Jealousy In The First Murder

In the story of Cain and Abel, Cain, a human being, clearly feels remorse for his actions against his brother. Although Cain

Knowledge of the major stories present in the bible will continue to benefit any student for the foreseeable future, as the Christian mythology will remain a powerful force in our culture for years to come. For instance, the story of Cain and Abel contains a strong moral lesson about jealousy and family. Understanding a biblical story like this is the reason why the Bible should be taught first in the spectrum, as much of it provides a solid moral lens through which much literature can be successfully interpreted.

Cain is very much like each and every one of us and it seems that we are fascinated with him. This could be because there is good and evil in every one of us. Of Abel, we basically just hear that he was born and murdered by his brother. Without a lot of explanation we are left with the nagging mystery of the death of an innocent man. We deal with that continuing mystery each day as innocent people are killed. In some ways you find out that murderers are more like you than different from you. Most of them have snapped during a horrible time in their life and taken the life of a loved one. For them it was not a logical move because none of them really were thinking logically at the time. Typically it was an action coming out of being totally absorbed in the other person.

For his sin he was expelled from Eden. From that day on he led the life of an exile, doomed to be "a fugitive and wanderer in the earth" (Gen. 4:12) and denied the rights of a normal man, only to bare the mark of a sinner and warning to others. With this Cain walked into the land of Nod (unknown, evil, dark), only to leave a legacy felt by the generations of his offspring.

When God proclaims that he favors Abel's gift over Cain's, Cain becomes angry and jealous towards Abel and he eventually kills him. Although God is fully aware of what has transpired, He asks Cain where Abel is, and Cain answers Him untruthfully saying, "Am I my brother's keeper?" (Genesis 4:2-5). After God reveals to Cain that he knows of Abel's murder, God banishes Cain to another part of the land and places a mark on him so that no man will kill him.

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?

In Genesis, God interacts with Adam by speaking to him face to face. Whether God was giving out instructions or punishment to Adam and Eve, he was always doing it on a personal level. The usual portrayal of God as an omniscient being is instead replaced as mentor to Adam and Eve who is trying to help them understand their existence. This close relationship is shown even when man does something wrong. The only rule that God gives to Adam is that he must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve go on to break the singular rule and be punished; but not to the extent most would think. Before partaking of the fruit God says that, "the day that you eat of it you shall die"(Genesis). Instead of dying, Adam and Eve are removed from the garden and go begin their lives. God punishes them for their actions, but also gives clothes and allows them to take the knowledge they have gained from the tree. Even after breaking the one rule that he has set for them, God allowed them to keep the knowledge they gained to begin mankind. This grace towards humanity is shown once again with Adam and Eve's children, Cain and Abel. Cain kills Abel after God accepts Abel's offering and not his own. Even with Cain having killed his own brother, God still does not punish Cain severally; "you will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth"(Genesis). This punishment is especially seen as inadequate as Cain goes on to settle in Nod and have his own family. This mercy by God shows that he was unable to punish humanity even for the most serious of offenses. This lack of punishment shows God's sympathy for mankind because of his close relationship with them. This close relationship stems from God's close bond with mankind because of their similar image and knowledge. This relationship that began as two very similar beings, has further blossomed as God has given great responsibility to

Cain and Abel were in a situation much more unique than Esau and Jacob, and Joseph and his brothers faced, for the society they lived in was extremely small, and they each had a direct relationship with God. As the book of Genesis tells us, Cain was the first born son of Adam and Eve. Their next son was a boy whom they named Abel. As Cain and Abel grew up both took responsibilities for making a living.

Adam and Able were unwillingly favored by their fathers, which as a result, caused jealousy to enter their brother’s minds. When Cyrus (Adam’s father) said, “Call it bad luck, but Adam is stuck being his dad's favorite. The point is, Adam doesn't ask for Cyrus's favoritism, and he certainly doesn't want his brother's jealousy either. But Charles sees Adam as the thing standing in between him and his dad's love. (Steinbeck,), it left Adam in confusion. Adam did not want his father’s favoritism nor did he want his brothers jealousy, but he couldn’t do anything about it. As a result of the jealousy within his brother, Charles, he had to take Adam out so he could get some his father’s love. In the Book of Genesis, Cain murdered Able over the same type of jealousy that Charles had on his brother. Instead of both of them being mad at their fathers they choose to be jealous towards Adam and Able. This is the major difference with Adam and Able, Cain kills Able, but Charles did not slay Adam. The root cause of the incident was the unfair distribution of

The police catch Adam and send him to prison twice; the second time he breaks out of jail and becomes a fugitive. In this reference in East of Eden, it shows that Adam has a part of Cain, as Cain, in the biblical story is the fugitive and a

Cain killed Abel, his own brother under the watchful eye of god. The story of Cain and Abel in the bible is a harsh one, a tale of how those who appear the most intimate might cause the most harm. Cain held with him the vice of jealousy and the intense feeling of being inferior. It is of no surprise how two authors from our readings came to the same parallels’ between the story of Cain and Abel, and the genocide of Rwanda and Bosnian. What happened in this two nations was shocking, but not if you see the trends and conditions s that lead up to the moment of violence. These two nations lived in communities that were so similar that any differences between them stood out to the point of contempt, an later violence. Nationalism was held the

Cain’s Jealousy of Abel Cain in Genesis 4:1-2 was the first son of Adam and Eve and the elder brother of Abel. Cain and Abel offered offerings to God and God looked with favor on Abel and offering, but God did not look with favor on Cain and his offering. He became angry and jealous of his brother. He invited his brother out to the field and there he attacked and killed him. Instead of Cain to make amends by offering what would be acceptable to God to secure the favor of God, he compared himself with Abel, became jealous and eventually became a murderer and a lair.

He also bore a mark that nobody who came in contact with him would kill him. This signifies that as people are young they will make mistakes and by just punishment will realize that they were wrong. Cain now had a lifetime to think about his murder.

A carving in ivory depicted the story of Cain and Abel. The carving was split up into three parts on the piece of ivory. In the first part it shows Cain and Abel giving an offering to God. Since Cain was a farmer he offered up some of his wheat crop to God but it wasn’t the best of his crops, it was the lesser of his crops. Abel offered his best lamb since he was a herder. In the carving you can see the hand of God over Abel’s offering because he choose Abel’s offering, and took favor of Abel. In the second part we see Cain killing Abel because he was jealous and angry that God favored Abel. Finally, in the third part we see God punishing Cain for killing Abel. This carving reminds me of my brother and me when we were younger. As young children

Evil has also to do with over-ambition and pride. Cain is rebuked by Lucifer for wanting to know too much - "Dust! Limit thy ambition!" Noah entreats Japhet not to question the Divine will. Manfred's punishment continues because of his pride, as he refuses to accept the help of the Witch of the Alps.