The fear of rejection motivates characters by making them do things that are unusal. From the beginning Charles was rejected from his father allowing anger and rage be present in his life. By the end of the novel Cal shows his fear of rejection by by also not feeling "loved" by Adam as Aron is seemed like the glory child. His true dispair is shown on page 567 being discribed as pain, sorrow, and shame, "Cal's head shattered with pain and he was wide awake. He had no resistance against sorrow and no device to protect himself agaisnt shame".
The fear of rejection is the driving force for many, if not all of the characters in East of Eden. Very early on, we are introduced to the Trask family: Cyrus and his sons Charles and Adam. Both boys feel the overwhelming pressure to be good in their father's eyes, loved and admired by him. It would seem that the militaristic Cyrus would prefer the strong, brave Charles, and that Adam, who is comparibly weak and feeble, would be a source of shame to his father. However, we learn that the opposite is in fact true. Adam later learns that his father allways loved him a bit more, and that Charles, who was devestated by every small act of rejection that his father committed (in particular rejecting the pocketknife he gave him)had long been developing a strong anger and jealousy of Adam, steming from the pain of rejection. This is significant because it helps explain to us, as well as Adam, why Charles had commited so many angry and evil acts. Some years after the event, Adam asks Charles, "Do you remember later? You came back with the hatchet to kill me... I didn't know then, but I know now-- you were fighting for your love" (70). This shows the magnificent and destructive force of rejection to create evil, but also, it proves that evil comes from the pure desire to be loved. Lee perhaps said it best when he said that "the greatest terror a child can have is that he is not loved, a rejection is the hell that he fears..." (268). This relates directly to the biblical story of Cain and Abel; Cain, whose offering to God is rejected, kills his brother Abel as a result of an immense pain and anger. We are all the children of Cain and we all must chose how we deal with life's rejections, and lifes opportunities to sin.
Fear of rejection drives the actions of many characters in East of Eden. Each character feels so insecure about their own self that they lash out against others in order to compensate. Their insecurities become overstrewn in their own minds, therefore causing them to think everyone else must also see them in the same way. So, instead of risking being rejected, they often act irrationally or violently. For example, towards the beginning of the novel, Charles lashes out against Adam.
He attacks him violently, "Charles set his peewee, struck it, and, as it rose into the air, swung at it and missed. Charles moved slowly towards Adam, his eyes cold and noncommital...Charles moved close and struck him in the face with his bat" (23).
The passage goes on to further explain how Charles beat Adam. The reason why Charles is beating Adam is because of his insecurity and fear of rejection since he lost the game of peewee to Adam. This goes to show how his fear of rejection fuelled his rage and aggression.
Another example in which one's fear of rejection caused them to act out violently is when Cathy tells Adam she is leaving.
Cathy says, "I'm going away now." ...Then after a little more dialogue Adam says, "You cant go, not from me- not from me." Then, after assuring him that she was in fact leaving and that Adam is a "fool" Adam becomes violent. It says, "Without warning, his hands reached for her shoulders and thrust her backward. As she staggered he took the key from the inside of the door, slammed the door shut, and locket it," (199).
This quote shows that Adam acted irrationally because of his insecurity about his wife. He was afraid of being rejected, and didn't want her to leave him. So, in compliance, he acted out.
Because of people's insecurities, they are most often forced to act out irrationally and sometimes even violently.
One character who faces rejection throughout the novel is Caleb. Caleb is the son of Adam and brother of Aron and as a young boy, he constantly picks fights with Aron and causes problems in the Trask family. Adam views Aron as the better son and this hurts Caleb deep down. Caleb fears inferior to Aron because Adam treats Aron like he's the perfect child whether intentional or not. Caleb's fear of being rejected by Adam motivates him to become a better brother and son. On page 574, Cal tells Abra about Aron and why he joined the army. He really feels about about telling Aron his mom was a whore and he expresses this to Abra. This shows that Cal legitametely feels bad about Aron and he wishes he never left for the army.
The fear of rejection plays an important role in East of Eden, as it is an underlying cause of the actions for many of the characters. The pressure to be accepted and loved builds up in the characters,who exhibit acts of good and acts on evil based on how they are precived by others. One constant relationship that shows the fear of rejection is shown between families, and children's relationship with their parents in comparison to their siblings. East of Eden shows how being rejected can trigger a negative drive and feelings to lash out with evil actions. This is shown by Charles who is not as loved as his brother Adam. Being the rejected child, Charles commits acts that are seen as evil and heartless. What the leader learns however is that Charles' acts are not heartless, but because his heart just wants more love and acceptance. I think the quote that best summaraizes the importance that the fear of rejection plays was "the greatest terror a child can have is that he is not loved, a rejection is the hell that he fears..." (268). I agree with Grace's analysis of this quote, and how it directly relates to the sins of the characters who experience this rejection. Rachael Insani
I think fear of rejection is the huge difference between the two sets of brothers in this novel and is a huge theme in it. Its interesting that in both generations of the Trask family, there is one brother who is hands down the "favorite" of the father, and the other who tries so hard to please the father, but cant. In both situations, this causes the rejected brother to lash out at the other, even though they dearly love that brother and know that it is not really there fault. However, they cannot lash out at their father because to them the have a godlike quality and a sense of seperation.
In the first generation, Adam is the favored brother of Cyrus, even though he is the weaker one of the two. I think Cyrus favors Adam because he wants to protect him and is almost worried bout his future. His other son, Charles, is strong and hardy, so Cyrus does not feel the need to protect him. Because of this, Charles feels very rejected by Cyrus, and he adores him more than anything. Adam, on the other hand, does not feel any rejection from his father, and does not really care or even like him.
Adam does not seem to have any fear of rejection even as an adult. He does not question that his intense love for Cathy is returned. He almost arrongantly assumes that she wants what he wants and that she will do whatever he wants her too. He is blind to her "evilness" and even refuses to listen to her when she says she wants to get out. When she finally makes it clear how she really feels he still cant believe her:
"I'm going away not.' 'Cathy, what do you mean?' 'I told you before' 'You didnt' 'You didnt listen.' 'I dont believe you'"
Adam is so shocked by this and yet he is still blind to her true feelings. It is interesting that Adams lack of fear of rejection is what gets him into trouble. This is mirrored in his son Aron, who has never felt rejection. He is supported and adored by everyone in his life. Because of this, he does not seem to care or notice the feelings of others. Interestingly enough, this seems to backfire on Adam, because Aron does things without even considering or caring how his father feels. He does not tell his father either that he was leaving a year early for college, that he was leaving college, or that he was joining the army. His father finds all these things out through other sources, and Aron does not care how he feels even after he tells him his opinions. Perhaps Steinback is making a point that while too much fear of rejection, or rather letting it control you, is not good, but it is also an important thing to have. Without some fear of rejection, people are irrational and blind to the feelings of others, and even arrogant because they think others will fully support them.
The fear of rejection motivates characters by making them do things that are unusal. From the beginning Charles was rejected from his father allowing anger and rage be present in his life. By the end of the novel Cal shows his fear of rejection by by also not feeling "loved" by Adam as Aron is seemed like the glory child. His true dispair is shown on page 567 being discribed as pain, sorrow, and shame, "Cal's head shattered with pain and he was wide awake. He had no resistance against sorrow and no device to protect himself agaisnt shame".
ReplyDelete-Barbara Cambus
The fear of rejection is the driving force for many, if not all of the characters in East of Eden. Very early on, we are introduced to the Trask family: Cyrus and his sons Charles and Adam. Both boys feel the overwhelming pressure to be good in their father's eyes, loved and admired by him. It would seem that the militaristic Cyrus would prefer the strong, brave Charles, and that Adam, who is comparibly weak and feeble, would be a source of shame to his father. However, we learn that the opposite is in fact true. Adam later learns that his father allways loved him a bit more, and that Charles, who was devestated by every small act of rejection that his father committed (in particular rejecting the pocketknife he gave him)had long been developing a strong anger and jealousy of Adam, steming from the pain of rejection. This is significant because it helps explain to us, as well as Adam, why Charles had commited so many angry and evil acts. Some years after the event, Adam asks Charles, "Do you remember later? You came back with the hatchet to kill me... I didn't know then, but I know now-- you were fighting for your love" (70). This shows the magnificent and destructive force of rejection to create evil, but also, it proves that evil comes from the pure desire to be loved. Lee perhaps said it best when he said that "the greatest terror a child can have is that he is not loved, a rejection is the hell that he fears..." (268).
ReplyDeleteThis relates directly to the biblical story of Cain and Abel; Cain, whose offering to God is rejected, kills his brother Abel as a result of an immense pain and anger. We are all the children of Cain and we all must chose how we deal with life's rejections, and lifes opportunities to sin.
Grace D
Fear of rejection drives the actions of many characters in East of Eden. Each character feels so insecure about their own self that they lash out against others in order to compensate. Their insecurities become overstrewn in their own minds, therefore causing them to think everyone else must also see them in the same way. So, instead of risking being rejected, they often act irrationally or violently. For example, towards the beginning of the novel, Charles lashes out against Adam.
ReplyDeleteHe attacks him violently, "Charles set his peewee, struck it, and, as it rose into the air, swung at it and missed. Charles moved slowly towards Adam, his eyes cold and noncommital...Charles moved close and struck him in the face with his bat" (23).
The passage goes on to further explain how Charles beat Adam. The reason why Charles is beating Adam is because of his insecurity and fear of rejection since he lost the game of peewee to Adam. This goes to show how his fear of rejection fuelled his rage and aggression.
Another example in which one's fear of rejection caused them to act out violently is when Cathy tells Adam she is leaving.
Cathy says, "I'm going away now."
...Then after a little more dialogue Adam says, "You cant go, not from me- not from me."
Then, after assuring him that she was in fact leaving and that Adam is a "fool" Adam becomes violent. It says, "Without warning, his hands reached for her shoulders and thrust her backward. As she staggered he took the key from the inside of the door, slammed the door shut, and locket it," (199).
This quote shows that Adam acted irrationally because of his insecurity about his wife. He was afraid of being rejected, and didn't want her to leave him. So, in compliance, he acted out.
Because of people's insecurities, they are most often forced to act out irrationally and sometimes even violently.
-Nadine A
One character who faces rejection throughout the novel is Caleb. Caleb is the son of Adam and brother of Aron and as a young boy, he constantly picks fights with Aron and causes problems in the Trask family. Adam views Aron as the better son and this hurts Caleb deep down. Caleb fears inferior to Aron because Adam treats Aron like he's the perfect child whether intentional or not. Caleb's fear of being rejected by Adam motivates him to become a better brother and son. On page 574, Cal tells Abra about Aron and why he joined the army. He really feels about about telling Aron his mom was a whore and he expresses this to Abra. This shows that Cal legitametely feels bad about Aron and he wishes he never left for the army.
ReplyDelete-Bobby
The fear of rejection plays an important role in East of Eden, as it is an underlying cause of the actions for many of the characters. The pressure to be accepted and loved builds up in the characters,who exhibit acts of good and acts on evil based on how they are precived by others.
ReplyDeleteOne constant relationship that shows the fear of rejection is shown between families, and children's relationship with their parents in comparison to their siblings. East of Eden shows how being rejected can trigger a negative drive and feelings to lash out with evil actions. This is shown by Charles who is not as loved as his brother Adam. Being the rejected child, Charles commits acts that are seen as evil and heartless. What the leader learns however is that Charles' acts are not heartless, but because his heart just wants more love and acceptance.
I think the quote that best summaraizes the importance that the fear of rejection plays was "the greatest terror a child can have is that he is not loved, a rejection is the hell that he fears..." (268). I agree with Grace's analysis of this quote, and how it directly relates to the sins of the characters who experience this rejection.
Rachael Insani
I think fear of rejection is the huge difference between the two sets of brothers in this novel and is a huge theme in it. Its interesting that in both generations of the Trask family, there is one brother who is hands down the "favorite" of the father, and the other who tries so hard to please the father, but cant. In both situations, this causes the rejected brother to lash out at the other, even though they dearly love that brother and know that it is not really there fault. However, they cannot lash out at their father because to them the have a godlike quality and a sense of seperation.
ReplyDeleteIn the first generation, Adam is the favored brother of Cyrus, even though he is the weaker one of the two. I think Cyrus favors Adam because he wants to protect him and is almost worried bout his future. His other son, Charles, is strong and hardy, so Cyrus does not feel the need to protect him. Because of this, Charles feels very rejected by Cyrus, and he adores him more than anything. Adam, on the other hand, does not feel any rejection from his father, and does not really care or even like him.
Adam does not seem to have any fear of rejection even as an adult. He does not question that his intense love for Cathy is returned. He almost arrongantly assumes that she wants what he wants and that she will do whatever he wants her too. He is blind to her "evilness" and even refuses to listen to her when she says she wants to get out. When she finally makes it clear how she really feels he still cant believe her:
"I'm going away not.'
'Cathy, what do you mean?'
'I told you before'
'You didnt'
'You didnt listen.'
'I dont believe you'"
Adam is so shocked by this and yet he is still blind to her true feelings. It is interesting that Adams lack of fear of rejection is what gets him into trouble. This is mirrored in his son Aron, who has never felt rejection. He is supported and adored by everyone in his life. Because of this, he does not seem to care or notice the feelings of others. Interestingly enough, this seems to backfire on Adam, because Aron does things without even considering or caring how his father feels. He does not tell his father either that he was leaving a year early for college, that he was leaving college, or that he was joining the army. His father finds all these things out through other sources, and Aron does not care how he feels even after he tells him his opinions. Perhaps Steinback is making a point that while too much fear of rejection, or rather letting it control you, is not good, but it is also an important thing to have. Without some fear of rejection, people are irrational and blind to the feelings of others, and even arrogant because they think others will fully support them.
~Gabbie
wowowowo
ReplyDelete