A Tentative Study of John Steinbeck’s Morality in East of Eden

Abstract

East of Eden is one of the most famous novels by American author and Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck. The title of the novel, "East of Eden," is taken from the Bible, a place where sin and hope coexist. Although the book has been criticized by many literary critics, Steinbeck's unique moral ideas in the book are worthy of careful study by future generations. Based on East of Eden, this paper will analyze some important characters and metaphors in the novel from the two levels of "Free Will" and "Guilty Inheritance", and analyze Steinbeck's moral concepts and gain inspiration from them.