John Steinbecks East of Eden - The Gift of Free Will :: East Eden Essays

East of Eden - The Gift of Free WillAn elegant benefit of choosing to major in English is that it has allowed me four years to dig deeply into my love of the written word. This involves looking beyond the surface of literature and analyse its effects in the course of my everyday life. Some books are easy to suppose quickly, enjoy, and forget, but others exert an influence that is non easily discarded or forgotten. In my mental library, the classic American novel East of Eden, by John Steinbeck, falls into this category. I believe East of Eden has helped shape me chastely by illustrating the power of free will in a world caught between a constant battle of good and evil.I decided to read East of Eden after hearing a friend share a short passage from it in his valedictory address. Although I do not remember the contents of that particular passage anymore, I remember that it was the power of Steinbecks simple, direct language that urged me to take it on as my next big raid into w hat my high school English teacher called real literature.The Cain and Abel story, possibly the most enigmatic story of good and evil in the Bible, is the basis for East of Eden. Although allegoric elements are scattered throughout the whole novel, the most evident theme struck me as three of the main characters discussed the ramifications of deitys words to Cain after Abels death. Lee, a Chinese servant to one of the novels main families, explained to his two companions a little-known conflict between the translations of Genesis 47 in two versions of the Bible. In one translation, God tells Cain that thou shalt rule over sin. In another, God says to Cain, Do thou rule over sin. The first is a promise, and the second is an order. Lee concluded that the equivocalness presented by the two translations is at the heart of the universal human story.I agree. I know some people who surrender themselves to the fatalistic belief that everything in life has been mapped out by God. I also kno w people who believe that God is a harsh drillmaster who issues demands under the constant threat of damnation. Until I read this book, however, I never wondered where the dispute originated. As the characters in Steinbecks novel discussed the discrepancy of Genesis 47, I also wondered at the intended implication of the verse.