John Steinbecks East of Eden Modern Biblical Story of...

John Steinbecks East of Eden: Modern Biblical Story of Cain and Abel And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and slew him. And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not. Am I my brothers keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? The voice of thy brothers blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now thou art cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brothers blood from thy hand. When thou tillest the ground it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater†¦show more content†¦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 ca lls 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 fathers love and attention, but it is Aron who receives his fathers love. Adam never tells his sons about their mother but Cal finds out. When Cal is rejected by his father, he seeks revenge agai nst his brother by taking him to see their mother at the whorehouse. This seems to be the simple retelling again of the tragedyShow MoreRelatedEssay Biblical Allegories in Modern Literature1378 Words   |  6 PagesJohn Milton, in his epic poem â€Å"Paradise Lost,† expresses that â€Å"the mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven† (Milton). This idea not only counteracts the basic ideals of Christianity but simultaneously disrupts the widely accepted idea of a separated heaven and hell and the expectations needed to be met to achieve entry. Religion and the bible, two of the most widely disputed topics in history, serve as a muse for authors to explain humanity’s fatal flawsRead More John Steinbecks East of Eden - A Biblical Allegory Essay1271 Words   |  6 PagesEast of Eden: A Biblical Allegory  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In East of Eden (1952) John Steinbeck creates a powerful novel using biblical allegories. By doing this, he can deliver a clear message by describing something unfamiliar to his audience and comparing it to something more familiar. Set in modern times, East of Eden retells the famous story of the downfall of Adam and Eve, and the jealous rivalry between Cain and Able. Steinbeck also creates many other characters throug his novel, that capture a biblicalRead MoreTimshel and Three Characters in John Steinbecks East of Eden1591 Words   |  7 PagesThe biblical story of Cain and Abel has been written in more than one way. The King James version of the Bible states that when God speaks to Cain after he had murdered his brother Abel, God said, Thou shalt overcome sin. In the standard American version of the Bible, God says Do thou which means Cain will certainly overcome sin. The Hebrew word timshel means thou mayest which is arguably the most important two words in John Steinbecks novel East of Eden. These two words change the meaning