Professor Hodges
English 201H
February 26, 20
The Danger of Knowledge
Man will always desire knowledge they do not know, but some knowledge is not intended for man to know. Men believe knowledge will make one powerful, but some things are better off not known. In Genesis Adam and Eve have perfect lives in the garden until they eat from the tree of knowledge, because they want to know what God knows. In the Old Testament of the Bible Job suffers many trials, and he wants to know why God is punishing him and questions God. Odysseus in Homer’s Odyssey is known for his wisdom, and he wants to know what the gods know. Knowledge can be good, but these stories show how knowledge can lead to sorrow.
In Genesis God does not intend for Adam and Eve to know what he knows, but humankinds thirst for knowledge is their fall. God gives Adam and Eve everything they could need in life including heaven on earth, the Garden of Eden. There is only one rule Adam and Eve have to live by and that is do not eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God tells Adam, “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shall not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 134). Adam and Eve live in a perfect world with perfect lives, but even in a world with out sin temptation is all around them. The temptation of eating from one tree in the garden will change everything in Adam and Eve’s lives.
As Adam and Eve are walking in the Garden of Eden they pass the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and a serpent talks to Eve. The serpent is a cunning beast that tells Eve the tree is indeed good for food and she would not die if she ate from it. Also the serpent tells Eve that God does not want her to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil because Eve would be like a god. The serpent says to Eve, “Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in, the day ye eat
Cited: Page Genesis. Literature in Context Volume 1. Ed. Gerald Wood, et al. Boston: Pearson, 2007. 134-36. Print. Job. Literature in Context Volume 1. Ed. Gerald Wood, et al. Boston: Pearson, 2007. 139-65. Print. Homer. “The Odyssey.” Literature in Context Volume 1. Ed. Gerald Wood, et al. Boston: Pearson, 2007. 5-56. Print.