Cain and Able

The two versions of the story of Cain and Abel are mostly consistent, but they differ in a few subtle ways. The version that is part of the N-town pageants spends significantly more time building up tension between the two brothers. I liked this version slightly better because I better understood the perspective of the two characters. They were both sons of Adam and Eve and theoretically had equal chance to be good people and live their lives in a way that would please God. The progression of the small disagreement about how to tithe properly to murder wouldn't have happened immediately, and the dialogue here explains how Cain's anger grew and how he felt Abel was being disrespectful to him. At the same time, I can relate to Abel's frustration with Cain's stubbornness.

The other version (Genesis 4) provides little background for the disagreement between Cain and Abel. Line 5 says, "But to Cain and his offerings he had no respect: and Cain was exceedingly angry, and his countenance fell." This shows Cain is angry in general, but there is no interaction shown between him and his brother before Abel is casually invited into a field and slain. It is hard for me to comprehend the thought process of the characters as humans because the passage suggests Cain murdered someone without no preexisting conflict. I can't understand that, although it makes the action seem particularly brazen and needless, which provides a good foundation for the rest of the passage, which focuses on Cain being punished by God.