Dupre- Period 4
English IV AP Seminar East of Eden: Final Writing Assignment
Humans are being that are constantly trying to improve. Whether on a large scale through evolution or by immediate self improvement, this desire to be a better version of what we already are fuels much of our world. The ancient commission of a writer is to write with the purpose of provoking improvement in the readers, whether this is told through a precautionary tale like that of Cal and Aron, which ultimately led to the unintentional demise of Aron, or by offering more direct insight which was often provided by Lee to other characters in their times of distress.
The Bible is regarded by millions as the most …show more content…
Charles seemingly plays the first Cain role in the novel, leaving Adam to be his Abel counterpart. The jealousy that fueled the same murder of Abel in the Bible takes place in Cyrus favoring a gift from Adam, a puppy, over the gift of an knife presented to him by Charles, a gift a great deal of work and effort went into to obtain. Adam always feared his brother when he was angry, for once overcome with jealousy and anger, Charles nearly kills him, only stopping due to not being able to find Adam, not because of lack of will. To escape his brother and fulfill his fathers wishes, Adam joins the army, but ultimately settles away to California, where he raises his twin sons. The two sons are consequently named in such a way that one is the Cain (Cal) and the other is Abel (Aron). Repeating the same tale of Cain and Abel, Adam favors Abel (Aron) over Cain (Cal). Following the same routine of gift giving, Adam rejects Cal’s gift. Another Cain fueled by jealousy, Cal’s actions ultimately end with unintentional death of his brother. The significance of this allusion to Cain and Abel to show the significance of timshel, that every man is free to choose his own actions and path, one that god hasn’t already chosen it for him. God didn’t force Cain to kill Abel, it was a choice made by himself, the same way all the Cains in this novel has the same free will in their