John Steinbeck's book East of Eden gathers under the pages of a beautifully written literary work the deep concerns of a troubled mind. Steinbeck appears to be haunted by those eternal questions human being must have asked himself or herself ever since any form of religion even existed. The conflict between good and evil and the meaning of the "truth" as well as the theme of the original sin and that of the atonement are main themes that Steinbeck borrows from Christianity to create his story and its characters.

The big question, the question that makes all the myriad of related questions arise from, is the one questioning God's existence. As St. Anselm of Canterbury explains in his Proslogion, God's existence cannot be questioned since God is the greatest thing for those who believe in Him as well as for those who deny his existence. Steinbeck creates Cathy as something...
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