East Of Eden Character Analysis

“We have only one story. All novels, all poetry, are built on the never-ending contest in ourselves of good and evil” (Steinbeck 11) and East of Eden is one of the stories, surrounded by good and evil. East of Eden is filled with religious references, and deeply tied to old testament stories, specifically the garden of Eden, and Cain and Abel. These stories shape the characters in the novel, adding depth to their actions and characteristics, and furthering the plot of the novel, by the multiple generations and continuance of each biblical story. The theme of good and evil in East of Eden is in every aspect of the novel, but primarily in characterization. Many of these characters also carry a religious significance, specifically to Old Testament stories, and
All of this balances the good and evil, with one character on either side, the theme of good and evil, and how it drives characters, and relates to each one uniquely shapes East of Eden into a novel with perspective from multiple sides.
Steinbeck’s novel East of Eden is filled with religious allusions that drive the story, though there are no direct parallels, the characters are often associated with biblical characters. The allusion to Cain and Abel runs through the whole novel, in both Charles and Adam, and Cal and Aron but the boys exemplify the traits of Cain and Abel more than their father and his brother. Cal exhibits traits of Cain including his anger and jealousy, which is largely directed at Aron. This is most exemplified, when Cal tries to give Adam his gift, which Adam denies. Telling Cal to have “pride in the thing he’s doing” (Steinbeck 541), telling him, in short, to be like Aron. This pushes Cal to take Aron to see their mother, taking his anger out, not on his father, but on his brother and leading to Aron’s inevitable death. This parallels the story of Cain and Abel,