Character Analysis Of East Of Eden Cathery

Not only does Cathy use her erotic ways to get what she desires, but she also uses physical pain and eventually, murder. After fighting with her father about Cathy’s attempt at running away, Cathy had had enough. One night Cathy leaves an apron in the oven of her house, locks all the doors, steals her father’s money, and leaves her parents to die in her childhood home, erupting into flames. Enjoying every second of her act and not feeling any remorse, Cathy’s cheeks “were bright with color and her eyes shone and her mouth turned up in its small childlike smile” (85). The murder of her parents is Cathy’s first real act of evil that Steinbeck shows in the book, showing how much hatred she is capable of and the extent to which she will go to get her way.

When thinking about the gift offering in the biblical story of Cain and Abel and its impact, one can see many similarities in East of Eden. Cain brought to God “the fruit of the ground” and Abel offered God “the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof” (Gen 4 KJV). God preferred the gift of Abel to the gift of Cain.

Therefore showing, Cathy had no liking of Samuel or her children and could not stand to be cared for. She had a way of destroying the life of anyone who crossed paths with her, and by biting Samuel’s hand, caused his livelihood to decline. Comparatively, later on in life Cathy ends up with the “fingers of both hands [constantly] bandaged”, due to severe arthritis (192). Cathy lived her life always harming others, with no guilt or regret and this was her punishment.

Cathy could see no good in the world or in any of the other characters. She believed that there was only evil in the world and therefore surrenders herself to it fully. Cathy is portrayed as a wicked fiend who's aggression comes from practically nowhere but her own empty heart, but other times Cathy appears weak and afraid of people who weren’t the least bit intimidating. These are moments when we have to stop and think if she really is truly evil, or just an impatient and self-centered person. Cathy’s upbringing had no real play as to why she manipulated and deceived so many people. Her parents always showed her love and tried the best they could to educate and entertain her. There was nothing horrible in her childhood that would have given her an excuse as to why she was the way she was. Cathy was just not the typical child. She was very different from other children; it could be argued that she was born evil and was just a result of nature.

Cathy-Kate combines many biblical figures as well.  She is not only Eve, but she is Cain’s wife and the serpent of Eden as well (Fonterose, Joseph.  p.3380).  Thus she is the representation of evil too.  Cathy is evil to the point where she is not human.   Her presence in the novel is meant to represent evil and all of its cruel intentions.  All of her deeds are intended to show how far from the real world Cathy actually is (Howard, Levant. p. 245).  Steinbeck compares Cathy to other prostitutes in Salinas Valley, the setting of East of Eden.  She is described as the only whore who is incapable of being a good person.  She is an inhuman being whose life revolves around cruelty and wrongdoing.  She is solely satanic and destroys the innocence of man (Marks, Jay Lester. p. 126-127).

In this essay, I will be discussing Cather’s views on three philosophies of life and I will attempt to draw a conclusion about the one to which she personally adheres. I have took my time and read this book and it has been a really good one. It had many romantic points of views and lots of naturalistic moments.

In her youth, we can vividly see Cathy as the “trickster” when she starts her relationship with Mr. Edwards: “her method was to keep him continually off balance…and when she sensed the near approach of insane, punishing rage she sat in his lap and soothed him and made him believe for a moment in her innocence

Cathy, the twin’s mother, insists that there is only evil in the world, and immersed herself into taking advantage of other people’s flaws and weaknesses. Cathy also had that freedom of choice, but she always made the wrong decision and remained the totally evil character throughout the novel.

Her sly and calculated personality prevents her from completing a task without precise and careful planning. Therefore, when Cathy, a being who lacks a certain aspect of humanity, initially meets Adam Trask, she sees a weak, motherless, puppy-like man she can easily manipulate. She acts under the false pretense of what Adam longed for the most: motherly care. However, to many readers and characters, Cathy seems

In other words, one's character is not changed or defined by a single moment. Timshel also gives the people the sense that they are a mini god, due to their chance for their future. In the lyrics of “Timshel”, “His ladder to the stars” refers to gaining access to God’s ladder and joining him in the stars, while being a god(16). In East of Eden, Lee also uses the phrase “Ladder to the stars” while talking to Cal. There is sense of unity in Timshel, as portrayed in “Timshel” when they say “as brothers we will stand and we'll hold your hand”(9-10). There is also another connection between East of Eden and “Timshel” when they write, “And you are the mother the mother of your baby child the one to whom you gave life”(11-13). This refers to Cathy being a mother, while trying to abandon her child. Having a choice, as seen in Timshel, is not always good, as seen with Cathy and

In East of Eden, Cathy Ames is constructed to represent the incarnation of evil. In East of Eden, Cathy is portrayed as a corrupt adaptation of the biblical Eve, who is perceived by the Christian tradition as the mother of mankind. Although Eve is not described as evil, she is the one who invited evil in the world by accepting a suspicious apple from a dishonest snake. As a result, Eve is often associated with sin, but whereas Eve is deceived into committing sin, Cathy embraces it and commits evil simply as a means to inflict pain. The character is overly enticed with evil: she believes that there is only evil in the world and therefore fully commits herself to it.

Another way the idea of good versus evil is expressed is by the internal conflicts of the characters. Cathy is good example of a character that has an inner conflict of good versus evil. Cathy, the most evil of all in this novel, kills her parents, manipulates Adam and Charles, attempts to abort her children, shoots Adam, abandons her twin sons once they are born, and murders Faye, her friend and boss. However, the good in Cathy overcomes the bad. By the end of the novel she becomes religious and she leaves all of her fortune to her son. Charles is also a good example of a character struggling with inner conflict. Whenever Adam beats him in a game, Charles becomes very abusive towards him; once he almost kills Adam. However, Charles also protects Adam from others and he does, in fact, love him. He "fought any boy who ... slurred Adam and ... protected Adam from his father's harshness" (Steinbeck 491). Adam is forced to join the service and is sent to war, Charles tries to keep in touch with him by writing letters. In

Adam sees in Cathy only the good things because he is blinded by her looks to see what she really is. Others, like Lee, see right through her and can see the evil within her. Adam and Cathy seem to be doing fine and move to King City to have a life together. One day Cathy is found lying on the floor with blood everywhere so Adam calls the doctor. He finds out that Cathy was trying to kill her baby that she was pregnant with and says “ ‘Have you met Mrs. Laurel? She’s wasting and crying for a baby. Everything she has or can get she would give to have a baby , and you-you try to stab yours with a knitting needle’ ”(135). Cathy lied to the doctor and said she didn’t want to pass down her Epilepsy which runs in the family. She lied to trick him into believing that she didn’t want her sons to suffer but really wanted to kill her kids to not have them at all. Any other woman would’ve loved to have kids and would’ve wanted the best for them. But Cathy, she didn’t want kids and hated the fact that she was going to have some and this rejection propelled the plot of East of Eden by unintentionally disturbing the future of the kids because of this

The Other Side of Paradise explores topics society refuses to speak about today. The author Staceyann Chin grows up as an outcast in Jamaica. The memoir begins with Chin at a very young age, her and her brother Delano both live with their grandma. Chin was left alone after being born by her mother and her father refuses to claim Chin as his own child. Throughout the memoir, Chin experiences sexism, classism, racism and strict religious standards. Furthermore, The Other side of Paradise, along with bell hook’s article, provides insight towards the roles of race and class, as we see in the memoirs characters, Staceyann and Delano.

Throughout an individual's life they are shaped and molded by their surroundings. Whether that is by their parents, or another individual it will greatly impact the rest of their life. In the novel East of Eden by John Steinbeck their are two major families, the Trask family and the Hamilton family. Samuel Hamilton, an Irish Immigrant, father of nine, and husband to Liza Hamilton meets the Trask family when Adam Trask would need help with an irrigation system for his new farm, when he moved to the Saliana Valleys during the Homestead Act. Samuel Hamilton becomes very close with the Trask family during this time, and even birth Adam and Cathy's twins, Cal and Aron. After Cathy gives birth her haywire side comes out, and she shots Adam in the shoulder and runs away from him, changing her name to Kate and working for Fayes brothel. After Adam recovers from being shot he tries to cover up for Cathy, but the sheriff does not believe him, saying that he knows Cathy shot him. The sheriff then goes to Cathy and tells her as long as she stays away from Adam and the twins, nothing else will happen. Adam recovers physically, but not emotionally, becoming very depressed and his care for the twins starts to diminish. Samuel Hamilton, and Lee the housekeeper for the Trask family and a Chinese emigrant, both step up and take huge parts in raising the twins. Adam’s, Samuel’s, and Lee’s migration all affect the upbringing and the future of the twins in the Novel, East of Eden. The twins are