Biblical parallels and the theme of good versus evil in East of Eden

¶ … East of Eden by John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck's "East of Eden" is a story patterned after the Biblical stories of the banishment of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden and the sibling story of Cain and Abel. The primary theme of the story focuses on the struggle of good against evil. In the first Biblical story, the Garden of Eden is shown as a place where purity, happiness, and all the beauty of the world can be found, and Adam and Eve, the first man and woman of the world, resides in this 'paradise.' Similarly, Steinbeck shows his own version of the Garden of Eden, which can be found in Salinas Valley in California. Meanwhile, the story of Cain and Abel is illustrated twice in the story: the first being the story of Adam and Charles Trask, and the second one with Aron and Caleb, Adam's sons from Cathy. These stories will be discussed and analyzed in relation to the theme of good and evil, and how this primary theme is reinforced in the Steinbeck's novel, "East of Eden."

The Garden of Eden story is best illustrated in the story of Adam and Cathy, who sought their own Garden of Eden when they arrived at Salinas Valley. There are many parallelisms of he story of Adam and Eve when compared to Adam Trask and Cathy's story. Adam, as the namesake of the first man, is married to a sinful woman, Cathy. Steinbeck's novel does not only show Cathy as the 'sinful' Eve who pushes Adam to sinfulness, but he also illustrates Cathy as Satan also, especially since Cathy's history shows how evil her ways are, possessing lust and greed that can be found in Satan's character. Cathy's evil character is best described in Steinbeck's description of the evil character, saying: "And it occurs to me that evil must constantly respawn, while good, while virtue, is immortal. Vice has always a fresh young face, while virtue is venerable as nothing else in the world is." This passage shows how Cathy must always change her name and life in order to continue her evil ways, while good people like Adam is 'immortalized' through their good ways.

The most important parallelism in the novel is the portrayal of the brothers Adam and Charles and Aron and Caleb in the novel as modern-day equivalents of Cain and Abel. While Adam's brother Charles fits perfectly the character of Cain, Caleb is portrayed as a good person who only seeks love and approval from his father. While Aron is, at times, the perfect brother for Caleb, and Caleb is sown as the opposite of what Aron is, it is evident that Caleb does not have the 'streak of evil' that can be found in Cathy, his mother, and Charles, Adam's brother. The term 'timshel' or 'timshol' is significant in the novel because it signifies forgiveness from all the wrong doings of Caleb to his father and brother, and 'timshel,' as applied in the novel, signifies that Adam as the 'father' is willing to forgive and give his 'son' another chance to live a life full of love and forgiveness, just like what God in the Bible had shown mercy and love for humankind.