There are two assumptions people make about Gen 3 that aren't actually in the text: That the forbidden fruit from the Tree of knowledge is an apple, and that the serpent in the Garden is the devil. It makes you wonder about how, through time, a non-specific fruit becomes an apple in people's imaginations. A quick Google search tells me that the forbidden fruit has been written about in midrashes and other texts as possibly being several kinds of fruit, including a tomato, though interestingly enough, the apple is not one of the suggestions of the midrash (1). However "in ancient lore the apple had various meanings and were a tempting love fruit with possible sexual overtones" so that is one explanation of why it has stuck (2).
Genesis 3 is about the fall of man. God tells Adam and Eve they can eat from any tree in the Garden except for the Tree of the knowledge between good and evil, because eating fruit from that tree will make them die. A serpent in the garden tells Eve that this is not true, so Eve eats the fruit and shares it with Adam.
God finds out, curses the serpent and kicks Adam and Eve out of the garden. Now they'll have to work to survive, and suffer to give birth to their children.
Something that stood out for me is how Eve eats the fruit not only because it looks appealing, but also because she wanted to gain wisdom. This chapter seems to be telling us that total happiness and the pursuit of wisdom are mutually exclusive things.
How would God want humans to function? As contented yet oblivious automotons? Or as imperfect, complicated and questioning free agents? With my understanding of Christianity being a religion about choosing righteousness over wickedness, positioning that choice at the very center of what it is to be human, doesn't God want us to the latter?
Already, there seems to be a disconnect between what God says and what God has planned. After all, God says that the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge will kill Adam and Eve if eaten. This turns out to be untrue.
Maybe we weren't meant for perfection. And even though God may get angry at us for disobeying Him, our disobedience must have some function in His plan.
Pop references to Gen 3: I didn't see it when it came out, but from the previews, I'm sure that the Darren Aranofsky film "The Fountain" must give a nod to Gen 3. The chapter explains that there are two mystical trees in the Garden: The tree of knowledge, and the tree of life. After God throws Adam and Eve out of the Garden, He guards the tree of everlasting life with cherubim (the plural for cherub, another word for angel) and a flaming sword, so that man will never be able to eat from it and become immortal. From seeing pictures from The Fountain, this must be the movies explaination for the fountain of youth.
1. http://www.shaareytefilla.org/summaries/Bereshit%20Torah.htm
2. http://judaism.about.com/library/3_askrabbi_c/bl_genesis_eden.htm
