Reading Notes: Adam and Eve, Part B

The stories "They Die a First Time" and "Suicide and the Salvation" take place after Adam and Eve have eaten the fruit in the garden and have been punished by God.

Both stories are written from a third person perspective. In my story, I could write from one the character's perspectives. In the stories, it is difficult to understand what Adam and Eve are thinking when it comes to their actions; telling a story from their perspective would be give some insight into why they do what they do. Telling the story from God's perspective would also be interesting. Like the reader, God watches Adam and Eve, but telling the story from his point of view might make the audience feel closer to the story.

There are many recurring themes throughout these two stories. The first that stood out to me was death. There are several instances in which Adam and Eve die, come close to dying, look like they are dying, or think they are dying. The fear of dying is also very prevalent to Adam and Eve. When the characters do die/appear to die, God resurrects them. This ties in to the next repeating theme: the grace of God. In these stories, Adam and Eve continue to rebel against God, but God continues to help them. As they continue to sin after the fall, Adam especially questions what God orders and appears unhappy with what they have. This leads to him making his own decisions that go against what God says. This could be something fun to explore in my story: the various ways in which Adam rebels against God. The story continuously refers to Adam and God as "father"; I could focus on God being the father and have Adam act in a son role.

In my opinion, the antiquated language used in the stories detracts from the meaning and enjoyment of them. The language that has been used makes it a little confusing to the reader; some parts in the plot are not very clear. In my story, I would like to make sure I use clear wording as to not take away from the story.

Adam and Eve, Lincoln Cathedral Great East Window. Source: geograph

Story sources
The Forgotten Books of Eden, edited by Rutherford H. Platt, Jr. (1926): The First Book of Adam and Eve 19-20 and 21-22
The Forgotten Books of Eden, edited by Rutherford H. Platt, Jr. (1926): The First Book of Adam and Eve 5-6.

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