Wan-hua Tung董挽華: Returning Back to East of
Eden (—by John Ernst Steinbeck)
11/25/2009 NCTU New Renaissance Reading Project
East of Eden
First edition cover
2009/11/25
Returning Back to East of Eden (—by
John Ernst Steinbeck)
2
‘East of Eden’－Genesis
4:16
“Then Cain went out from the Presence of the Lord, and
settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden”
The True ‘First’ Bloody War of Human: Cain Killed Abel
Genesis 4:1~16
1Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to
Cain, and she said, "I have gotten a manchild with the help of the LORD." 2Again,
she gave birth to his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a
tiller of the ground. 3So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an
offering to the LORD of the fruit of the ground. 4Abel, on his part also brought of the
firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and
for his offering; 5but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became
very angry and his countenance fell. 6Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you
angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7If you do well, will not your
countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the
door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it."
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Returning Back to East of Eden (—by
John Ernst Steinbeck)
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Genesis 4:1~16 (continued)
8Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain
rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. 9Then the LORD said to Cain,
"Where is Abel your brother?" And he said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's
keeper?" 10He said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying
to Me from the ground. 11"Now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its
mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. 12"When you cultivate the
ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you; you will be a vagrant and a
wanderer on the earth." 13Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is too great to
bear! 14"Behold, You have driven me this day from the face of the ground; and from
Your face I will be hidden, and I will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth, and
whoever finds me will kill me." 15So the LORD said to him, "Therefore whoever kills
Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold " And the LORD appointed a sign for
Cain, so that no one finding him would slay him. 16Then Cain went out from the
presence of the LORD, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. (－NASB)
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Returning Back to East of Eden (—by
John Ernst Steinbeck)
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The Author of East of Eden: John Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck (1902—1968) was one of the best-known authors of
the 20th century. John Steinbeck was born on 27 February 1902 of German and
Irish ancestry. Salinas, in CA, was John Steinbeck’s hometown. He attended
Stanford University intermittently from 1919 to 1925 but he never earned a
degree.
His works generally deal with the social and economic issues of rural
America. He wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Grapes of Wrath
(1939) and a total of twenty-five books, novels, non-fiction and short stories. In
1962 Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize in Literature “for his realistic and
imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humour and keen social
perception.” Arguably Steinbeck’s best-known works are East of Eden, Of Mice
and Men and The Grapes of Wrath.
John Steinbeck died of heart failure on 20 December 1968, in New York,
N.Y, United States. On 4 March 1969, his ashes were buried in the Garden of
Memories cemetery in Salinas in the Hamilton Family plot.
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Returning Back to East of Eden (—by
John Ernst Steinbeck)
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John Steinbeck
2009/11/25
John Steinbeck: “The free
exploring mind of the
individual human is the most
valuable thing in the world.”
Returning Back to East of Eden (—by
John Ernst Steinbeck)
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East of Eden
Often described as Steinbeck’s most ambitious novel, East of Eden,
published in September 1952, brings to life the intricate details of two
families, the Trasks and the Hamiltons, and their interwoven stories.
The novel was originally addressed to Steinbeck's young sons, Thom
and John (then 6½ and 4½ respectively). Steinbeck wanted to describe
the Salinas Valley for them in detail: the sights, sounds, smells, and
colors.
The Hamilton family in the novel is said to be based on the real-life
family of Samuel Hamilton, Steinbeck's maternal grandfather.
According to his last wife Elaine, he considered this to be a requiem
for himself—his greatest novel ever. Steinbeck stated about East of
Eden: "It has everything in it I have been able to learn about my craft
or profession in all these years." He further claimed: "I think everything
else I have written has been, in a sense, practice for this."
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Returning Back to East of Eden (—by
John Ernst Steinbeck)
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Human’s Story—the Imagery of Our Hero, Adam Trask
(Ch. 22)
Samuel: “Have you thought of your own name?”
Adam: “Mine?”
Samuel: “Of course, your first-born—Cain and Abel.”
…
Samuel: “We are Cain’s children. … three grown men, here in a century
so many thousands of years away, discuss this crime as though it
happened in King City yesterday and hadn’t come up for trial?”
One of the twins awakened and yawned and looked at Lee and
went to sleep again. Lee said, “…—a great and lasting story is about
everyone or it will not last. The strange and foreign is not
interesting—only the deeply personal and familiar.”
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Returning Back to East of Eden (—by
John Ernst Steinbeck)
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The Central Theme of Good VS. Evil:
Samuel Hamilton VS. Cathy Ames (1/2)
• Samuel Hamilton,
The positive patriarch, mentors Adam with support
and guidance, unlike Adam's own father, Cyrus, who lies
about his military record to amass a fortune. Samuel, an
Irish immigrant himself, views books as treasures, and
fathers nine children. Throughout the novel, he is
associated with light, water, and fertility.
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Returning Back to East of Eden (—by
John Ernst Steinbeck)
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The Central Theme of Good VS. Evil:
Samuel Hamilton VS. Cathy Ames (2/2)
• Cathy Ames:
Cathy Ames is Samuel Hamilton’s polar opposite. She
murders her parents, becomes a prostitute and brothel owner,
enslaves her whores with drugs, encourages sadomasochistic
sexual practices, and blackmails her customers. In contrast to
Samuel, Cathy is associated with darkness and gloom.
Both the innate goodness of Samuel Hamilton and the
inherent evil of Cathy Ames deeply influence Adam Trask,
and throughout the novel he wavers between the two poles.
He loves his wife Cathy even when he is confronted with her
evil nature, but also deeply admires his teacher and mentor,
Samuel.
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Returning Back to East of Eden (—by
John Ernst Steinbeck)
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Left Picture: The cover of East of Eden says,
“The book that created Cathy—the most evil
woman in fiction.”
(http://open.salon.com/blog/mothership/2009/08/16/fantasy_osland_library)
East of Eden DVD
(2009 ed.)
2009/11/25
Returning Back to East of Eden (—by
John Ernst Steinbeck)
EAST OF EDEN MINISERIES DVD - JANE
SEYMOUR
11
The True ‘First’ World War Happened
Between Brothers:
• Genesis 4:1-16, Abel VS. Cain (“A” VS. “C.” (1))
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Returning Back to East of Eden (—by
John Ernst Steinbeck)
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• The First Generation－Adam VS. Charles
(“A” VS. “C” (2))
Aron (Left):
“A” type person,takes
after Adam
Cal (middle):
“C” type person, takes
after Charles
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Returning Back to East of Eden (—by
John Ernst Steinbeck)
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• The Second Generation－Aron VS. Caleb (“A” VS.
“C” (3))
Aron VS.Cal
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Aron was beaten by Cal
Returning Back to East of Eden (—by
John Ernst Steinbeck)
14
Book of Genesis,
Cain and Abel
East of Eden, Charles and
Adam
East of Eden, Caleb and Aron
A Faith According to the
Bible,
A
Caleb invests in bean crops. Aron vies to
become
a priest (who are commonly
Marvelous Literature
Design—
compared with shepherds).
Cain is a "worker of
Charles is a farmer who
the ground"; Abel is a
works diligently even after he
"keeper of sheep" (Gen. inherits considerable wealth
4:2, ESV).
from his father, Cyrus.
God rejects Cain's
gift of crops in favor of
Abel's lamb (Gen. 4:3,
ESV).
Cyrus prefers the gift from his
• Three “A” VS. “C”, Some of the
son Adam (a stray puppy he
Adam rejects his son Cal's money and
found) over theBiblical
gift from hisParallels:
would rather he lead a good life like Aron.
other son Charles
(a
hardSteinbeck's allusion to Cain and Abel is
earned expensive knife).
furthered by the naming of the Trask family:
The first letters of the
names
the brothers
After
Adamofrejects
Caleb's money, Caleb
After being rejected by their
are in match throughout
generations
informs the
Aron
of their mother's brothel.
father, Charles attacks Adam
(Charles and Adam,
Caleb
and Aron).
Aron,
distraught,
enlists in the war and is
The Mark of Cain
After rejection from
God, Cain kills Abel
(Gen. 4:8, ESV).
and beats him nearly to death.
killed in combat.
• The order of brothers in East of Eden VS. the order of
Caleb is described as having a more dark
brothers in Genesis—
and sinister appearance than Aron. Also
God put a mark on
Charles
receives a(Ch.
dark22)
scar
noteworthy is the fact that Adam tells
Adam:
“I did not kill
my brother”
Cain to deter
others
on his forehead while trying to
Caleb, "timshel," meaning "thou mayest."
Inhim
Genesis,
from killing
(Gen. Cain (elder brother) killed Abel (younger brother)
move a boulder from his fields.
This implies Caleb may overcome his evil
4:15, ESV).
In East of Eden, the first generation, Charles nature
(younger
brother)
almost
killed
because
of the
"mark"
put upon
Adam (elder brother).
him by Adam.
In East of Eden, the second generation, Cal (younger brother) “killed” Aron
Charles is the only one with
indirectly.
Aron dies in the war, and Caleb is the
Cain is the only one
with 2009/11/25
progeny.
children, as it is speculated that
only one able to carry on and have
Returning
to East
the twins Aron
andBack
Caleb
are of Eden (—by
John Ernst Steinbeck)children.
his.
15
Major Theme of East of Eden
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
East of Eden, sharing the teaching of the Bible as literature,
combines narrative theology and narrative literature together.
 Returning back to the first four chapters of the Bible, East of Eden
explores the original of man and patriarchal society.
 There are biblical parallels and contrasts in East of Eden; in other
words, the entire book is John Steinbeck’s exegesis of Genesis 4:1-16.
 From my perspective, often raising a hidden, but keen question, “What
is Man?”East of Eden creates imagery and plots interwoven with
thoughts of the creation, salvation and revolution of the lord, the
power of sin, the accuse of man’s consciousness, the quest for love, the
capacity for self-destruction, as well as the self-defense of human’s
inner soul etc.
The Sins of the Father
 The book is keep questioning Psalm 79:8:”Do not remember the
iniquities of own forefathers against us.”
 The crime and punishment of the first generation.
 The crime and punishment of the second generation.
Timshel
Good VS. Evil
Truth etc。
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Returning Back to East of Eden
(─by John Ernst Steinbeck)
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Timshel (1/2)



The concept of this Hebrew word, “Timshel”, is a major thematic concern
throughout the novel. “timshel” means, “You may”(“You may”(conquer sin.)).This
word conveys a faith that man can refuse evil and return back to goodness when
man relies on the lord.
This word is from Genesis 4:7: “If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted
up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you,
but you ‘must’(‘timshel’) master it.”
The discussion of this biblical word is in Chapter 24 ─ The verb in Genesis 4:7:
“…and thou shalt rule over him(sin)” is a tough
Johnreference─
Steinbeck, in order to
The verb.
special
explore the exact meaning of the verb, checked
twoSteinbeck’s
English versions─ “you shall
John
rule over”(KJV) and “You should rule over”(ASB), also, the original meaning of
Journal of a Novel:
Hebrew: “you may rule over.” Then Steinbeck took the original Hebrew verb:
The East of Eden Letters
“timshel” as the best one. Lee, as a representative of the wisdom of Chinese(or
(“Timshel”is
carved in
Oriental people ), claims Steinbeck’s exciting
and fantastic viewpoint,
“ …And this
the
wooden
cover
this
was the gold from our mining : ‘Thou mayest.
’ ‘Thou
mayest
ruleof
over
sin.’ ” “But
the Hebrew word, the word timshel ─ ‘Thou book.)
mayest’─that gives a choice, It might
be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open. …” “Now,
there are many millions…who feel the order,(─www.bookstellyouwhy.com/det
‘Do thou,’… And there are millions
more who feel predestination in ‘Thou shalt.’ails.php?URLPAIR=...
But ‘Thou mayest’) ! Why, that makes
a man great, that gives him stature with the gods,…”
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Returning Back to East of Eden
(─by John Ernst Steinbeck)
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Timshel (2/2)

The idea of ‘timshel’ is particularly pertinent at the end of the novel, during Adam’s
death scene (Ch.55)─
Lee’s breath whistled in his throat. “Adam, give him your blessing. Don’t leave him
alone with his guilt. Adam, can you hear me? Give him your blessing”!
A terrible brightness shone in Adam’s eyes and he closed them and…
Lee said, “Help him, Adam─ Help him. Give him his chance. Let him be free.
That’s all a man has over the beasts. Free him! Bless him!”
The whole bed seemed to shake under the concentration. Adam’s breath came
quick with his effort and then, slowly, his right hand lifted─ lifted an inch and then fell
back.
Lee’s face was haggard. He moved to the head of the bed…Lee whispered, “Thank
you, Adam─ thank you,…Can you move your lips? Make your lips form his name.”
Adam looked up with sick weariness. His lips parted and failed and tried again.
Then his lungs filled. He expelled the air and his lips combed the rushing sign. His
whispered word seemed to hang in the air:
“Timshel!”
His eyes closed and he slept
(The end)
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Returning Back to East of Eden
(─by John Ernst Steinbeck)
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Caleb (Cal): A Rebirth of Biblical
Character
1.
2.
3.
4.
A Character of Cain (Genesis 4) and Cain-Abel Syndrome (Genesis 4)
A Conflict Between Twins (Genesis 25)
A Type Of Jacob and Jacob’s Life (Genesis 30,32)
A Prodigal Son (Luke15)
Jacob exchanged red stew
with Esau’s birthright.
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Jacob kissed Esau
Returning Back to East of Eden
(─by John Ernst Steinbeck)
The Return of the
Prodigal Son
19
Conclusion
• In East of Eden, John Steinbeck has pointed out through the
young hero, Cal, that God has great love and unconditional grace,
and also man is given personal moral choice and responsibility.
─ God’s love and grace: Cal is wise enough to make money (as
Jacob), finds his mother first, and then he gains his father’s
blessing eventually.
─ Cal’s spiritual leap: His own moral decision and choice:
Cal said, “I was afraid I had you in me.”→”No, I haven’t. I’m
my own.
I don’t have to be you.”(Ch.39)
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Returning Back to East of Eden
(─by John Ernst Steinbeck)
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The Ambiguity of ‘East of Eden’ and It’s
Worldly Influence (1/2)
The Ambiguity of the name of ‘East of Eden’
A. The place of Nod
B. East of Eden: John Steinbeck’s novel
C. East of Eden: 1955 movie (according to Steinbeck’s novel)
D. East of Eden: 1981 miniseries (according to Steinbeck’s novel)
E. East of Eden: An Rock Team in England
F. East of Eden: Music Group: An American Music Group
G. East of Eden: 2008 Korean TV Series
H. East of Eden: 2009 DVD series (the most faithful series according to
Steinbeck’s novel)
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Returning Back to East of Eden
(─by John Ernst Steinbeck)
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The Ambiguity of ‘East of Eden’ and It’s
Worldly Influence (2/2)
 The Worldly Influence of East of Eden:
A. The Rebel
B. The Brief Introduction of Korean Series, East of Eden.
James Dean
On June 24, 1996,
the US Postal
Service
honored James
with a stamp in
the “Legends of
Hollywood” series.
Korean Series, East of Eden
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Returning Back to East of Eden
(─by John Ernst Steinbeck)
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‘We are Cain’s Children.’(Ch.22)
VS. Timshel
Handmade oil painting reproduction of Cain, No. 21
The Conscience, from The Legend of the Centuries
by Victor Hugo, 1859, 1880, a painting by FernandAnne Piestre Cormon.
(－www.1st-art-gallery.com/Fernand-Anne-Piestre-...)
2009/11/25
"Timshel" = "Thou mayest" in hebrew
on my right wrist. From the incredible
East Of Eden. May be going back to
the tattoo shop tomorrow for a
Mystery Science Theater tattoo....
(─http://community.livejournal.com/lite
rarytattoos/662352.html)
Returning Back to East of Eden
(─by John Ernst Steinbeck)
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East of Eden Cover Pictures
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Returning Back to East of Eden
(─by John Ernst Steinbeck)
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East of Eden: This is signed limited first
edition
This signed limited first edition came had dark green boards and
came in a slip case.
(－www.fedpo.com/BookDetail.php/East-Of-Eden )
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Returning Back to East of Eden
(─by John Ernst Steinbeck)
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Salinas Valley: Steinbeck’s New Eden
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Returning Back to East of Eden
(─by John Ernst Steinbeck)
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A List of Reference─
(－http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_of_Eden) (p.2, p.6, p.15)
(－http://www.gradesaver.com/east-of-eden/study-guide/major-themes/) (p.8-9, p.16)
(－open.salon.com/.../08/16/fantasy_osland_library ) (p.11)
(－commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Titian_-_Cain...) (p. 12)
(－posteropolis.com/store/index.php?main_page=in...) (p.13)
(－commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Richard_Daval...) (p.14)
(－http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=45866) (p.15)
(－www.bookstellyouwhy.com/details.php?URLPAIR=... ) (p.17)
(－www.movie-vault.com/forum/general-movie-discu...)
(p.18)
(－www.oneyearbibleblog.com/2006/01/january_16th...) (p.19)
(－www.artbible.info/art/large/85.html) (p. 19)
(－www.nsdchurch.typepad.com/) (p. 19)
(－plum8981.pixnet.net/blog/42) (p.22)
(－bookmoochgirl.wordpress.com/) (p.24)
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(─by John Ernst Steinbeck)
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