『에덴의 동쪽』에 나타난 선악과 자유의지의 문제
Good and Evil, and Free Will in East of Eden
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John steinbeck’s novels have been classified generally as ‘naturalistic’ by many critics. However, he deals with the themes of good and evil, and free will in East of Eden, by quoting the Biblical story of Cain and Abel as a prototype for the novel, which is against American literary naturalism. Even though he quotes the Bible, he does not follow traditional Christian doctrine. Adam and Lee negate universal ethics and norm by justifying Cain’s murder, for they claim that God favored Abel by accepting Abel’s worship and rejecting Cain’s. Readers are told that Adam’s father, Cyrus, refused to love Adam and Adam in turn refused to love his son Cal. Parents`refusal to love their sons causes them to be alienated from their home and society, and it offers the opportunity for the sons to justify their sins and crimes. The situational ethics structure makes the border between good and evil hazy. Steinbeck seems to raise an objection to the concept of good and evil in East of Eden like in of Mice and Men. It is likely to be criticised because it blurs the border between good and evil. However, it means that Steinbeck accepts the fact that man can do good or evil and that he avoids a naturalistic and non-teleological position. It is a great step forward in his work. A discourse on 'timshell' which means "thou mayest rule over him" in the Old Testament has special significance in East of Eden. Chinese Lee finds 'timshell' originated from Hebrew and has a meaning of free will. Adam said to Cal, 'timshell' before he drew his last breath. It means that Cal is a man with free will. Even if Steinbeck described the last scene with the issue of free will, he does not completely abandon non-teleological position. He still sticks to the characterization of Cathy as a monster. To conclude, East of Eden is a turning point leading to drama of 'consciousness', which deals with man having free will.
Abstract
John steinbeck’s novels have been classified generally as ‘naturalistic’ by many critics. However, he deals with the themes of good and evil, and free will in East of Eden, by quoting the Biblical story of Cain and Abel as a prototype for the novel, which is against American literary naturalism. Even though he quotes the Bible, he does not follow traditional Christian doctrine. Adam and Lee negate universal ethics and norm by justifying Cain’s murder, for they claim that God favored Abel by accepting Abel’s worship and rejecting Cain’s. Readers are told that Adam’s father, Cyrus, refused to love Adam and Adam in turn refused to love his son Cal. Parents`refusal to love their sons causes them to be alienated from their home and society, and it offers the opportunity for the sons to justify their sins and crimes. The situational ethics structure makes the border between good and evil hazy. Steinbeck seems to raise an objection to the concept of good and evil in East of Eden like in of Mice and Men. It is likely to be criticised because it blurs the border between good and evil. However, it means that Steinbeck accepts the fact that man can do good or evil and that he avoids a naturalistic and non-teleological position. It is a great step forward in his work. A discourse on 'timshell' which means "thou mayest rule over him" in the Old Testament has special significance in East of Eden. Chinese Lee finds 'timshell' originated from Hebrew and has a meaning of free will. Adam said to Cal, 'timshell' before he drew his last breath. It means that Cal is a man with free will. Even if Steinbeck described the last scene with the issue of free will, he does not completely abandon non-teleological position. He still sticks to the characterization of Cathy as a monster. To conclude, East of Eden is a turning point leading to drama of 'consciousness', which deals with man having free will.
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