Lee’s Function in East of Eden: a Spokesman of Steinbeck’s Thought and the Oriental Philosophy

East of Eden, written by John Steinbeck, is a profound, complicated retelling of the biblical story of Cain and Abel, focused around the overall struggle between good and evil . John Steinbeck wrote this for his own sons, John and Tom, to show them not only the history of their family in the Hamiltons, but also the concept of sibling rivalry emerging from the competition over paternal love and acceptance (Shillinglaw). This was first evident in Adam and Charles Trask, and then in Adam’s sons, Aron and Cal Trask. The absence of a true mother figure in these two instances of brotherly contention enhances the need for acknowledgment and love from their parental figures. And yet, both mother figures in East of Eden choose to abandon their

These lines exchanged by Jane Eyre and Mr. St John perfectly exhibit the differences in their personalities. Jane Eyre is a passionate, emotional person, while Mr. St John comes off as "cold" and un-feeling. These contrasting temperaments make for an intriguing scene when Mr. St John asks for Jane to marry and move to India with him as a missionary's wife. Jane had a strong emotional reaction to Mr. St John's proposal and St John was taken aback when she rejected him, but he did not have a particularly passionate reaction. In the days and weeks to follow, St. John was by no means friendly or warm with Jane, but he was also not outwardly rude to her. All and all, Mr. St John's disposition can be described as "cold," and Jane's emotions, that had a fire-like intensity, led her to reject to St. Johns final proposal.

Choice can be defined as the act of selecting or making a decision when faced with multiple possibilities. In John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, the motifs of houses, hands, and money reflect how the pattern of good and evil repeat due to the reoccurring theme that one has the right to choose.

The writting of Lordship and Bandage by G. W. F. Hegel explains the relationship with the master, and their slave. He explains this by basically saying that for one to receive self conscious they must engage with someone similar to them. However, this backfires, because not knowing how to communicate often creates conflict. This then leading towards a fight between the two people to find who will be superior, or in other words, the master. The person who loses the fight, and is seen as weak, will become the slave. Hegel then explains the relationship between the master, and the slave will instead include the positions switch. Meaning, the master will become the slave, while the slave will become the master, due to the three influential principles.

There are many authors, poetry writers, and novelists around this world, but what make them into a famous author or writer? One of the famous American writer was John Steinbeck. He earned a Nobel prize of literature from his American classic novels that he had written in the past. The Nobel prize was not the only award that he had earned for his literature, he earned different awards for his writings also (John Stein..). John Steinbeck is a man who had overcome different obstacles and being successful in life.

Lao-Tzu, a Chinese Philosopher from Henan Province China, is known today as the author of, “Thoughts from the Tao-te Ching.” He is also recognized as a, “contemporary of Confucius.” He served as a keeper of the dynastic archives.

Our circumstances do not determine our lives. Instead, our lives are determined by our choices. That is not to say that our lives are not impacted by the country in which we were born, the family which we were born to, or the tragedies which touched our lives. We are given a choice of how we respond to those things, and the power of choice means that the lessons and value of our lives is not determined by outside influences, but instead it is determined by our reaction to those influences.

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.

Beginning at a young age, people are taught to pursue a pure conscience and a bond of trust between close friends and family, all the while turning a blind eye to sin. Children most often learn from their parents and, as a result, believe that their parents are the quintessence of virtue. This concept is one that sticks with them until they catch an adult out for the first time; consequently, their beliefs begin to falter and the realization of a false perfect entity harms the child more than if the illusion were never created. Likewise, many adults struggle with realizing that society is built upon deceit due to masks of decency and credibility, while others deceive themselves by living in a world of illusions because of the pleasure and protection provided. That said, once the illusion is destroyed, it also destroys him. Similarly, John Steinbeck explores the double-edged sword of deception, wielded by both children and adults, in his novel East of Eden. Just as the masks that society wears, multiple characters throughout the story at first originally incapable of committing a sin as great as deceit due to their innocent introductions. Despite this initial virtuosity, Steinbeck’s East of Eden evinces humanity’s contrasting and inherent dependence upon selfish uses of deception, whether it be for self-empowerment, safety, or otherwise, with paltry consideration about the consequences of truth.

One of the ways Lee shows that people are essentially good is through the people

East of Eden is one of the few books I know is a classic from just reading the first hundred pages. It’s a book which I absolutely loved for so many reasons. One of the main reasons is its information on characters. Steinbeck is amazing by how much he can say by saying so little. Many of the details talked about by characters were implied more than said. I also loved Steinbeck being an omnipotent narrator. The thoughts of one character thinking of another character makes it really easy to take notes as they say the thoughts and feelings of other characters.

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.

Early in the 1930's Steinbeck wrote, "The trees and the muscled mountains are the world-but not the world apart from man-the world and man-the one inseparable unit man and his environment. Why

Throughout the novel, Lee is in constant need of degrading himself in order for others to simply understand him. Lee is perceived as a stereotypical Chinese man in their society. People do not think much of or less about him. Because he is an outcast in society, derogatory terms towards Lee continue to manifest during the course of the novel. “This Chinaman has really fed you some pap” (Steinbeck 462). Racial slurs are constantly used to put Lee in his place as an outsider in their white dominated society. Subsequently, Lee being an American citizen and fluent in English, uses pidgin to get onto their lower level of knowledge and play with their ignorance. He does not necessarily degrade himself because he knows his own self-value. Lee often

The American voice is what Americans have to say that helps contribute to worldly matters. It is unique because it changes everyday with new events happening and people adding more to the American voice. John Steinbeck was a big contributor to the American voice in the 30’s and 40’s during the Great Depression era. He grew up in a hardworking family, his mother a schoolteacher and his father moved from job to job trying to keep food on the table. He worked as a war correspondent during World War II and also worked as a caretaker for the elderly. His background helped shape who he was, and ultimately helped his work because he could relate to people.