Adam and Eve Allusions

The story of Adam and Eve is one that has pervaded the history and legends of mankind since its origins. The story is so universal, so widely known, that its utilization in literature enriches any story. In terms of imagery, elements of the Adam and Eve biblical story are in nearly every work of literature, if one looks closely enough. The nakedness of the man and woman in their innocence, the rich, wild beauty of the garden, the formation of the woman, the ominous presence of the evil, talking serpent, the holiness of the tree of knowledge (or the tree of life, from some perspectives) - every one of these images serves as a powerful metaphorical tool for whatever purpose the author may intend to use it. Allusions to the Adam and Eve story can illustrate man’s destructive and greedy nature (as Mr. Warren expresses masterfully in All The King’s Men), emphasize the innocence of a character, or fulfill nearly any other purpose that the author can think of.

All The King’s Men, as a rich novel set in the 1930s, is saturated with imagery, much of which can be tied back to biblical times- specifically, Adam and Eve. The character of Adam can be connected to the Adam of biblical myth, and indeed, his story can be said to parallel the tale of Adam. He begins the story (chronologically, at least) as an innocent teenager (paralleling the innocence of Adam, as he is born a naked man in the Garden of Eden) and maintains his pristine morality as a doctor (held in great public esteem as well as respected and resented deeply by Jack) - that is, until he “bites” from the “fruit of knowledge.” In this case, the apple bitten by Eve is the knowledge of Willie’s scandal and seedy morals that Adam obtains, and this drives him, as Adam of biblical lore is driven out of the garden, to shoot Willie (committing a moral sin, as Adam did to get kicked out of the garden). To me, it seems like one could easily dismiss this parallel and the other parallels that Warren includes in All The King’s Men as unnecessary and not useful to the story- extra padding. But as I’ve often felt, and as I read about in more depth in How To Read Literature Like A Professor by Thomas C. Foster, the phenomena of intertextuality in literature adds a layer of richness, like the scorched brown sugar glasslike coating on a small cup of crème brulee.

All biblical allusions in literature, from the character of Adam in All the King’s Men to the apple image in the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer add a layer of richness and comprehension by tying these works back to a place in history that to us in the present seems timeless, unending. Adam and Eve allusions create a quality of timelessness in the works that they appear in. Now that I understand the connections between allusions and literature, the process of discovering them has become monumentally more enjoyable and rewarding.