figure. Adam’s set of twins took on characteristics of good and evil also. Aron, the fair-haired child, was considered the good son throughout most of the novel. He was his father’s favorite and Abra’s true love. The dark Cal, on the other hand, was jealous and mean. He believed throughout most of the novel that he was incapable of goodness and was condemned to the wickedness of his mother. Ironically, by the end of the novel, Cal became a good son and received his father’s blessings. Through the teachings of Lee, the family servant, Cal had learned that he had the freedom to choose goodness over evil.

A central question raised by John Steinbeck’s East of Eden is whether it is possible to triumph over evil, answered by the discussion of free will and inherited sin. The idea of “timshel” is canvassed through the struggles of Caleb “Cal” Trask. The concept of inherited sin is illustrated through the actions of Cyrus Trask, Charles Trask, and Cathy/Kate Trask.

This inherited money has been passed down from Cyrus to Charles and Adam then from Charles to Cathy which is then given solely to Aron. Each personal piece of the fortune was made from the fortune before it, meaning that this money has been obtained through immoral ways such as theft, prostitution, and blackmail. This relates to the theme of original sin, a biblical idea about how inherently evil traits are passed down. For example, Cyrus effects Charles and then Charles effects Cathy. It is this role of inheritance and wealth that ruins sanity although it may not always be passed down. It can also come from surroundings. This can be exemplified from Cathy’s suicide and her fortune that was passed down to Aron which instead of helping him, placed a huge symbolic burden on his

Beginning at a young age, people are taught to pursue a pure conscience and a bond of trust between close friends and family, all the while turning a blind eye to sin. Children most often learn from their parents and, as a result, believe that their parents are the quintessence of virtue. This concept is one that sticks with them until they catch an adult out for the first time; consequently, their beliefs begin to falter and the realization of a false perfect entity harms the child more than if the illusion were never created. Likewise, many adults struggle with realizing that society is built upon deceit due to masks of decency and credibility, while others deceive themselves by living in a world of illusions because of the pleasure and protection provided. That said, once the illusion is destroyed, it also destroys him. Similarly, John Steinbeck explores the double-edged sword of deception, wielded by both children and adults, in his novel East of Eden. Just as the masks that society wears, multiple characters throughout the story at first originally incapable of committing a sin as great as deceit due to their innocent introductions. Despite this initial virtuosity, Steinbeck’s East of Eden evinces humanity’s contrasting and inherent dependence upon selfish uses of deception, whether it be for self-empowerment, safety, or otherwise, with paltry consideration about the consequences of truth.

Cal Trask is the most prominent Cain like figure because he has always been the twin who was looked down upon and he causes his brothers death with an act of jealousy exactly like Cain did to Abel. When Adam says,”You’ll have to give it back” Cal is torn apart and in a state of jealousy and hatred towards his brother(Steinbeck 540). He knows that Aron is the preferred twin and this really makes him upset. This exact thing happens in the bible when Abel’s gift is the one God likes more of the two. This builds up jealousy in Cain and pushes him to the point where he murders Abel. Also when Cal says,”Oh, it’s

Tobias Wolff's short story, "The Rich Brother", is a parallel story to the biblical fable of Able and Cain. The biblical story of Able and Cain is that of the first story that puts man against man. Cain and Able are children of Adam and Eve, where Cain is the eldest and Able the younger of the two. In the biblical story Cain and Able end up giving gifts (sacrifices) to appease to their God. This in turn, creates tension between the two because Able's sacrifice of the lamb is much favored by God than is Cain's offering of his crops. Cain becomes outraged because he believes that Able has purposely tried to embarrass him, ultimately, leading Cain to become so enraged that he ends up murdering his only brother in cold blood. Throughout,

Adam’s goodness may be the preferred trait one would prefer to inherit, however it ends up being the downfall of him because it prevents him from seeing a person for who they really are. His kind nature ultimately is the reason he is able to be tricked by Cathy’s manipulative ways. However, after believing he is left with nothing and letting himself wallow in self pity, the honorable and wise Samuel Hamilton reminds him of an important story. Mr. Hamilton reminds Adam that King James of the bible once said, “thou salt prevail over sin”, however it is up to the man to rise above his pain and mistakes. Adam, still feeling sorry for himself, is hesitant to believe Samuel’s advice. However, after making a visit to his wife Cathy in her new life as a whore, he finally realizes he can be okay with out her. He realizes that his children deserve a father better than one who is in love with a whore. He sees through Cathy’s manipulation and decides that he can live happily with what he has. Adam confirms his choice to overcome Cathy saying, “I seemed to come out of a sleep, in some strange way my eyes have been cleared. A weight is off me”(Steinbeck 328). Adam rises above the Cathy he once idolized and allows himself to see who she really is. In result not only does he realize the improved Eden he can build with his sons, he proves that the power to overcome his destiny lays within one self. Adam, however is not the only Trask who proves this possible, Cal