John Steinbeck's novel East of Eden does exist as a retelling of the story of Adam, Eve, Cain, and Abel. A text which may provide readers with a deeper understanding of the title of the novel may come from another of Steinbeck's works: Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters.

Numerous times throughout this text, Steinbeck references the Bible and the moral questions which arise in the stories of both Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel. In the journal, he refers to his novel as "the first book." This reference openly parallels the first book of the Bible—Genesis. He goes on, in his journal, to state,

I believe that there is one story in the world, and only one. . . . Humans are caught—in their lives, in their thoughts, in their hungers and ambitions, in their avarice and cruelty, and in their kindness and generosity too—in a net of good and evil.

This reference to the single story which frightens us all is the original story of murder and free will—the story of Cain and Abel.

The Bible openly refers to Nod, a place east of Eden. This is the place where God exiled Cain to after he murdered Abel. One could infer that this also references the idea that mankind, as we have known it since Adam and Eve's own exile from Eden, cannot exist in Eden. We are sinful beings—we have been since the original sin was committed. Therefore, mankind is forced to live in a place near Eden, but not Eden itself. The characters within the novel are forced to exist within this same state—they can see it, the good place, but they cannot access it. The characters, therefore, represent the Everyman. They, like all of mankind, possess free will. They are able to make decisions—for the better or for worse—and the novel's title and action remind readers of this fact.

What does the title of Steinbeck's East of Eden mean?

The title of East of Eden comes directly from the Bible: "And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden" (Genesis 22.4.30). It refers to the place where Cain was banished after the murder of his brother. The land of Nod is a place outside of the paradise Eden, a garden to which mankind can no longer return.

Steinbeck models Adam, Catherine, Cal, and Aron on the biblical Adam, Eve, Cain, and Abel. East of Eden is a retelling of this story from Genesis but in the context of the odyssey of an American family. The title reminds us that the biblical first family was forced to reside outside of paradise, but also very close to it. We see this with the Trasks, who are so close to their imagined California paradise but are subjected to the less than ideal, and in fact quite cruel, nature of humanity. They try to create their own paradises, but through various decisions and circumstances, are forever outside of what they seek. Therefore, metaphorically, they all live "east of Eden," just as Cain was forced to.

However, we also must look at what is promised to Cain when he is banished to the land of Nod. Samuel, Adam, and Lee are drawn to the Bible passage in which God gives Cain the opportunity for redemption. This is a key passage for them as it provides them with the hope that they and others can take redemption into their own hands. Various times throughout this story, Steinbeck's characters find the possibility of redemption and this is a theme that is central to the story.

What is the significance of the title East of Eden?

In the classic novel East of Eden, John Steinbeck tells a multigenerational story mainly set in the Salinas Valley in central California. In a parallel to the story of Adam and Eve's children Cain and Abel, the main characters of the novel are two generations of fathers, each of whom have two sons, one of which the fathers show more affection to than the other. Significantly, the pairs of sons each have names that start with C and A, an obvious reference to Cain and Abel.

Cyrus Trask has sons named Charles and Adam. He favors Adam over Charles, and as a result, Charles is jealous of Adam. Adam Trask's children are named Caleb and Aaron. Aaron is his father's favorite, and Caleb desperately attempts to win his father's good will.

Steinbeck uses the Biblical story of Cain and Abel as a major theme in his story, especially in the relationships between the two pairs of brothers. You can find the story in the first book of the Bible, the book of Genesis, in chapter 4. Cain is Adam and Eve's firstborn. He is a farmer, who works hard to till the ground, and Abel is a shepherd, who takes care of flocks of sheep. They both sacrifice to the Lord, but the Lord accepts only Abel's sacrifice. In jealousy Cain kills his brother Abel, and as a result, God banishes Cain from his family and drives him away to be "a fugitive and a vagabond" upon the Earth. The title of the novel East of Eden refers to the place to which Cain is driven. Genesis 4:16 in the King James Version of the Bible says:

And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.

Eden is the paradise that God had originally created for Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel's parents. Their parents had been driven out for their own transgressions and disobedience to God's commandments.