A Study Of The Themes Of East Of Eden From The Perspective Of Biblical Archetype

John Steinbeck is regarded as one of the most important American writers of the twentieth century, and he is the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962. Steinbeck is a prolific writer, and he writes practically all his life and completes more than a dozen novels in his writing career. The themes of his works are mainly related to war, politics, society, humanity and other problems that human beings are commonly concerned with, and his works have received wide attention from scholars from various countries. A large number of literary critics have done research on his works. This thesis analyzes Steinbeck’s later work, East of Eden, from the perspective of biblical archetype. Based on the connection between the themes of preference and jealousy, betrayal and forgiveness, good and evil in The Holy Bible and the themes in this novel. This thesis aims to deeply explore the artistic value of the novel and enrich the domestic research on the biblical elements of Steinbeck’s works.This thesis consists of an introduction, the main body and a conclusion. Its main contents are as follows:The first part is the introduction. It briefly introduces Steinbeck and East of Eden and reviews the research status of East of Eden at home and abroad, presents the profile of archetypal criticism and biblical archetype theory, illustrates the connection between Steinbeck and Christianity, and analyzes the profound influence of The Holy Bible on his works.The second part is the main body and it is divided into three chapters:The first chapter focuses on the biblical archetypes of the theme of preference and jealousy. In The Holy Bible, God had a preference for Abel and his offering, which made Cain furious and downcast. Then he killed his brother Abel out of jealousy. Cain was banished to east of Eden by God after killing Abel. But Cain was still under the protection of God from others’ harm there. Therefore the name of the novel, East of Eden, was not only a land of evil, but also a land of hope. Abel and Cain were biblical archetypes of Adam Trask and Charles Trask in East of Eden. Adam was pure and simple as Abel, while Charles hurt his brother because of jealousy and hatred just like Cain did; in the next generation, Adam’s preference for Aron also aroused Cal’s jealousy. It made the tragedy of Cain and Abel pass from generation to generation. Based on the interpretation of biblical archetypes of the theme of preference and jealousy, readers will have a more plump and profound understanding of the characters in this novel.The second chapter discusses the biblical archetypes of the theme of betrayal and forgiveness. Since Adam and Eve’s first betrayal of God, human beings betrayed God once and once again. But God forgave them and led them to regain the water of life at the end of The Holy Bible. In East of Eden, from Adam Trask, we can obviously feel similar purity, goodness and his deep love towards his Eve, Cathy, as Adam in The Holy Bible; Cathy Trask had been in the temptation to make others to steal to eat "forbidden fruit"-sex, original sin and gave birth to Adam’s sons just like Eve did. Adam forgave all Cathy’s betrayal and deceptions, and Adam also forgave Cal’s fault and encouraged him to put down psychological burden.The third chapter analyzes the biblical archetypes of the theme of good and evil. Firstly, it discusses the biblical images of good and evil:water and fire. Water is the source of life, God’s grace to mankind, a symbol of vitality and creativity, and a sign of rebirth of human beings; water also symbolizes water baptism. Water baptism indicates the death of old self and crime and the appearance of new self. Through submerging himself in the water, Adam achieved self-redemption twice in East of Eden. Fire in The Holy Bible stands for punishment. Steinbeck gave the fire double meanings in the novel: on one hand, fire stands for evil. Cathy’s fire of desire led her parents to death. Cal’s fire of angry burnt up not only the money he earned but also his kindness towards his brother Aron; on the other hand, fire represents the destruction of evil and the purification of human nature. Secondly, it analyzes the biblical characters of the good and the evil respectively:good characters were Samuel Hamilton and Lee. The former was a figure that found water for all the residents in Salinas Valley as the prophet Moses who stroke rock with his cane to get water for people. The latter was a wise servant and spiritual advisor of Adam as Jesus Christ; evil character was Cathy Trask. Cathy was the Satan throughout the novel. She was dark and decadent, and she killed her parents by setting fire on their house. Then she degenerated into a prostitute. Thirdly, it demonstrates Steinbeck’s dialectical view of good and evil. The battle between good and evil ran through The Holy Bible, and it also ran through this whole novel.The third part is the conclusion. Garden of Eden in The Holy Bible is the universal image of the beautiful homeland of mankind, the emotional and spiritual sustenance of human beings. Although human beings can never return to the Garden of Eden because of original sin, they can build their new Garden of Eden through hard work. At the end of the novel, the once ruined and new Garden of Eden would be built up bit by bit. More importantly, Adam had built up his spiritual Garden of Eden. To study the themes of Steinbeck’s East of Eden from the perspective of biblical archetype theory helps people gain a deeper understanding of the characters, the thematic implications in this novel, and the American society in the twentieth century. It is exactly the value and significance of this thesis. By describing the exploration, the failure of construction and the reconstruction of the Garden of Eden, this thesis reveals the hardship of life and spiritual crisis of Americans in the rapid expansion of capitalism of American modern society in which the material interests is the core. And we can clearly realize the good and the evil of humanity and their weaknesses and the Steinbeck’s strong desire for a beautiful homeland and happy life. The final choices between good and evil of the characters in the novel confirm Steinbeck’s pursuit of good once again. Given the limited space available, this thesis only analyzes three among the themes in East of Eden from the perspective of biblical archetype, and it is the deficiency of this thesis.