A sort of moral question is developed here : was Cain ever a monster or was he made into one by God’s harsh dismissal? It’s a question I’ve mulled over frequently, especially because I’ve never understood why Cain was chastised for giving what was part of his livelihood, which was the same thing that Abel did. In the novel, Charles (Steinbeck’s Cain) spends his life trying to please his father, but Adam (Steinbeck’s Abel) is always loved more.

Steinbeck encourages his audience to view the narrative in an empathetic light: Cain & Abel both gave what they had, and yet, only Abel was praised for it. But Cain’s own morality can’t be dwindled down to that one act of immense hatred. Let’s dive in.Ĭain is evil, right? He murdered his brother in cold blood because of his own jealousy. Call it a testament to human redemption or a deconstruction of religious & moral belief: it’s nothing short of remarkable. Despite it’s poignant content, it’s an engaging read because of the hidden religious elements – most of which Steinbeck is developing a commentary on. East of Eden is a treasure hunt filled with Biblical easter eggs & moral gems. Based on the Biblical story of Cain & Abel (Genesis 4), Steinbeck’s work could best be described as a parallel of the infamous tale.

John Steinbeck is known for many extraordinary works, but East of Eden is something so spectacular that I struggle to understand how a fallible, self-oriented human mind could concoct it. Urn:oclc:867602763 Scandate 20100610014346 Scanner now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be goodĮast of Eden was the first novel I ever read that forced me to question practically everything I knew to be true. OL23166W Page-progression lr Page_number_confidence 97.69 Pages 616 Ppi 400 Related-external-id urn:isbn:067000278X O元954747M Openlibrary_subject openlibrary_staff_picks Openlibrary_work Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 19:00:23 Bookplateleaf 0010 Boxid IA118006 Boxid_2 CH119101 Camera Canon 5D City New York Curatestate approved DonorĪlibris Edition John Steinbeck centennial ed.

East of eden audio book