Imagine for there to be nothing in existence. It is a difficult prosepct to percieve yet, one day God decided to put forth the world into being. This was a difficult process however. "How shall I create the world and the things that exist upon it?", pondered the mighty Lord himself. The answer was easy. "I shall make man after my own image,: ideal, perfect, and holy", God remarked to his surrounding angels. Thus, with the use of his mighty powers, he created the first man and named him Adam. Yet where would Adam reside, roam, and grow as the first human being? God went busy to work developing and planning his world. He created numerous plants and trees as well as day and night. The work was so long that after six days of creating the world, he had to take rest on the seventh day. Finally, Adam had a world to reside in, but God gave him a special place to live. The Garden of Eden was the epitome of perfection. Rich plants were bountiful, animals lived freely, and worries no where to be seen. God knew Adam would get lonely, so using the clay from the ground he molded a woman to be Adam's equal. Here God's love of Adam shone as he gave Adam all of his goodness. Nevertheless, there was one warning that he gave to both Adam and Eve: never eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge and evil. Doing so would lead to their death. Adam and Eve took God's warning and began their lives in the Garden of Eden, free of problems and full of joy. However, one day an unsuspecting hyena approached Adam and Eve and struck a conversation. "Oh how great must the fruit of knowledge be if God himself bans it from your mouths", exclaimed the hyena. Eve remembered what God had said but was intrigued by the hyena. "Why did God really ban this fruit?", wondered Eve. With the hyena's insistence. Eve grabbed a low fruit hanging from the forbidden tree and took a bite. So great was the taste that Eve immediately gave the fruit to Adam who also took a bite. As soon as they have done this evil deed, God appeared in front of them shocked by their deeds. "Why have you all gone against me and eaten a fruit from the forbidden tree?", shouted God to his creations. Adam and Eve were swimming in guilt as they could not muster a response to their creator until Eve responded: "It was the evil hyena! He told us to try it!". God's disappointment and anger became apparent and he quickly banished the hyena from the Garden and took away his ability to speak. Yet, God's punishments were not done. Adam and Eve were stripped of their pristine holiness and were banished from the Garden of Eden. From there on, Adam and Eve would have to live with their punishments for disobeying their Lord.
Author's Note: I changed the language from the King James version of the story of Genesis to give a more readable and contemporary flow to the plot. Although some of the details from the Kings James' version are not included, I see the use of modern language and construction as aiding in the understanding of the general plot and meaning of the story. Additionally, I substituted a hyena as the antagonist as compared to the serpent in the original story. I did this because the hyena is often depicted as an evil and treacherous character. Moreover, Eve is made from the clay of the ground rather than from Adam's rib as mentioned in the King James' version.
Bibliography: King James Bible (1611): Genesis 1-2.
Author's Note: I changed the language from the King James version of the story of Genesis to give a more readable and contemporary flow to the plot. Although some of the details from the Kings James' version are not included, I see the use of modern language and construction as aiding in the understanding of the general plot and meaning of the story. Additionally, I substituted a hyena as the antagonist as compared to the serpent in the original story. I did this because the hyena is often depicted as an evil and treacherous character. Moreover, Eve is made from the clay of the ground rather than from Adam's rib as mentioned in the King James' version.
Needpix: Eve taking the fruit from the forbidden tree
Hi Neal,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your story. I especially enjoyed that Eve was created from nature, not from part of Adam. I never read the bible or really any of its parts so it is interesting to see this story first and then go back and read the King James Bible version. The first couple sentences are a bit strange to read, they just don't flow together as well as the rest of the story. You could rework those in a couple ways, maybe read them aloud to figure out the best way to structure them.
I look forward to reading more of your work!
Howdy,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the subtle changes that you made to the story, I thought that it served it well. I liked the hyena, because was a refreshing new character, yet he is known to be just as much as a trickster as the snake. I did not know that eve was originally made from Adam's rib. I much prefer your version where she was made out of clay. I do feel like the story is missing a line where god gives eve her name, it is a little bit confusing how god makes a women out of clay and then immediately gave both Adam and Eve a warning.
Hey Neal,
ReplyDeleteI love the original story of Adam and Eve so I always love to read adaptations of it. I really enjoyed that Eve came from clay that is a really cool tweak to the story. I like how you put little twist in the story but it still stays true to the flow of the original story.
I also really enjoy the graphic you used of Eve at the end of the story.