hel means "thou mayest rule over sin" and not "thou shalt rule over sin" (Gray 57). Lee "understood that the story [of timshel and Cain and Abel] meant...that man can...conquer evil"(Strecker 1893). No matter how truthful and philosophical Lee's understanding may be, the issue of whether or not man can overcome evil in East of Eden is left unresolved, unlike the story of Cain and Abel in the Bible. Steinbeck's usage of Christian symbolism did not stop at the novel East of Eden.
             Another novel Steinbeck uses Christian symbolism in is The Grapes of Wrath. In The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck makes direct and indirect references to the Bible. For starters, the primary focus of the novel is to tell the story of the Joad family's migration to California; this is an allegory to the Israelites' journey in the deserts as told in the Bible (Steinbeck, A Video Commentary). Steinbeck directly refers to Christianity by making one of the main characters, Jim Casy, an ex-preacher. Jim Casy's initials are the same as Jesus Christ's: J. C. Thus, Jim Casy becomes the Joad's Christ-like figure (Bloom Introduction). Casy is the character who professes the idea that everyone is a part of one enormous Oversoul (Bloom Intro). Paralleling Jesus Christ, Casy's philosophies of the holiness of unity amongst people cost him his life; Casy is sacrificed in front of his followers (migrant workers, as well as Tom Joad) because of his strong convictions. Tom Joad is another character who is used to symbolize Christianity. According to Bloom, Tom is seen as a "populist prophet, Biblical rather than Marxist" (Bloom Intro). Because he is so remarkably inspired by the prophecies of Casy, Tom ventures out on his own to further teach Casy's idea
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