East of Eden Essay: Steinbeck vs. Christ :: East Eden Essays

East of Eden: Steinbeck vs. Christ In the novel, East of Eden, John Steinbeck proposes the idea that man has much more control over his own destiny than many chose to believe-a conclusion reached from Steinbeck's own interpretation of the story of Cain and Able wherein God neither instructs Cain to master the sin which is crouching at his door, nor predicts that Cain will master it, but rather gives Cain the ability to choose. Taking the text out of context, Steinbeck uses it to convey the message that a man's destiny is up to himself and that the ability to choose to do what is right and wrong is as much a curse as it is a blessing. Steinbeck's interpretation is incorrect. By taking the clause thou mayest out of its context, Steinbeck twists the truth of free will and uses it to convey his own message: that a man, through his own free will, can shape and define his destiny. By reading the text in context-both the story of Cain and Able and the story of Christ, which is the accepted Christian message of the Bible as a whole-the message that thou mayest conveys is quite different in both meaning and gravity. The very context of the phrase tells its immediate meaning: "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but [thou mayest] master it." In context, the phrase thou mayest is more than the blank check that Steinbeck makes it out to be; rather, it is a warning and an instruction. God gives Cain the warning that if he chooses not to do rightly, sin will conquer him; and at the same time, He offers hope and tells Cain he can and, in context, should choose to master that sin. The Biblical context of the story goes further, applying itself to life in general. As the whole of the Bible unfolds, the concept of free will is realized on a far greater magnitude than Steinbeck applies it. All humanity is subject to the harassment of a sinful nature and a fallen world. "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God." Therefore, instead of the uninfluenced freedom to choose his