“He Has Still The Great Choice”

American novelist John Steinbeck’s East of Eden(1952) applies Biblical stories and sets its background in Salinas Valley of California. In light of Northrop Frye’s Biblical archetypal criticism, this thesis, by studying the archetypes, attempts to explore Steinbeck’s re-portray on the creed of the Bible.This thesis is composed of five chapters. Chapter One, the introduction, can be further divided into three parts. The first part is a brief introduction to John Steinbeck and his literary career, together with the story outline of East of Eden. The second part is a literature review. The third part sets forth the Biblical archetype theory and the layout of this thesis. Chapter Two argues that the pursuit of Eden is a symbol of American dream. The revelation of exile away from and back to Eden in the Bible is endowed in East of Eden as a glorious growth of the characters to obtain the right to choose their own ways. Chapter Three analyzes the recurring of central pattern. Steinbeck applies Biblical narrative patterns and tries to make them repeat to show that the Biblical stories happen to all people because they represent universal human experience. Chapter Four analyzes the different views upon the Bible among the characters in East of Eden. Steinbeck stresses the importance of free will and individual independence, and puts forward the close interrelationship between them and the way how they accept and understand classic works. Chapter Five draws a conclusion of this study, pointing out that Steinbeck believes that the core concept of the Bible is to tell that humans have free will and the right to choose between good and evil, rather than forcing humans to comply with religious dogma. Northrop Frye’s theory well supports Steinbeck’s intention of writing this novel that literary works that represent common human memory should be valued, but the way how people accept them is open. People should respect human history and classic works, but the interpretation on these works depends on the readers, who have the right to choose. And the right is of vital importance to individuals and society.