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East Of Eden Essays : Adam's Own Enemy

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Adam’s Own Enemy Blame is a concept created out of the deniability and lack of responsibility people have for themselves to hide guilt or fault they have. Often, when people do not want to own up to their own problems they created, people put it on someone else so that they do not have to accept their own wrong. In John Steinbeck’s novel East of Eden, everyone tries to find a cause to blame for Adam’s struggles and actions, but no one ever suspects the “innocent”. A common misconception about Adam Trask’s struggles and issues in the novel is that they were created by other people; Cathy/Kate hurt him, Charles Trask was a mean and controlling brother, Cyrus Trask did not care enough about his own son’s wants, however, through it all Adam is his own worst enemy throughout East of Eden. Time and time again, Adam continues to make trouble for himself unintentionally. Although Adam cannot control his family/friend’s actions, Adam can choose how he handles them. Cyrus Trask is the father to Adam Trask, and being his father, he can influence his son in any way he so chooses. For the first sixteen years of his life, Adam becomes a sculpture shaped by his father’s wants. Despite his father admitting to the knowledge that Adam does not have the strength and skill to be in the army, he forces Adam into becoming a soldier. Being someone with such characteristics of being physically weak, Adam is weak at communicating. Adam did not have a choice to be in the

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