East Of Eden Character Analysis

Inherit the Wind is a play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee that depicts the infamous Scopes Trial. The real names of the persons involved in the case were changed, however, the play recounts the same story. One journalist in the story, E.K. Hornbeck, who is closed-minded, a hypocrite, and very cynical proves that the religious community of Hillsboro is not the only one to be intolerant.

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.

East of Eden is a story that is based on the biblical stories of Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel. Like the story of Adam and Eve, East of Eden has characters that embody Adam and Eve to an extent. While the story of Adam and Eve tells about the beginning of man, how we came to be on this earth, and why we have original sin, East of Eden uses Adam Trask and Cathy Ames as the beginning of a complex and conflicting story of good vs. evil. Adam Trask is presumed to be Adam, good natured and goodhearted, while Cathy is presumed to be Eve. Only while Eve was deceived into committing sin, Cathy embraces it wholeheartedly and commits evil simply for its own sake.

The struggle of sibling rivalry over ability and temperament has taken East of Eden in a whole new perspective. Steinbeck’s portrait on sibling rivalry shows the good vs. evil of each character in the story. The nature of good vs. evil as natural selection is also seen in siblings, as a compete for something physical, mental, or something emotional. The sibling rivalry from the biblical characters embraced Steinbeck’s characters throughout every concept in the novel, the good vs. evil confines the characters personality in every idea of Steinbeck’s novel. From the biblical story of Cain and Abel to Adam and Charles to Cal and Aaron the story continues through out every

"Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react"(unknown). What happens to you in life is mainly your fault, sure there are conditions you can't control. For decades women have sat back and accepted life as it is until something didn't go their way.Very few women actually fought for what they wanted in life. Abby exhibits positive ethics in the play “ The Crucible” written by A. Miller, because she empowers females , utilizes emotion, and upholds her personal beliefs.

In Ken Kesey’s novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, the nurse Miss Ratched is a fine example of a realistic fictional villain. Possession of three key components is essential in identifying what makes Miss Ratched a villian. Motive is what drives the villain to commit the very acts that allow them to be considered evil in the first place, and often drive their entire being as a character. While they must possess motive, they must also have a sense of morals that coincides with their motives (typically evil, or distorted) and follow their moral compass in a way that often causes trouble for those around them. Additionally, a villain is frequently associated with their opposite; the hero who combats them. Kesey’s character perfectly aligns with these three categories of what makes a villain, and it is unquestionable that she is the villain of the novel.

A central question raised by John Steinbeck’s East of Eden is whether it is possible to triumph over evil, answered by the discussion of free will and inherited sin. The idea of “timshel” is canvassed through the struggles of Caleb “Cal” Trask. The concept of inherited sin is illustrated through the actions of Cyrus Trask, Charles Trask, and Cathy/Kate Trask.

The narrative framework of this novel is based upon the one of Cain and Abel, children of Adam and Eve. In the biblical story, Cain, who is jealous that God approved his brothers offering over his, kills his brother and then lies to God about it. East of Eden explores this conflict of good and evil in life and retells the story of Adam and Eve twice. Once with Adam and Charles and once with Aron and Cal. The story of Cain and Abel is so pertinent that there is literally a scene where they sort of break the fourth wall and read aloud the story of Cain

To begin, the relationship between Henry and his father has a huge impact on who he is today. Henry and his father never seemed to see eye to eye. The country of China, Mr. Lee’s childhood home, was the only place that his family belonged to in his eyes.

Water is also an essential part of Steinbeck’s connection of setting to familial conflict, with the lack of water sowing seeds of discontent in both families, though Steinbeck’s aforementioned theme of choice between good and evil defines what both families do with such misfortune. Lack of water on their property allows the Hamiltons to grow closer, with Samuel’s disappointment with his lack of success in farming being outweighed by his joy in his children, “Water would have made them comparatively rich...all in all it was a good firm-grounded family….Samuel was well pleased with the fruit of his loins,” (Steinbeck 507). By contrast, the drought of the land in Adam’s family is representative of the lack of parenting, how Adam is completely devoid of emotion once Cathy leaves, “Adam looked more gaunt than Samuel remembered. His eyes were dull, as though he did not use them much for seeing,” (655). This juxtaposition is further emphasized by Samuel’s biblical connection, as Samuel was a prophet, a man who could see into the future and thus see the value in raising children despite the difficulties while Adam cannot see beyond his own hardship. Furthermore, the lack of water enrichs the idea that if a family preserves through such difficulties, they will be greatly rewarded, “And the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and give strength to your bones, and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not

The personalities of the two most influential women in John Steinbeck’s novel East of Eden, Cathy and Abra, are complex. One is evil, and the other is good. Despite their different personalities, they are surprisingly similar. Moreover, the women’s involvement in the story portrays the cycle of good conquering evil. Steinbeck describes Cathy as the “Eve” of the Trask family and depicts her as serpentlike and catlike.

Cal is known to be the most complex character in the book East of Eden and also the one who always embodies the Timshel more directly. The end of the novel and the future of the Trasks seems to rest with Cal, this son least liked and least understood by his father and his town. Cal had a different understanding about his relationship to his past and to every each member of his family. Also considering to the other characters, like for Lee the most dangerous response from Cal about Aron’s death will be just a sympathy. In the end of the book, the last scene between Adam and Cal was momentous, it can be more described as a relationship of acceptance and forgiveness which makes a hopeful

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.

History, is the story among which all literary works are linked to, and this statement is true more than any other in John Steinbeck’s East of Eden. Whether one believes that all stories in the Bible have actually happened or not, at least some concepts of them did. How would a writer arrive at the ideas of two brothers and jealousy of love, without having seen it or felt it before? Yet again, how would these ideas survive for so long, unless many people felt them as well and connected to them. The story of Cain and Abel has been around a long time, but the feelings of jealousy between siblings longer still. What stories offer, are not only a feeling of understanding to a child, but a lesson to be learned as well. It is a common cliche, that without knowledge of it history is destined to repeat itself, but if stories are born from past experiences and these too are contained in the archives of history than is it possible to say the same for those as well? What John Steinbeck does in his book is show that without the understanding of the possibility in choices, some of history 's greatest and oldest stories are able to continue to new generations to haunt their lives. In the use of metaphors, analogies, and symbolism, John Steinbeck displays the Cain and Abel story in two generations, and the horrors along with the beauties that the possibility of choice creates.

In “The Journey to the West,” the monk was accompanied by Pigsy, the Sha Monk, the Handsome Monkey King, and the horse. Each of these supporting characters possess a certain magical ability that assisted the monk on his journey, additionally they had their own flaws. This contrasts the monk, which has no magical ability and was devoted buddhism. The strengths, weaknesses, and backgrounds of these supporting characters encapsulate the idea of buddhism throughout the novel, and by including them and Xuanzang the book is able to summarize the idea of buddhism.