Cain and Abel Relationships in East of Eden

Cain and Abel Relationships in East of Eden

Jacob Wierman

Mrs. Pagel

English 10 PIB

2 May 2012

John Steinbeck’s East of Eden analyzes complex relationships and traits, but none more so than those of Cain and Abel. Steinbeck uses character interactions and characteristics to create a modern interpretation of the biblical story of Cain and Abel. Many of the characters in East of Eden are placed within the mold of either Cain or Abel, though not all emerge as perfect casts. Some characters exhibit variations of the Cain and Abel relationship while others only exhibit the characteristics of either Cain or Abel. Themes of sibling rivalry, rejection, and sin all appear in East of Eden and all harken back to the biblical story of Cain and Abel. The aggression, jealousy, and sinful nature of Cain manifest themselves into “C” characters, characters that not only have “C” as the first letter of their name, but also serve to allude to the biblical Cain. The innate goodness, favor, and murder of Abel manifest themselves into “A” characters, characters that have “A” as the first letter of their name and are meant to allude to the biblical Abel. However, not all “C” and “A” characters embody all of the traits of their biblical counterpart and not all perfectly exemplify the traits that they do embody. It is these imperfect, yet reflective parallels to Cain and Abel that make East of Eden truly exceptional as both an interpretation and analysis of the Cain and Abel story. Steinbeck uses the characteristics of various “C” and “A” characters of East of Eden as well as the relationships between them to allude to the biblical story of Cain and Abel.

The characteristics of Cain and Abel can be clearly viewed through their words, traits and actions. Cain and Abel were the first two natural born humans on Earth, Cain having been born first and Abel born second (Genesis 4:1-4:2). Cain made his living off of the land as a farmer, and his brother made his living off of...