, Research Paper

Biblical Symbolism in John Steinbeck s work East of Eden

John Steinbeck is considered to be one of the most gifted American authors of all clip. Most of his plants are regarded extremely by critics and celebrated as brilliant signifiers of twentieth-century literature. Steinbeck s manner remains consistent throughout many of his plants ; he about ever incorporates the Bible. There are few better illustrations of Steinbeck s manner than East of Eden. Throughout Steinbeck s fresh East of Eden, he exercises the usage of many scriptural mentions to exemplify clearly his positions refering to the struggle of good and evil.

Much of the secret plan of East of Eden is centered upon the two sets of brothers stand foring Cain and Abel. Both braces are similar to Cain and Abel in the manner they go about winning their male parents favours. All four give gifts to their male parents, and the male parents dismiss the gifts of Charles and Caleb, the Cain representations ( Marks, Jay Lester. p.121 ) . Caleb and Charles Trask are evidently the more malignant brothers. They are besides the more loving towards their male parent. Steinbeck s purpose in this is to exemplify the demand of the Cain character in the narrative. Abel, Adam and Aron, is the antonym of his brother and of course good and pure. The intent of Adam and Aron in East of Eden is to clear up the belief that pureness must cognize evil ( Marks, Jay Lester. p.122 ) . Steinbeck illustrates the demand for both good and bad with the actions and beliefs of these supposed good characters. The representations of Abel, Adam and Aron are both described as unloving. Adam has non treated his kids reasonably and his intervention is caused by his innate goodness. Aron grows as an nescient selfish individual because he is of course good ( Fonterose, Joseph. p. 3382 ) . Steinbeck uses Cain to exemplify the pick adult male has. In the instance of Charles, Cain dies an unhappy adult male who did non populate a worthwhile life, Caleb on the other manus, chose to recognize his dark yesteryear, but chose to go on populating his life with hope ( Marks, Jay Lester. p. 122-123 ) .

In Steinbeck s East of Eden he is invariably utilizing individual characters to exemplify many different scriptural mentions. Adam and Jehovah are combined in Cyrus Trask in the first coevals, and combined with Adam Trask in the 2nd. Cathy-Kate combines many scriptural figures as good. She is non merely Eve, but she is Cain s married woman and the snake of Eden every bit good ( Fonterose, Joseph. p.3380 ) . Thus she is the representation of evil excessively. Cathy is evil to the point where she is non human. Her presence in the novel is meant to stand for evil and all of its cruel purposes. All of her workss are intended to demo how far from the existent universe Cathy really is ( Howard, Levant. p. 245 ) . Steinbeck compares Cathy to other cocottes in Salinas Valley, the scene of East of Eden. She is described as the lone prostitute who is incapable of being a good individual. She is an cold being whose life revolves around inhuman treatment and error. She is entirely demonic and destroys the artlessness of adult male ( Marks, Jay Lester. p. 126-127 ) .

John Steinbeck includes more of the narrative of Genesis: 4 than is really told in the bible. The footing of this is a Judaic narrative affecting duplicate sisters of both Cain and Abel. The two disputed over Abel s twin whom Abel was to get married. Cain murdered Abel and wed the duplicate sister of his brother ( Fonterose, Joseph. p.3380 ) . The narrative differs besides in that it is Abel who leaves his place alternatively of Cain. Abel found his Eden, represented by Salinas Valley, but lost it after begeting a 2nd coevals really similar to the first, Caleb stand foring Cain and Aron stand foring Abel ( Fonterose, Joseph. p.3379 ) . The narrative is changed by Steinbeck to exemplify the I

Drug Enforcement Administration that work forces of course have both good and evil inclinations within them, and that this mixture compels work forces to take between the two. The narrative told is similar to an alternate reading of Genesis: 4 called timshel. This alternate reading introduces the thought that Cain feels evil and putting to deaths Abel because of the green-eyed monster he feels towards his brother and God s love for Abel ( Levant, Howard. p.243 ) .

The relationship of good to evil is found in many different ways throughout East of Eden. One manner is the resistance between the two. Such a relationship is illustrated through the Cain and Abel allusions in the novel. Another relationship is that the two must coexist. This relation is represented by the reaching of both the church and the whorehouse in town at the same clip. Good comes from immorality is the 3rd relationship. Cathy doing Adam look all the more pure shows this relation. The last relationship is that both footings are comparative ( Fonterose, Joseph. p.3381 ) . Caleb Trask is illustrated as being a adult male more evil than others are. This unconditioned evil varies from the immoral values of other characters such as Charles or Cathy-Kate. The evil is attributed to Caleb s ability to take between good and evil and his choosing of the latter ( Levant, Howard. p.240 ) . In East of Eden, good is associated with single ethical motives. Examples of such would be abstention from sexual activity and virtuousnesss like generousness and self-respect. Evil is illustrated through Acts of the Apostless such as harlotry and slaying ( Fonterose, Joseph. p. 3381 ) . Sexual activity is treated as a animal act that can non be good. It is a wickedness ; where in other Steinbeck novels, it would be easy accepted. The sex in East of Eden is considered highly bad and therefore an evil action ( Fonterose, Joseph. p.3381 ) .

Steinbeck elucidates in East of Eden the belief that adult male, as a whole is a portion of the uninterrupted watercourse of good and evil. Where one adult male becomes condemned for his sloth, another might see the grade of Cain as a ground to persist. Steinbeck provinces, utilizing the character Lee, Cain bore the grade non to destruct him but to salvage him It was a preserving grade. ( Marks, Jay Lester. p.123 ) . The major motives in East of Eden are really based on two independent ideas. The first is based on who adult male is. It is a statement of how he lives his life. The 2nd is the pick that adult male has between good and evil. These two ideas are easy related and therefore do up the motive ( Marks, Jay Lester. p.120 ) . Steinbeck s belief that immorality is non passed from parent to child is illustrated by Kate and her boies. Aron and Caleb are evidently nil like their female parent when it comes to the affair of good and evil. Aron, the Abel figure, is non capable of his female parent s evil and deficiency of morality. Caleb differs from his female parent in that he is heterogeneously good and evil. Caleb is the proof Steinbeck gives that adult male takes his ain way and non needfully the way of his lineage ( Marks, Jay Lester. p.127 ) . Steinbeck s reading of the timshel papers suggests that the split of moral values is illustrated in the narrative of Cain and Abel. Thus, good and immoralities are separated each holding its ain moral point of view. Because of adult male s evil heritage, being descendant of Cain, he is of course forgiven for any breach in pureness ( Levant, Howard. p. 244 ) .

Steinbeck s mentions and allusions to the bible are really obvious. Although they are most evident when taking the narrative of Genesis: 4 into consideration, the more elusive devices are every bit every bit utile to Steinbeck to turn out his point. His beliefs of the relationship between good and immoralities are easy understood with the allusions that are exercised. It is possibly because of this fact that John Steinbeck s plants are normally considered mastermind.