Representation Of Cain In The Bible

      John Steinbeck includes more of the tale of Genesis: 4 than is actually told in the bible.  The basis of this is a Jewish story involving twin sisters of both Cain and Abel.  The two disputed over Abel’s twin whom Abel was to marry.  Cain murdered Abel and wed the twin sister of his brother (Fonterose, Joseph. p.3380).  The story differs also in that it is Abel who leaves his home instead of Cain.  Abel found his Eden, represented by Salinas Valley, but lost it after fathering a second generation very similar to the first, Caleb representing Cain and Aron representing Abel (Fonterose, Joseph. p.3379).  The story is changed by Steinbeck to illustrate

In the book East of Eden by John Steinbeck, Caleb and Aron are the twin sons of Adam and Cathy Trask. Adam’s relationship with Cal and Aron closely resembles that of the biblical Cain and Abel parable. Adam, undoubtedly loving Aron more than Cal, is metaphorically shoving Cal into a corner by rejecting so many of his gifts and actions as a son. The relationship between Cal and Adam is a distant one from the beginning, neither making an effort to fully understand the other since Aron is so obviously the perfect child. Cal, jealous of Aron constantly holding his father’s attention, goes through many dilemmas on the journey to gain his father’s acceptance. In striving to ultimately gain his father’s blessing and acceptance, Cal demonstrates

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.

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

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

After reading the book and analyzing the characters, I do see there is a pattern that Cal follows that at first leads us to believe that he is the “Cain” of his generation but he shows something that Cain did not. Cal shows and feels remorse for the terrible things he has done to the people he has loved. He desires to be a good person but, he has never been capable of triumphing over sin how Aron has from the beginning. For this reason I believe that Cal doesn’t fit the mold of Cain; but instead he follows the role. Meaning that even though Cal follows the story of Abel and Cain all the way to the he at least has an internal battle with himself constantly trying to do good-by, but yet always falls to temptation. Cal brings a whole new concept to the book containing the black and white definition of good and evil, one that we can all relate to. Cal is truly both good and evil and does not posses only one of the two, he shows that being both good and evil is how many people find themselves behaving. He however has a hard time grasping this idea until Lee helps him open his eyes. Lee brings this whole idea to Cal that he is the person he is because no other person shares his qualities and even though some of them are bad he can still be a good person. At one point Lee talks about Cal in a way to make others hopefully understand him better: “One moment he was

In the film, Caleb Trask is depicted very closely to the his character in the novel. Caleb is misunderstood and craves for his father's attention. He goes through all sorts of means to get his father’s attention and love. His intentions become overlooked and deemed as horrific acts. When Cal learns about his mother, he is even more terrified of the darkness he is capable of. He genuinely worries that he may have inherited the permanent evil from his mother. The film skillfully captures Cal’s struggle to find his own direction in life, away from the

Charles never kills his brother, but his jealousy and hatred remains with him throughout the book. Adam joins the army and leaves the farm, but after serving his time and wandering for many months he finally returns to the farm. It is at the farm where Adam first encounters Cathy Ames. The narrator calls Cathy a monster, a person with no morals, as a young girl burned her parents alive in their house and stole their money. Cathy ends up at the Trask farm after being beaten and left for dead by her lover. Adam nurses her back to health and finds himself falling in love with her. He marries her and they move to California. Cathy becomes pregnant and gives birth to twin boys: Caleb and Aaron. After giving birth to the twins, she shoots Adam in the shoulder and escapes to Salinas to become a madam of a whorehouse after murdering her predecessor. Caleb and Aaron (Aron) enact the second generation of Cain and Abel in the Trask family. Caleb, called Cal, is dark and conniving and Aron is handsome and liked by everyone. Just as it was with their father and Charles, Caleb yearns for his father's love and attention, but it is Aron who receives his father's love. Adam never tells his sons about their mother but Cal finds out. When Cal is rejected by his father, he seeks revenge against his brother by taking him to see their mother at the whorehouse.

John Steinbeck uses a wide variety of literary devices throughout his novel, most notably, his wide use of allusions. The two younger generations of the Trask family mirror the biblical tale of Cain and Abel, both in name and in actions. Cain and Abel is a tale of two brothers, one a farmer, the other a shepherd, who each offer gifts to god. God chooses Abel’s gift over Cain’s gift, and in a jealous rage, Cain murders Abel. God then exiles Cain to the lands east of Eden, where he is sent to wander. Both generations of Trask brothers mirror the story of Cain and Abel. One brother is favored above the other, which leads to anger from the sibling cast aside. Adam’s father cast aside Charles in favor of Adam, and Adam, unaware of the similar circumstance, casts aside Caleb over his more amiable brother, sending him into a jealous rage the same way Adom’s brother had years before. The repeating circumstances convey the insight that history may not repeat per se, but rather it rhymes. Another major allusion within “East of Eden” is the title itself. Cain is sent to the lands east of Eden as his punishment, and so is Charles, who confines himself to his farm to think over his actions. Caleb finally breaks the cycle, being relieved from his spiritual wandering by his father. The title contrasts the theme of the novel, which emphasizes human choice in their fate.

So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast” (Genesis 4). This quote can be perfectly ascribed to John Steinbeck’s characters, Cal and Aron. Cal and Aron both try very hard to impress their father later in life. Aron, representing Abel, offers his good education and potential in the world. Cal offers money which he gained from a path that Adam did not like.

The idea of good and evil is illustrated throughout the book. The novel spans several generations—playing out the biblical story of Cain and Abel not once but twice. Cal is a great example of evil. He steals his brother’s girlfriend and soon to be wife. He is constantly mean to his father being disrespectful and disobedient him. In one instance Cal, destroys tons of ice because he is upset even after his father tell him to stop. He obsesses over finding and making contact with his mother. He is often described as dark and cold, he inherits those traits from his psychopathic mother. He is sometimes good, once he warms up to Abra he is kind and sensitive. They go on a date and kiss without Aron knowing. He agrees to care and marry for Abra, after Aron goes crazy and joins the military.

Cain, the older sibling, is a farmer, while Abel is a shepherd. As offerings, Abel offers his most prized possession, the calf, to God while Cain offers some leftover wheat that he had grown that year. When God accepts Abel’s offering and declines Cain’s, Cain becomes filled with anger and kills Abel. John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, alludes to the story of Cain and Abel. In the book, Adam Trask has two children named Cal and Aron, whose names are very similar to “Cain and Abel”. Adam clearly favors Aron over Cal just as God favored Abel over Cain. When Adam refuses to accept Cal’s gift of $15,000, Cal become infuriated and “kills” Aron by making him join the army. In both stories, a murder occurred due to jealous

When questioned by Adam concerning where Aron was, Cal responds, “’How do I know?’ Cal said, ‘Am I supposed to look after him?’” (Steinbeck 410) which parallels with Cain’s infamous answer, “’I don’t know,’ he replied. ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’” to God’s inquiry of where Abel was (New International Version, Gen. 4:9). Because of their envy, both of the boys feel no remorse in essentially murdering their brother and neither of them realize the severity of their actions until later. Throughout the entire novel, Cal carefully watches what he said and did to avoid the possibility of becoming anything like Cathy, but since he embodies the character of Cain, Steinbeck accentuates his unfavorable attributes. However, Cal still has the ability to make the right judgement and does not have to follow in Cain’s or Cathy’s footsteps because he was given a chance to make footsteps of his

The Bible provides a theological account of a man by the name of Cain who was the first born son of Adam and Eve. Because Cain committed the act of murder by killing his brother Abel, God placed a mark on Cain’s body which made his skin appear black. Although many people could interpret the mark placed upon Cain as a literal mark, it is believed to be the beginning conception of African Americans. As the theological story progresses, Cain became irate with the mark placed upon him and as a result refuted his brother and the rest of his family. Through this ancient and biblical account we observe the beginning of prejudice and the lasting effect it has on our world. Although prejudice and stereotyping exists in many forms and between many nationalities, I was intrigued to see the lasting effects it had while watching the movie Crash. Through watching the movie Crash we will observe the lasting effects of prejudice and stereotyping, the harmful results it causes to others and many examples how learning to accept and love members of other nationalities will allow us to be better people.

In book 4 of the Bible the first brother story takes place. It is one of deceit and competition over receiving better blessings from God. This is the story of Cain and