I think that East of Eden turned out to be an interesting read despite its slow start. The plot gave the reader a lot to think about. I personally liked the way that Steinbeck looked into classic biblical stories and extracted some recognizable characters. The theme of the novel exemplifies classic reoccuring themes of the bible, good verses evil and the choice to control sin. The quote "Thou mayest" carries the story and ties in all of the individuals together. I enjoyed reading the classic qualitites of the book and think that evoked a touching theme.
I really enjoyed reading East of Eden. I loved how all the characters were unique in their own way but you could still draw parallels between them. They were described so strongly and their personalities were so convincing. They were also really really complicated. I'm still not sure I understand Cathy. Clearly she was the most evil. Steinbeck even compared her character to a monster. The scary thing is that there were some very human qualities about her. I also liked how the story went through two generations of the Trask family. The connnections to the Cain and Abel were everywhere. The relationship between Charles and Adam is a retelling of the story and the relationship between Cal and Aron. I really liked looking at the different relationships and the effects of love and rejection. Charles and Cal both felt rejectd by their respective fathers and needed to lash out at someone. Just like in the Cain and Abel story, the other brother was object to take out the anger on. Antoher interesting relationship was that between Adam and Cathy. For some reason Adam just couldn't let her go; her couldn't accept what a bad person she was.There are so many mysteries surrounding the idea of love and East of Eden explored those mysteries. I really loved all the ideas this book gave me to thing about.
Overall I really enjoyed the novel East of Eden. Although I found it somewhat slow in the beginning, I believe it got better the more I continued to read. I also found it repetative when Adam's children, Cal and Aron, was also an allusion to the story of Cain and Abel. Both with Adam and Charles, and Cal and Aron, there was always the jealous brother who felt neglected. It seemed monotonous how the story seemed to repeat this concept, causing the novel to be predictable.
The reason I enjoyed this novelas much as I did was due to the ending, which I did not find predictable. When Lee, the servent, was begging Adam to say,"Cal" in order to know that Cal is forgiven for the downfall of the family, I assumed that Adam was going to say his name and that it would be a happy ending. I think the last paragraph really brought the novel together as a whole because Adam did not state the predicted response. Instead, Adam said,"timshel!"(601). I feel that this really brought the novel together becasue timeshel means that he is forgiven and that he is free to choose between good and evil. This was a good theme to a novel, for there was always a foil character to the protagonist who was faced with the issue of either turning to good or evil. I feel that this was a great way to bring the novel to a close and added more significance to the situation which Cal and Adam were facing.
I ended up absolutely loving this book and many of the complex characters in it. At one point, I even wrote in the margin "I heart Samuel". Yes, I'm a dork.
One of my favorite quotes from the text that speaks as true to me is when Adam says to Cal, "there's responsibility in being a person. It's more than just taking up space where air would be" (455). To me, this is what the book's all about- what we do with the space we take up. The decisions we make, the emotions we feel, and how we impact others' lives are a responsibility. How we deal with that responsibility determines our sucess and potential for happiness, I think.
On another, somewhat twisted note, I think my favorite part of the book was when Cathy committed suicide- not because she died, but becuase of the glimpse we get into her soul and her past. A little bit of the question of why she's so evil is answered through her memories of childhood- and I almost gasped at the beauty of the last line of her life: "she grew smaller and smaller and then disappeared--and she had never been"(554). Wow.
I really enjoyed the novel surpisingly. I dont really like some of John Steinbecks other pieces of work, so I was plesantly surprised when I began reading East of Eden. I liked how I could understand each situation and event that took place because of how well discribed the setting and the character involved were. For example I really thought the part about Cathy trying to kill her unborn child was so well thought out and discriptive and I did not have a hard time believing she did that because of how Steinbeck portreyed her.Over all i really thought East of Eden was such a great book and I really enjoyed reading it.
John Steinbeck, who is known for portraying vital morals in books such as The Pearl and Of Mice and Men, did an excellent job in writing East of Eden. Although at times it was boring and tedious, overall it was interesting because it did a very nice job of recreating a Cain-and-Abel story in a more modern sense. However, a large difference that sets it apart from the Cain-and-Abel story in the Bible is the way the two of them ended. In the original story from the Bible, Cain slays his brother Abel and is punished by God. Although he does not kill this brother, Cal does indirectly lead to Aron's death by telling him that their mother is a prostitute, but before he can actually be punished, his father utters the words, "timshel", a Hewbrew word which translates to "Thou Mayest." In a sense, Adam, was revealing to his son that it does not matter what you are born into, but its what you do that reveals your character. To me, this was very reminiscent of Batman Begins, when Rachel tells Bruce that "Its not who you are underneath, but what you do that defines you." It's a very odd connection, but the fact that I was able to find such connections made the book more enjoyable and fun to read. Well, that's enough for me, time to move onto the next blog post.
i thought that John Steinbeck did a great job of connecting examples from the bible to a real life scenario story. He at first sets up many different characters and seens, and finishes the story with a fantastic ending. Everything connects towards the end, and has a great moral of good versus evil. Even though many people die, both Cal and Mr. Lee have learned from their friends and family, and are working to become great people. I also like Ginny's point of covering two generations of the Trask family. Teh realtionships in family and brotherhood are quite similar comparing Aron vs. Cal, and Charles vs. Adam. It is very interesting how similar they are and are compared. Peoples attitudes should be based on themselves, and not what others believe. You are responsable for yourself and you own actions, and I think this is a gret lesson that East of Eden teaches.
I went into reading this book with the mentality that i was going to hate it because I was turned off by its 602 pages. However I ended up enjoying it. I enjoyed reading Steinbecks work. I agree with Barbara when she said that she could understand each situation because of the great description of the setting and characters that were included in the book. Reoccuring themes that tied the book together were "the mystery of identity, the inexplicability of love, and the murderous consequences of love's absence." (taken from back of book). I noticed that the idea of good versus evil decisions plays a big role in this book. It is interesting how the throughout the book the characters have to deal with and reflect upon their decisions. The end of the book reveals the consequence and regrets the characters had from making poor decisions.
I actually ended up kind of enjoying East of Eden, although the thought of it at first haunted me. Due to a somewhat slow start, I found myself bored and uninterested, but as the plot thickened I found myself becoming more and more intrigued. I found the characters very interesting and unique, as Ginny stated, especially Lee and Cal. Both these characters were described by Steinbeck in a way in which their idenity was very clear and realistic. My favorite part of the book was the overall idea of Timshel or 'thou mayest' because it conveys a strong message in that if you believe that you are able to create your own fate, rather than having it decided for you, you can live a much better life.
I fully agree with Eshan that John Steinbeck is great at touching upon real life morals in his own intersting way. This makes for a great undertone accompanying the book. This was especially true to me in East of Eden because when the first few chapters dragged on it was almost impossible for me to get through them but eventually when moral issues started to pop up and the idea of Timshel arrose, I realized the true genius of John Steinbeck. It was also very interesting to look at the complexity of the connections with the bible story "Cain and Abel" which on the surface seem obvious, but if you divulge into how they effect eachother inderectly in every generation it becomes even more intriguing. One example is Cal indirectly killing his brother Aron by telling him that his mother was a prostitutre, and indirectly leading to his enrollment in the army, which lead to his death. This loosley mirrored the story of Cain and Abel but had Steinbeck's interesting and complex way of going about it.
John Steinbeck really did a wonderful job in writing this book as well as including much imagery and moral conflict which really helped to develop the characters in this book. The fist part of the book was very dry and boring, but then it blosssomed into an imaginative retelling of the story of Cain and Abel from the Bible. In the original story, Abel raises the cattle and meats, while Cain raised the vegetables. Much like Aron, Abel is favored by God because his offering is better than Cain's. Cain gets jealous and kills his brother out of spite, which angers god to punish him. Cal indirectly leads to his brother's death by telling him that their mother Cathy is a prostitute, which leads Aron to go off to war and get killed in action. Another thing which stood out to me was the concept of "Timshel", which in Hebrew means "Thou Mayest". Adam tells his son Cal this after Aron dies in war. He is basically saying that your actions make you who you are. Like Ehsan, this reminded me of that scene from Batman Begins where Rachel says this to Bruce, then when Rachel asks Batman who he is, he says to her "It is not who I am underneath, but what I do, that defines me." All in all, East of Eden was a great book that revealed to me that all stories really are interconnected. -Jason A
I agree with Ginny about the thing on Cathy. Surprisingly, even though she was like a monster at times, it is true she did have some very human qualities we can relate to.
Over all, I liked this novel. There was so much going on at one given time (at least after you got past the first chunk of reading). I also liked how Steinbeck described the lives of many different people and then showed us how all their lives connect. Each person affected another and each was tied in to another's life. I think the one line, "He wanted to slam the door, but he didn't dare" (547) is somewhat significant to the rest of the novel and a reoccuring theme that takes place. Along with the concept of good vs. evil, the idea of doing eactly what you want vs. what you feel is right, is also very apparent. Cathy, for instance, is a very strong minded character and almost always does just what she wants without holding back; in a sense, she "slams the door" even when in it's not ok to do so. Adam, on the other hand, tends to hold back a little more. He allowed Charles and Cathy to beat on him without much objection at all. Even if he wanted to "slam the door" (aka tell them to stop and stick up for himself), he couldn't. It was not in his character to do so. It was this moral sense and driving ability to do what each character wanted that shaped a big portion of this novel. How each character acted and interacted with others was based on their ability to do as they pleased and reveal their true self.
As many of you have already said so this is clearly going to sound redundant, I also enjoyed reading East of Eden. At first I did not think I would enjoy it because of the size of the book and amount of pages I was pleasantly suprised when I got into it. Steinbeck does a great job creating complex characters with a lot of meaning to them. I really like the quote Ms. Coppens uses on page 455. I think the quote really says a lot about what the book is about and about the responsibility of being a person. What we do while we live makes who we are as a person. It is our responsibility to do something with our life and not just take up air space as Steinbeck says.
Although this John Steinbeck novel is not the shortest book, its intricacy and character development appealed to me. The metaphorical allusions to the Bible also added a stratum of analysis to the appealing plot. The conflict between good and evil also played a key role in the plot. The back-and-forth of moral and immoral thought arises in the novel. "Cal watched his brother triumph over sins he had never committed. He thought sardonically of telling him about his mother, to see how he would handle it, but he withdrew the thought quickly. He didn't think Aron could handle it at all" (451). This passage exemplifies one the key elements of East of Eden. To me, Steinbeck's writing transcends the pages of his novel, for the conflicts between good and evil continually affect human thought. I enjoyed this book because it brings up questions of inner thought, moral choices, and the ongoing fight to be morally virtuous. - Chris Griffey
I really enjoy East of Eden partly because Steinbeck expressed moral conflicts but mostly because of all the dynamic characters. A lot of the characters went through changes and were completely different then they were when first being introduced to them. Most notible is Caleb because Steinbeck does an excellent job of conveying his growth as a person. Even Kate who lived a life paralleled to devil was even dynamic. She did nothing ethical untill giving her fortune to Aron when she dies.
Nadine made an excellent point when she mentions how there was so much going on and all the characters connected to eachother. The actions of the characters all drastcally effect the novels progression and I reall enjoyed how steinbeck incorporated this into East of Eden
The connection to Cain and able in modern form was really cool. When Samuel goes to the Trask farm and literally knocks some sense to the self-pitied and depressed Adam and tells him the story of Cain and Abel the whole novel started to come together. The Resemblance between the boys names and foreshadowing when samuel tells the biblical story.
"I think this is the best known story in the world because it is everybody's story. I think it is symbol story of the human soul" (270). This is what Lee said after Samuel finished reciting Cain and Abel. This is such a great quote because this is comparable to STeinbecks novel
I think that East of Eden turned out to be an interesting read despite its slow start. The plot gave the reader a lot to think about. I personally liked the way that Steinbeck looked into classic biblical stories and extracted some recognizable characters. The theme of the novel exemplifies classic reoccuring themes of the bible, good verses evil and the choice to control sin. The quote "Thou mayest" carries the story and ties in all of the individuals together. I enjoyed reading the classic qualitites of the book and think that evoked a touching theme.
ReplyDeleteRachael Insani
I really enjoyed reading East of Eden. I loved how all the characters were unique in their own way but you could still draw parallels between them. They were described so strongly and their personalities were so convincing. They were also really really complicated. I'm still not sure I understand Cathy. Clearly she was the most evil. Steinbeck even compared her character to a monster. The scary thing is that there were some very human qualities about her. I also liked how the story went through two generations of the Trask family. The connnections to the Cain and Abel were everywhere. The relationship between Charles and Adam is a retelling of the story and the relationship between Cal and Aron. I really liked looking at the different relationships and the effects of love and rejection. Charles and Cal both felt rejectd by their respective fathers and needed to lash out at someone. Just like in the Cain and Abel story, the other brother was object to take out the anger on. Antoher interesting relationship was that between Adam and Cathy. For some reason Adam just couldn't let her go; her couldn't accept what a bad person she was.There are so many mysteries surrounding the idea of love and East of Eden explored those mysteries. I really loved all the ideas this book gave me to thing about.
ReplyDelete-Ginny Cousens
Overall I really enjoyed the novel East of Eden. Although I found it somewhat slow in the beginning, I believe it got better the more I continued to read. I also found it repetative when Adam's children, Cal and Aron, was also an allusion to the story of Cain and Abel. Both with Adam and Charles, and Cal and Aron, there was always the jealous brother who felt neglected. It seemed monotonous how the story seemed to repeat this concept, causing the novel to be predictable.
ReplyDeleteThe reason I enjoyed this novelas much as I did was due to the ending, which I did not find predictable. When Lee, the servent, was begging Adam to say,"Cal" in order to know that Cal is forgiven for the downfall of the family, I assumed that Adam was going to say his name and that it would be a happy ending. I think the last paragraph really brought the novel together as a whole because Adam did not state the predicted response. Instead, Adam said,"timshel!"(601). I feel that this really brought the novel together becasue timeshel means that he is forgiven and that he is free to choose between good and evil. This was a good theme to a novel, for there was always a foil character to the protagonist who was faced with the issue of either turning to good or evil. I feel that this was a great way to bring the novel to a close and added more significance to the situation which Cal and Adam were facing.
-jenny r
I ended up absolutely loving this book and many of the complex characters in it. At one point, I even wrote in the margin "I heart Samuel". Yes, I'm a dork.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite quotes from the text that speaks as true to me is when Adam says to Cal, "there's responsibility in being a person. It's more than just taking up space where air would be" (455). To me, this is what the book's all about- what we do with the space we take up. The decisions we make, the emotions we feel, and how we impact others' lives are a responsibility. How we deal with that responsibility determines our sucess and potential for happiness, I think.
On another, somewhat twisted note, I think my favorite part of the book was when Cathy committed suicide- not because she died, but becuase of the glimpse we get into her soul and her past. A little bit of the question of why she's so evil is answered through her memories of childhood- and I almost gasped at the beauty of the last line of her life: "she grew smaller and smaller and then disappeared--and she had never been"(554). Wow.
-Ms. Coppens
I really enjoyed the novel surpisingly. I dont really like some of John Steinbecks other pieces of work, so I was plesantly surprised when I began reading East of Eden. I liked how I could understand each situation and event that took place because of how well discribed the setting and the character involved were. For example I really thought the part about Cathy trying to kill her unborn child was so well thought out and discriptive and I did not have a hard time believing she did that because of how Steinbeck portreyed her.Over all i really thought East of Eden was such a great book and I really enjoyed reading it.
ReplyDelete-Barbara Cambus
John Steinbeck, who is known for portraying vital morals in books such as The Pearl and Of Mice and Men, did an excellent job in writing East of Eden. Although at times it was boring and tedious, overall it was interesting because it did a very nice job of recreating a Cain-and-Abel story in a more modern sense. However, a large difference that sets it apart from the Cain-and-Abel story in the Bible is the way the two of them ended. In the original story from the Bible, Cain slays his brother Abel and is punished by God. Although he does not kill this brother, Cal does indirectly lead to Aron's death by telling him that their mother is a prostitute, but before he can actually be punished, his father utters the words, "timshel", a Hewbrew word which translates to "Thou Mayest." In a sense, Adam, was revealing to his son that it does not matter what you are born into, but its what you do that reveals your character. To me, this was very reminiscent of Batman Begins, when Rachel tells Bruce that "Its not who you are underneath, but what you do that defines you." It's a very odd connection, but the fact that I was able to find such connections made the book more enjoyable and fun to read. Well, that's enough for me, time to move onto the next blog post.
ReplyDelete-ed
i thought that John Steinbeck did a great job of connecting examples from the bible to a real life scenario story. He at first sets up many different characters and seens, and finishes the story with a fantastic ending. Everything connects towards the end, and has a great moral of good versus evil. Even though many people die, both Cal and Mr. Lee have learned from their friends and family, and are working to become great people.
ReplyDeleteI also like Ginny's point of covering two generations of the Trask family. Teh realtionships in family and brotherhood are quite similar comparing Aron vs. Cal, and Charles vs. Adam. It is very interesting how similar they are and are compared. Peoples attitudes should be based on themselves, and not what others believe. You are responsable for yourself and you own actions, and I think this is a gret lesson that East of Eden teaches.
Brett Speranzella 2/3/09
I went into reading this book with the mentality that i was going to hate it because I was turned off by its 602 pages. However I ended up enjoying it. I enjoyed reading Steinbecks work. I agree with Barbara when she said that she could understand each situation because of the great description of the setting and characters that were included in the book. Reoccuring themes that tied the book together were "the mystery of identity, the inexplicability of love, and the murderous consequences of love's absence." (taken from back of book). I noticed that the idea of good versus evil decisions plays a big role in this book. It is interesting how the throughout the book the characters have to deal with and reflect upon their decisions. The end of the book reveals the consequence and regrets the characters had from making poor decisions.
ReplyDelete-Sam Friday
I actually ended up kind of enjoying East of Eden, although the thought of it at first haunted me. Due to a somewhat slow start, I found myself bored and uninterested, but as the plot thickened I found myself becoming more and more intrigued. I found the characters very interesting and unique, as Ginny stated, especially Lee and Cal. Both these characters were described by Steinbeck in a way in which their idenity was very clear and realistic. My favorite part of the book was the overall idea of Timshel or 'thou mayest' because it conveys a strong message in that if you believe that you are able to create your own fate, rather than having it decided for you, you can live a much better life.
ReplyDelete-Graham
I fully agree with Eshan that John Steinbeck is great at touching upon real life morals in his own intersting way. This makes for a great undertone accompanying the book. This was especially true to me in East of Eden because when the first few chapters dragged on it was almost impossible for me to get through them but eventually when moral issues started to pop up and the idea of Timshel arrose, I realized the true genius of John Steinbeck. It was also very interesting to look at the complexity of the connections with the bible story "Cain and Abel" which on the surface seem obvious, but if you divulge into how they effect eachother inderectly in every generation it becomes even more intriguing. One example is Cal indirectly killing his brother Aron by telling him that his mother was a prostitutre, and indirectly leading to his enrollment in the army, which lead to his death. This loosley mirrored the story of Cain and Abel but had Steinbeck's interesting and complex way of going about it.
ReplyDelete--Tyler Patterson
John Steinbeck really did a wonderful job in writing this book as well as including much imagery and moral conflict which really helped to develop the characters in this book. The fist part of the book was very dry and boring, but then it blosssomed into an imaginative retelling of the story of Cain and Abel from the Bible. In the original story, Abel raises the cattle and meats, while Cain raised the vegetables. Much like Aron, Abel is favored by God because his offering is better than Cain's. Cain gets jealous and kills his brother out of spite, which angers god to punish him. Cal indirectly leads to his brother's death by telling him that their mother Cathy is a prostitute, which leads Aron to go off to war and get killed in action. Another thing which stood out to me was the concept of "Timshel", which in Hebrew means "Thou Mayest". Adam tells his son Cal this after Aron dies in war. He is basically saying that your actions make you who you are. Like Ehsan, this reminded me of that scene from Batman Begins where Rachel says this to Bruce, then when Rachel asks Batman who he is, he says to her "It is not who I am underneath, but what I do, that defines me." All in all, East of Eden was a great book that revealed to me that all stories really are interconnected.
ReplyDelete-Jason A
I agree with Ginny about the thing on Cathy. Surprisingly, even though she was like a monster at times, it is true she did have some very human qualities we can relate to.
ReplyDeleteOver all, I liked this novel. There was so much going on at one given time (at least after you got past the first chunk of reading). I also liked how Steinbeck described the lives of many different people and then showed us how all their lives connect. Each person affected another and each was tied in to another's life.
I think the one line, "He wanted to slam the door, but he didn't dare" (547) is somewhat significant to the rest of the novel and a reoccuring theme that takes place. Along with the concept of good vs. evil, the idea of doing eactly what you want vs. what you feel is right, is also very apparent. Cathy, for instance, is a very strong minded character and almost always does just what she wants without holding back; in a sense, she "slams the door" even when in it's not ok to do so. Adam, on the other hand, tends to hold back a little more. He allowed Charles and Cathy to beat on him without much objection at all. Even if he wanted to "slam the door" (aka tell them to stop and stick up for himself), he couldn't. It was not in his character to do so. It was this moral sense and driving ability to do what each character wanted that shaped a big portion of this novel. How each character acted and interacted with others was based on their ability to do as they pleased and reveal their true self.
-Nadine A
As many of you have already said so this is clearly going to sound redundant, I also enjoyed reading East of Eden. At first I did not think I would enjoy it because of the size of the book and amount of pages I was pleasantly suprised when I got into it. Steinbeck does a great job creating complex characters with a lot of meaning to them. I really like the quote Ms. Coppens uses on page 455. I think the quote really says a lot about what the book is about and about the responsibility of being a person. What we do while we live makes who we are as a person. It is our responsibility to do something with our life and not just take up air space as Steinbeck says.
ReplyDelete-Bobby
Although this John Steinbeck novel is not the shortest book, its intricacy and character development appealed to me. The metaphorical allusions to the Bible also added a stratum of analysis to the appealing plot. The conflict between good and evil also played a key role in the plot. The back-and-forth of moral and immoral thought arises in the novel. "Cal watched his brother triumph over sins he had never committed. He thought sardonically of telling him about his mother, to see how he would handle it, but he withdrew the thought quickly. He didn't think Aron could handle it at all" (451). This passage exemplifies one the key elements of East of Eden. To me, Steinbeck's writing transcends the pages of his novel, for the conflicts between good and evil continually affect human thought. I enjoyed this book because it brings up questions of inner thought, moral choices, and the ongoing fight to be morally virtuous.
ReplyDelete- Chris Griffey
I really enjoy East of Eden partly because Steinbeck expressed moral conflicts but mostly because of all the dynamic characters. A lot of the characters went through changes and were completely different then they were when first being introduced to them. Most notible is Caleb because Steinbeck does an excellent job of conveying his growth as a person. Even Kate who lived a life paralleled to devil was even dynamic. She did nothing ethical untill giving her fortune to Aron when she dies.
ReplyDeleteNadine made an excellent point when she mentions how there was so much going on and all the characters connected to eachother. The actions of the characters all drastcally effect the novels progression and I reall enjoyed how steinbeck incorporated this into East of Eden
The connection to Cain and able in modern form was really cool. When Samuel goes to the Trask farm and literally knocks some sense to the self-pitied and depressed Adam and tells him the story of Cain and Abel the whole novel started to come together. The Resemblance between the boys names and foreshadowing when samuel tells the biblical story.
"I think this is the best known story in the world because it is everybody's story. I think it is symbol story of the human soul" (270). This is what Lee said after Samuel finished reciting Cain and Abel. This is such a great quote because this is comparable to STeinbecks novel
Aidan C