Steinbeck’s work is most often compared to the biblical Garden of Eden, yet his novels and the scriptural story show distinct resemblance to the ancient Greek myth, Pandora’s Box. As Rebecca Barnes stated, “The myth of Pandora bears striking similarities to the Christian creation myth most frequently associated with Steinbeck’s novels” (Barnes, 159) Women are depicted as releasing evil throughout history, especially in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men and East of Eden which hold heavy similarities not only to the story, the Garden of Eden, but to the myth, Pandora’s box. All of the aforementioned literature hold women as antagonists, being far too easily tempted to sin because of their weaker minds. Women predictably release evil, and taint
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There is no sin or evil in the world. The garden is a safe haven with plenty of food and only one rule: do not eat the forbidden fruit. Eve is tempted by the Devil, “Eve looked at the fruit on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and saw that it looked fresh and delicious. She thought the fruit would make her wise like the serpent said it would. Eve was convinced” (Genesis 3:2). Eve does not think of the repercussions of her act as she is effortlessly tempted to sin. Eve represents all women being easily enticed to sin and weak in body and mind. She eats the fruit, bringing sin to the world. Analogously, Pandora is given a box and one rule: do not open it. Pandora’s curiosity got the best of her and she opens the box, releasing evil into the world. In both situations, the woman was the one who was weak enough to be tempted to release the evil or maliciousness. Women are seen as weak, thereby making it easier for them to be tempted to sin. The novels also have a common Eden theme. In Of Mice and Men, the goal of creating an Eden, or ideal world, is never reached. Curley’s wife is careless around Lennie and the giant kills her, derailing George’s dream of owning a ranch where they could be in control of themselves. In East of Eden Adam’s Eden is owning a plot of land in the Salinas Valley with Cathy and their sons. In a way he reaches his dream, yet he loses Cathy. The loss of Cathy decimates the rest …show more content…
In East of Eden, Adam Trask is unaware of his wife’s evil, "Perhaps Adam did not see Cathy at all, so lighted was she by his eyes. Burned in his mind was an image of beauty and tenderness, a sweet and holy girl, precious beyond thinking, clean and loving, and that image was Cathy to her husband, and nothing Cathy did or said could warp Adam’s Cathy” (Steinbeck, East 132). Adam’s love blinds him and he trusts too easily. His wife, Cathy, is a cold, callous woman who lacks morals and passes the trait to her son, Caleb. Her cruelty is best displayed in Adam’s heartbreak, In Of Mice And Men, Candy is missing a hand, Crooks is friendless, Curley 's hand is broken, Lennie is mentally handicapped, and Curley’s wife has no dreams. Curley’s wife also lacks a name, often a defining characteristic of humanity. Of course, another characteristic of humanity is principles or morals. Both principals are lacked by women in the two books. In fact, most of Steinbeck’s work involves women displaying subhuman attributes. The women in the novels cause the problems leading to the destruction of the protagonists’ dreams. Similar attributes are found in writing hundreds of years older than Steinbeck’s work. Eve and Pandora lacks the wisdom and knowledge to know better than to do what was forbidden of them. They also lack the self-discipline to resist the temptation of what the fruit tastes
There is no sin or evil in the world. The garden is a safe haven with plenty of food and only one rule: do not eat the forbidden fruit. Eve is tempted by the Devil, “Eve looked at the fruit on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and saw that it looked fresh and delicious. She thought the fruit would make her wise like the serpent said it would. Eve was convinced” (Genesis 3:2). Eve does not think of the repercussions of her act as she is effortlessly tempted to sin. Eve represents all women being easily enticed to sin and weak in body and mind. She eats the fruit, bringing sin to the world. Analogously, Pandora is given a box and one rule: do not open it. Pandora’s curiosity got the best of her and she opens the box, releasing evil into the world. In both situations, the woman was the one who was weak enough to be tempted to release the evil or maliciousness. Women are seen as weak, thereby making it easier for them to be tempted to sin. The novels also have a common Eden theme. In Of Mice and Men, the goal of creating an Eden, or ideal world, is never reached. Curley’s wife is careless around Lennie and the giant kills her, derailing George’s dream of owning a ranch where they could be in control of themselves. In East of Eden Adam’s Eden is owning a plot of land in the Salinas Valley with Cathy and their sons. In a way he reaches his dream, yet he loses Cathy. The loss of Cathy decimates the rest …show more content…
In East of Eden, Adam Trask is unaware of his wife’s evil, "Perhaps Adam did not see Cathy at all, so lighted was she by his eyes. Burned in his mind was an image of beauty and tenderness, a sweet and holy girl, precious beyond thinking, clean and loving, and that image was Cathy to her husband, and nothing Cathy did or said could warp Adam’s Cathy” (Steinbeck, East 132). Adam’s love blinds him and he trusts too easily. His wife, Cathy, is a cold, callous woman who lacks morals and passes the trait to her son, Caleb. Her cruelty is best displayed in Adam’s heartbreak, In Of Mice And Men, Candy is missing a hand, Crooks is friendless, Curley 's hand is broken, Lennie is mentally handicapped, and Curley’s wife has no dreams. Curley’s wife also lacks a name, often a defining characteristic of humanity. Of course, another characteristic of humanity is principles or morals. Both principals are lacked by women in the two books. In fact, most of Steinbeck’s work involves women displaying subhuman attributes. The women in the novels cause the problems leading to the destruction of the protagonists’ dreams. Similar attributes are found in writing hundreds of years older than Steinbeck’s work. Eve and Pandora lacks the wisdom and knowledge to know better than to do what was forbidden of them. They also lack the self-discipline to resist the temptation of what the fruit tastes