West of Eden

the Hebrew word, the word timshel -‘Thou mayest’ that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world,” cried Lee, a character in East of Eden, by John Steinbeck (add citation). Timshel originates from the biblical story of Cain and Abel. The passage in which Lee is speaking, refers to God’s words regarding Cain’s actions. In the Hebrew text, God utilizes the word “timshel” to unveil to Cain that he holds the personal authority to surpass evil, if he chooses to do so. Timshel embodies the essence of free will. But does mankind truly have the burning desire to rule over immorality? Do they contain the capacity to live lives that are not centered on greed and narcissism? Humans have the ability to reign over sin; however,…

impressions or sensations and feelings. He believes that impressions and sensations are far more lively than ideas and therefore more influential and important. Overall, Hume believes in the spectrum of liveliness with impressions at the most lively, the bases of empirical knowledge and the criteria using the collective and educated standard of taste. Many pieces of visual, written and performative art discredit Hume 's argument. Children of Eden is a prime example of art that does not meet…

of Christian allegories and allusions to create a memorable plot. While these allegories occur frequently, they do not play a major role in the development of the story. Allegories are prominent in almost all great literature. Christian allegories, like the Garden of Eden, the serpent, the crucifixion, and heaven and hell, are popular in all great Christian works, and Hamlet is no exception. These allusions appear in books and…

The story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden is one of the oldest and best known in the West. The power that this story has comes not just from the Bible, but also from its depiction of evil, of people 's impulses, and of its presentiation of temptation. In the Bible the Garden of Eden is described as perfect. Because the serpent tempted Eve to want to be more perfect, humans fell and became imperfect. This story is now often used in modern advertising, which also promises improvements in…

and their king “had large vessels of it”. Personal accounts such as Columbus’s prompted other Spanish explorers to ardently traverse the American landscape in search of precious metals. In the event treasure was found, the Spanish crown would take a “royal fifth”, thus providing valuable sustenance to the central economy. Hence, the voracious desire for gold and other profitable natural resources was a vital factor in the continued European exploration of the Americas. Competition between…

The fall of man occurred due to temptation that Eve fell into inside the Garden of Eden. Although there were certain rules put in place and Eve ultimately knew what she should and should not do and temptation became too strong for her and she made a deliberate choice to pick an apple and share it with her husband Adam. Throughout my time in church and numerous sermons preached by Pastors I have formed an image in my head of the moment the fall of man occurred. As I have grown up I have come to…

Growing up can be a difficult task to accomplish. However, growing up with a sibling is even more challenging. This ideology is seen throughout John Steinbeck’s novel, East of Eden ,which has many different scenarios in which two siblings are pinned against each other to repeatedly compete for the love and affection of their parents, and to make a claim about who they are. John Steinbeck’s East of Eden constantly demonstrates the effects that sibling rivalry has on the characters in the story…

My focus will be on Eve. Her creation, life, and eventual downfall from God’s favor. But in order to properly do justice to her story, one must start at the very beginning. When the earth was a formless void, God created substance from chaos. This story in the Bible is told in the beginning of the book of Genesis. The authorship of the book of Genesis is not confirmed, but is generally attributed to Moses who lived sometime around the 1400s BC (Kent & Knight 7). The creation story is recounted…

Free will is an extremely important concept in John Milton’s Paradise Lost that greatly impacts the fateful decision made by Adam and Eve. Many questions are raised in the face of a notion such as free will, which prompt the reader and Milton to understand God’s logic and Adam and Eve’s reasoning for turning their backs on it. God makes his new creations “just and right / sufficient to have stood, though free to fall,” and, therefore, obtain the explicitly stated ability to turn against…

The Peace and Joy of Trials: An Analysis of Milton’s Theodicy in Paradise Lost Milton’s theodicy is an example of the most simplistic explanation for the question of why bad things happen when there is an all-powerful and all-loving God in existence, governing and determining our lives. Paradise Lost is the book Milton wrote to portray his beliefs concerning this question of justifying the ways of God to men. The answer to this question, at least for John Milton, revolves around the events in…