Religious References in East of Eden

Religion constantly appears throughout Steinbecks East of Eden. Among these religious appearances ar the similarities amongst the Cain and Abel story and the characters, the Hebrew word timshel, and the presence of god/Fate in the novel. First, East of Eden is a reenactment of the Cain and Abel tale. many similarities are seen between the two. The title East of Eden comes from the scriptural tale when Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the drop off of Nod on the east of Eden (Steinbeck 352). The relationship between Abel and Cain, who killed Abel, is similar to those of go game and Charles, who once tried to kill Adam, and Aron and Caleb, who aware Aron of their mothers profession, an act which led to Arons death in cosmea War I. Charles and Caleb fight for their fathers affections in the same way in which Cain fought with Abel over the Lords attention. Also in the novel, the Cain characters ... are set by names beginning with C (Cyrus, Charles, Cathy, Caleb) and the Abel characters ... with A (Alice, Adam, Aron, Abra) (Lisca 269). succeeding(prenominal) is the word timshel-- thou mayest-- a Hebrew word communicate to Cain by the Lord: if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him (Steinbeck 351).

Lee discovers that the verb in this passage has been translated as both thou shalt [rule over evil] and do thou [rule over evil].With the help of his Chinese elders and a Judaic Rabbi, Lee determines that the original meaning is thou mayest-- the word timshel ... gives a choice (398) or free will to mankind to generate good or evil acts. This word appears often in the novel and is important at the very end where Adams final timshel blesses and forgives Caleb and reminds him that even after his murder of his brother ... he can still choose his course and fight it through and win, meaning Caleb still has the chance to overcome the list for evil which he believes he has... If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: Ordercustompaper.com

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