CAIN AND ABEL

By: Abby Scheirer

Mrs. Stevenson

5th period

HISTORICAL /B IBLICAL/BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Cain and Abel were brothers in the Old Testament, both sons of Adam and Eve. Cain brought his sacrifice of his own fruit and Abel brought his first of the flocks. God accepted Abel’s, but not Cain’s sacrifice. Angry Cain killed his brother. And God asked where his brother was and Cain lied and said he did not know. Some speculate that his death was also not only a factor of wanting God’s attention, but of a woman’s attention, or a pact made with Satan.

STORIES AND MYTHS ASSOCIATED

Over time there have been many stories with the theme of brotherly strife and blood shed, which shows that the fight between good and bad is an inescapable concept. Many other religions and cultures have stories of the brothers in their own ways that symbolize the same concept.

SYMBOLS OF CAIN AND ABEL

Cain and Abel were symbolized when Macbeth killed Duncan to get higher power. Thus the mention of blood will have blood. But there were other allusions I found to be more easy, such as Adam and Eve, ironically because they are the parents of Cain and Abel, to be symbolized by Macbeth, and Lady Macbeth. Also Judas because of who Macbeth later betrays his friends for power.

STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS

Well Cain and Abel are distinct in there own sense for what defines strengths and weakness. Cain's weakness was his own need for approval and being recognized such as was Macbeths. Whereas Abel strengths were his nature of wanting to please God for the fact of his belief and not his own agenda, such as Macbeths victims.

QUOTE FROM MACBETH

“It will have blood; they say, blood will have blood.”Act 3 Scene 4 This is Shakespeare's allusion to Cain and Abel, by

showing that Cain will have the knowledge of forever living with the blood of his brother Abel on his hands and the disgrace it brought to everyone else.

THE INTERPRETATION

I believe that Shakespeare was very keen in the fact that killing another for the self induced pride it will bring is not right and is very evil. Cain and Abel has been a favorite of his, because it was written in many other stories. But the fact that he wrote it symbolizing Macbeths later doom, like Cain, was signifanct in his own way to head a warning.

PICTURES

CITATION

http://www.angelfire.com/anime/chroniclesofthemoon/tome/macbeth.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cain_and_Abelhttp://rationalisingthebible.blogspot.com/2010/10/story-of-cain-and-abel-in-mythology.htmlhttp://www.pitt.edu/~dash/cain.html#genesis