Twilight Religion Theme

Twilight is a book written by Stephanie Meyer, originally published in 2005 and later made in to a movie in November, 2008. The story of Adam and Eve is a story from the bible. Both stories have things on common. I will discuss how Bella and Edward which are the main characters from Twilight, demonstrate good and evil. Specifically, how their relationship compares to that of Adam and Eve. There are four themes / symbols that while researching and analyzing both stories I found that are very similar in meaning for both stories. Those themes/ symbols are: “The Apple,” “Good Vs. EVIL,” “Choices,” and “Mortality.”

To begin with, I will begin with a brief summary of both stories in order to better

explain their relationship. Twilight is a story

about Bella Swan, a high school student that moves from living with her mom in hot Arizona, to living with her dad in rainy Washington State. During her first day of school she meets Edward Cullen. Edward Cullen is a vampire that comes from a family that does not drink any human blood, and whom are always trying to do good for others. And just in a blink of an eye Bella’s life is completely flipped upside down with her new dangerous immortal friend. In the other hand, according to the article by David Peach, “Adam and Eve Bible Story” Adam and Eve’s story goes like this,
“God gave Adam and Eve many beautiful plants and trees to enjoy for food. But He also gave them one tree from which they were not to eat. This was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God’s command to them was that if they ate from that tree they would die.” (Adam and Eve Bible Story)
The story of Adam and Eve continues with Eve being tempted by the devil to eat from the forbidden tree.

Eve does exactly what God commanded her to not do. Now that I have explained the main things a bout both stories I will continue by discussing the main themes and symbols that are existent in both stories.

To start off, there is one symbol that is very important in both stories, that symbol is a bright red apple. Apples have been used in many stories to represent immortality, temptation, knowledge and good vs evil. In the book Twilight it is no different from any other book with an apple linked to the story. In the book the two main characters both encounter situations that make them decide between good and evil. There are several quotes from the book and after reading and watching the movie I was led to the conclusion that in the story, Edward Cullen is the “Forbidden Fruit” he symbolizes immortality, temptation, knowledge and good/evil. For example, when Edward thinks he is evil and needs to stay away from Bella he says, "It would be more…prudent for you not to be my friend," he explained. "But I'm tired of trying to stay away from you, Bella." (4.165). Edward is

being tempted himself by evil and is also being a very clear temptation to Bella. Edward is dangerous and he knows that’s, therefore his biggest temptation and the definition of good and evil for him is deciding whether or not to stay away from her. All he can do for her is put her in life threatening situations, and that’s exactly what he does. In the other hand Bella is also trying to figure out what to do, cave in to temptation and eat from the “forbidden fruit” or just forget about it and go on with her life. In the end of the story both Edward, and Bella decide to cave into temptation despite the dangers and pursue a relationship with each other. In other words, they ate from the forbidden fruit by caving into temptation exactly the same way that Adam and Eve caved in to temptation by eating from the forbidden tree. As quoted in the article by "And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, the serpent beguiled me, and I did eat." (Meg Greenfield). Both Adam and Eve knew that the had been forbidden by God to eat from one tree “the forbidden tree” and that’s when evil, and temptations start to occur. The devil tempts Eve to eat from the tree and she caves into temptation, also convincing Adam to do so. The forbidden tree is represented by apples. Apples are a symbol in both stories of immortality because in twilight Edward is a vampire (immortal), and in Adam and Eve, if they eat from the tree they will become mortal. They are also a symbol of temptation because in Twilight Edward is a temptation to Bella, and in Adam and Eve the temptation is the apple. Good and evil goes hand in hand with the forbidden fruit which is the apple, and in both stories the characters chose the evil side by caving in to temptation. It was their decision, and their choice to do so.