How Does Aaron Trask Use Biblical Allusions In East Of Eden

When thinking about the gift offering in the biblical story of Cain and Abel and its impact, one can see many similarities in East of Eden. Cain brought to God “the fruit of the ground” and Abel offered God “the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof” (Gen 4 KJV). God preferred the gift of Abel to the gift of Cain.

In East of Eden, Steinbeck explores the inherent power of choice over evil by characterizing Cal Trask and his struggle to recognize this power within himself. From a young age, Cal feels condemned to act on his sinful impulses because of his mother’s evil constitution. Despite this, he wishes to lead a pure, honest life, highlighting the complexity, difficulty, and importance of choosing good over evil.

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.

UNIVERSAL THEME QUESTION: What role does the story of Cain and Abel play in East of Eden? To what extent does it relate to the issues we face today?

The screenwriter, Mr. Andrew Niccol, paid a lot of attention on the words of characters, traits of characters and storyline of the whole movie. Even though Mr. Niccol didn’t directly put obvious biblical stories in the movie, but it is obvious when we look deeper into the individual cuts of the movie. Nevertheless, the director of the movie, Mr. Peter Weir, did an amazing job on showing the entire scene. Mr. Weir didn’t just make the movie directly look like a movie that showed about Christianity, he put indication of Christianity in the movie instead. Throughout the characters, we see Truman as Adam, Christof as God, and SeaHaven as Garden of Eden(heaven). From the plot, we see the image of heaven-like place, biblical verses, and the entering of human world (real world). Combining the character element and plot element, this movie is nicely done and paralleled to

John Steinbeck once wrote, “the word timshel—'Thou mayest'—that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open” (301). As explained in his book East of Eden, Timshel is the idea that one makes conscious choices about their lives rather than taking what they get. Because Adam Trask is rejected by those he trusts most and lets those rejections inhibit him, the comfort of Timshel does not appear to him until late in his life.

The novel, East of Eden, by John Steinbeck references to the bible quite a bit when describing some of the characters. Steinbeck refers to the story of Cain and Abel, two brothers who lived in peace until Cain slaughtered Abel. One day the two boys were to offer sacrifices to god; Abel offers his best lamb and Cain offers grain to god. God prefers Abel’s gift over Cain’s and in a jealous fit of anger Cain murders Abel. After this God comes to talk to Cain about what he had just done and in doing so he banishes Cain to “the land of Nod, east of Eden”(Genesis 4:16). Steinbeck uses a few Cain like characters throughout the novel to illustrate the reality of humanity; jealousy and favorability shapes our society and the way people act. There is no place to escape one's baser nature besides death’s home; steinbeck shows this through Cal Trask, Charles Trask, and Tom Hamilton.

The novel East of Eden by John Steinbeck is an allegory to the biblical story of Cain and Abel, and many of its characters become embodiments of both good and evil. As they struggle to overcome what has been decided for them they are taught they hold the power to overcome and rise above their destiny’s. When the Hebrew idea of “timshel” is introduced to the allegory of Cain and Abel, it become apparent that whether life is predestined or not; mankind holds the ultimate ability of deciding what will become of himself. Adam’s choice to move on from Cathy, Cal’s decision to

“…the naked riders leaning forward…They rode up out of the river among the willows…” –page 45

In East of Eden, John Steinbeck explores how the personality trait of jealousy affects an individual. He shows this through Cal Trask’s resulting transformation into a kind person and reprimanding by others for not being himself.

In HTRLLAP by Thomas C. Foster he talks about how many authors include biblical allusions in their stories. The transformation of turning into an insect could actually symbolize his desire not to have to return to a job he hates. In part one it says, “Gregor goes back to bemoaning his life as a traveling salesmen.” The transformation into a bug can be seen as a freedom from the from what he thought to be a boring life.

From the prophecy, the journey, the trials and adventures along the way to the reunion the movie and book followed a mans return to his home and family.

In William Faulkner in Go Down Moses, exhibits many biblical allusions throughout his writing by illustrating the Civil War being a cleanse from the sins human have committed. This furthers the idea that the corruption of humans can lead to an unavoidable chaos. William Faulkner’s Go Down Moses is collection of short stories in which they all tie together in a way. In a series of stories, Faulkner introduces Ike, who is met with moral conflicting issues throughout the book. Faulkner alludes to many biblical allusions and helps along with Ike’s decisions.

Combs provided a very detailed description of the characters. He was able to describe their personality, emotions and mind set. Combs did this in a way that made the reader feel like they knew the characters personally. The author explained their relationships with the Lord, the snake and the surroundings. The way that Combs brings the story to life is amazing. Combs highlights how Adam and Eve were naked before eating the fruit. He describes how they were not ashamed with their nakedness. He also explains how they felt ashamed of being naked after they ate the forbidden fruit. Combs also uses scriptures in his writing to break down nakedness. The scriptures help the reader to see sin in a different point of view.