East of Eden- post 5- Inner reality versus the surface
What is an interesting example of how characters' inner realities are different from the surface? What point do you think Steinbeck is making through this contrast? Include a quote and page number in your analytical response.
An example of how a characters' inner realities are different from the surface is Caleb's battle with his demons. He struggles throughout Steinbeck's novel to be a good person like his brother Aron. On the surface Caleb looks like his mother Kate while Aron looks like their father Adam Trask. Kate is the manager of a brothel. She is a vile and draconion woman so Caleb feels that because he looks like her he will be the same way. Caleb learns about his mother and what she does. He sees her evil and realtes to it, "It's like you said about knowing people. I hate her b/c i know why she went away. I know-because I've got her in me" 449). Cal is pset because he thinkgs he will be like her because they look the same. This was the belief from this time period, that people can not change and if your relatives were evil you will be to. Steinbeck is making the point that it does not matter who you are related to. The choice of good versus evil is individual. No one's future is predicted for them. Caleb's dark appearacnce differs from his inner realities.
There are so many examples of people who not only seem to be one way on the surface but are another underneath, but I think, more interestingly, those who have identities projected on them by others. A great example is with Aron and Abra. After they separate, Lee says to Abra: "And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good"(585). Abra responds that this is, in fact, how she feels. Aron was not in love with the real Abra, but the perfect Abra he constructed. The pressure of perfection is impossible to live up to, and clearly Abra demonstrates that with such pressure she is not given the possiblity to be real. Now, there is nothing to act out against- she can be human, she can be true, and she can be good.
In East of Eden by John Steinbeck Cathy Ames is a character that acts one waybut keeps her own agenda. She even appears to be blameless. The narrator informs us on page 73 that, "As though nature concealed a trap, Cathy had from the first a face of innocence."S he manipulates people in doing what she want to do. She lies through the majority of the book and her, "Lies were never innocent. Their purpose was to escape punishment, or work, or responsibility, and they were used for profit," as noted on page 74. She changes her story 3 times in the book. Each time hinding the old life. From the first time we see this character she is described by the narator as being a "monster" on pae 72. She's is different but it's hard to figure out how. She seems innocent the first time that the trask family meets her. She appears on their doors step and even though she has already commited serious crimes she leads them to believe that she is good. People are not always what they seem and can hide the evil in themselves with a good surface to make good people believe them. They are always in fear of the people who suspect them and can see through their lies. Cathy manipulates, kills, and ruins the lives of these people while tyring to keep her image clean so that she can continue this method and not suffer the consequences.
I think Adam is a perfect example of inner reality verses the surface, in particular with his love for Cathy. He is totally in love with her, but yet he is not really. He sees Cathy as a perfect, beautiful angel, who is hurt by the world but is a good sweet person. He fell in love with Cathy, but it was not Cathy as she really was, but as Adam invented her to be. He created his own reality and his own wife who had Cathys face, but in reality had nothing to do with Cathy as a person. He clung so tightly to this reality that he was in the end totally blind to her true self. He could not believe that she hurt him and did not return his love for her. He, in reality, was married to a stranger because she was not at all like the person he created in his mind.
In East of Eden a lot of characters have trouble with understanding who a person is. They create a sort of image that they think they love, but in reality the image is way off. This happened in the Abra - Aron relation ship and the Cathy - Adam relationship which have already been mentioned. Antoher case of this is the image that Adam and Charles have of their father when they were young. Cyrus tricks them into thinking of him as a great, God-like man. Many of Cyrus's "techniques and training were not designed for the boys at all but only to make Cyrus a great man" (20). Adam and Charles make Cyrus into this decorated war hero when none of it was ever true.
Antoher thing about inner realities is that when they are revealed they often upset (or destroy) the other person who has been building them up in his or her mind. An interesting quote on page 19 reads, "there is one sure thing about the fall of gods: they do not fall al little; they crash and shatter or sink deeply into green muck" (19-20). This quote really embodies what happened to many characters. Aron had a particularly bad reaction when the inner reality of his mother was revealed to him. It destroyed him mentally. Charles also took it badly when he found out about Cyrus. okay...out of time...
The question that this blog asks is actually something that I noticed myself while reading. I feel like this idea of the contrast between the characters’ inner realities and how they appear on the surface applies to many characters in the story, such as Cyrus and Cathy. Though both of these characters showed their contrast in very different ways, but they still stood out because of it. Cathy was a character that I believe showed this contrast the most. Growing up, she intrigued other people. Everyone was so interested just by her appearance, and even her personality questioned people. With her undeveloped body and naïve behavior, people saw her with a “face of innocence” (73). However, she knew from a young age that “she was not like other people” (73), and she quickly learned that she had the ability to manipulate everyone else. She lived her life with lies, which “were never innocent” (74). To everyone else, she appeared innocent, but she knew herself that she was not. Her life was based on a lie that she continued to put on show for others towards other people. On page 74, the narrator says that Cathy “stayed close enough to the truth so that one could never be sure” (74). What Steinbeck means by this is that her lies weren’t so extreme that people wouldn’t fall for them; they were easily believable to everyone in her life. Her ability was so strong, that it wasn’t until years later that Adam realized that he wasn’t missing out on anything once Cathy left him, and it drove her crazy that neither Adam nor her sons fell for her tricks anymore. This shows how though she choose to take the evil path in life, Adam, Aron, and Caleb (though he struggled at first) were able to rise above the influences of evil in their lives and engage in goodness.
An example in East of Eden when a characters inner realities are different from what is on their surface is Cathy's life. On the surface, she treats Adam kindly which makes Adam want to marry her. When she stays at the Trask's home, she seems innocent and nice. However, in previous chapters, the reader finds out that she burned down her house and killed her parents. "The fire broke out at about three o'clock in the morning. It rose, flared, roared, crashed, and crumbled in on itself almost before anyone noticed it" (Steinbeck 85). This shows how Cathy seems much more delightful on the surface, but from her past, she is very vicious.
An example of how a characters' inner realities are different from the surface is Caleb's battle with his demons. He struggles throughout Steinbeck's novel to be a good person like his brother Aron. On the surface Caleb looks like his mother Kate while Aron looks like their father Adam Trask. Kate is the manager of a brothel. She is a vile and draconion woman so Caleb feels that because he looks like her he will be the same way. Caleb learns about his mother and what she does. He sees her evil and realtes to it, "It's like you said about knowing people. I hate her b/c i know why she went away. I know-because I've got her in me" 449). Cal is pset because he thinkgs he will be like her because they look the same. This was the belief from this time period, that people can not change and if your relatives were evil you will be to. Steinbeck is making the point that it does not matter who you are related to. The choice of good versus evil is individual. No one's future is predicted for them. Caleb's dark appearacnce differs from his inner realities.
ReplyDeleteAidan Cremin
There are so many examples of people who not only seem to be one way on the surface but are another underneath, but I think, more interestingly, those who have identities projected on them by others. A great example is with Aron and Abra. After they separate, Lee says to Abra: "And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good"(585). Abra responds that this is, in fact, how she feels. Aron was not in love with the real Abra, but the perfect Abra he constructed. The pressure of perfection is impossible to live up to, and clearly Abra demonstrates that with such pressure she is not given the possiblity to be real. Now, there is nothing to act out against- she can be human, she can be true, and she can be good.
ReplyDeleteMs. Coppens
In East of Eden by John Steinbeck Cathy Ames is a character that acts one waybut keeps her own agenda. She even appears to be blameless. The narrator informs us on page 73 that, "As though nature concealed a trap, Cathy had from the first a face of innocence."S he manipulates people in doing what she want to do. She lies through the majority of the book and her, "Lies were never innocent. Their purpose was to escape punishment, or work, or responsibility, and they were used for profit," as noted on page 74. She changes her story 3 times in the book. Each time hinding the old life. From the first time we see this character she is described by the narator as being a "monster" on pae 72. She's is different but it's hard to figure out how. She seems innocent the first time that the trask family meets her. She appears on their doors step and even though she has already commited serious crimes she leads them to believe that she is good. People are not always what they seem and can hide the evil in themselves with a good surface to make good people believe them. They are always in fear of the people who suspect them and can see through their lies. Cathy manipulates, kills, and ruins the lives of these people while tyring to keep her image clean so that she can continue this method and not suffer the consequences.
ReplyDeleteCatherine Handford
I think Adam is a perfect example of inner reality verses the surface, in particular with his love for Cathy. He is totally in love with her, but yet he is not really. He sees Cathy as a perfect, beautiful angel, who is hurt by the world but is a good sweet person. He fell in love with Cathy, but it was not Cathy as she really was, but as Adam invented her to be. He created his own reality and his own wife who had Cathys face, but in reality had nothing to do with Cathy as a person. He clung so tightly to this reality that he was in the end totally blind to her true self. He could not believe that she hurt him and did not return his love for her. He, in reality, was married to a stranger because she was not at all like the person he created in his mind.
ReplyDelete~Gabbie
In East of Eden a lot of characters have trouble with understanding who a person is. They create a sort of image that they think they love, but in reality the image is way off. This happened in the Abra - Aron relation ship and the Cathy - Adam relationship which have already been mentioned. Antoher case of this is the image that Adam and Charles have of their father when they were young. Cyrus tricks them into thinking of him as a great, God-like man. Many of Cyrus's "techniques and training were not designed for the boys at all but only to make Cyrus a great man" (20). Adam and Charles make Cyrus into this decorated war hero when none of it was ever true.
ReplyDeleteAntoher thing about inner realities is that when they are revealed they often upset (or destroy) the other person who has been building them up in his or her mind. An interesting quote on page 19 reads, "there is one sure thing about the fall of gods: they do not fall al little; they crash and shatter or sink deeply into green muck" (19-20). This quote really embodies what happened to many characters. Aron had a particularly bad reaction when the inner reality of his mother was revealed to him. It destroyed him mentally. Charles also took it badly when he found out about Cyrus. okay...out of time...
-Ginny Cousens
The question that this blog asks is actually something that I noticed myself while reading. I feel like this idea of the contrast between the characters’ inner realities and how they appear on the surface applies to many characters in the story, such as Cyrus and Cathy. Though both of these characters showed their contrast in very different ways, but they still stood out because of it.
ReplyDeleteCathy was a character that I believe showed this contrast the most. Growing up, she intrigued other people. Everyone was so interested just by her appearance, and even her personality questioned people. With her undeveloped body and naïve behavior, people saw her with a “face of innocence” (73). However, she knew from a young age that “she was not like other people” (73), and she quickly learned that she had the ability to manipulate everyone else. She lived her life with lies, which “were never innocent” (74). To everyone else, she appeared innocent, but she knew herself that she was not. Her life was based on a lie that she continued to put on show for others towards other people. On page 74, the narrator says that Cathy “stayed close enough to the truth so that one could never be sure” (74). What Steinbeck means by this is that her lies weren’t so extreme that people wouldn’t fall for them; they were easily believable to everyone in her life. Her ability was so strong, that it wasn’t until years later that Adam realized that he wasn’t missing out on anything once Cathy left him, and it drove her crazy that neither Adam nor her sons fell for her tricks anymore. This shows how though she choose to take the evil path in life, Adam, Aron, and Caleb (though he struggled at first) were able to rise above the influences of evil in their lives and engage in goodness.
Gillian
An example in East of Eden when a characters inner realities are different from what is on their surface is Cathy's life. On the surface, she treats Adam kindly which makes Adam want to marry her. When she stays at the Trask's home, she seems innocent and nice. However, in previous chapters, the reader finds out that she burned down her house and killed her parents. "The fire broke out at about three o'clock in the morning. It rose, flared, roared, crashed, and crumbled in on itself almost before anyone noticed it" (Steinbeck 85). This shows how Cathy seems much more delightful on the surface, but from her past, she is very vicious.
ReplyDelete-Andrew Licht-