The Non-Teleological View Of Life In East Of Eden By John Steinbeck

1. A. “When a child first catches adults out—when it first walks into his grave little head that adults do not have divine intelligence, that their judgments are not always wise, their thinking true, their sentences just—his world falls into panic desolation. The gods are fallen and all safety gone… they do not fall a little; they crash… it is a tedious job to build them up again, they never quite shine” (Steinbeck 19-20). B. This quote utilizes a metaphor to explain how children tend to believe the words of adults. For most children, adults appear wise and intelligent, always knowing the right thing to do and say.

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.

In John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, the characters of Charles and Cal act as parallels when taking into account the Genesis story of Cain & Abel. The Genesis story of Cain & Abel tells the story of Adam & Eve’s twin sons. Cain, tiller of the ground, was characterized as the ‘evil’ brother, with unsound thoughts and tendencies. While Abel, keeper of the sheep, was characterized as the ‘good’ brother embodying a light pureness and divinity, making him the complete opposite of his brother Cain. Each brother brought offerings to God, and while Abel’s offering of the firstlings of his flock was respected by God, Cain’s offering of the fruit from the ground was not respected. From the rejection God gave Cain, Cain soon grew jealous of his brother Abel,

What is the meaning of life? According to Chris McCandless living free and not conforming to the natural way of life is the meaning to life, as shown in the book Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. Similar to Chris McCandless, Ralph Emerson believes that following your dreams and making your own trail is the meaning of life according to his short story “Self-Reliance” by Ralph Emerson. The purpose of man's existence is to avoid conformity and following one's own instincts and ideas.

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.

I. John Steinbeck used his personal experiences as a laborer to write many of his novels like Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath.

The book the pearl was full with a variety of action and surprising events. The author Steinbeck's moral argument of money doesn't buy happiness is demonstrated in every event occurring in the book. Kino and Juana made the right decision to throw the pearl away because it was an object that brought harm. This novella could have had a variety of different endings.

In this novella, I developed a thesis statement, which is: The pearl kept Kino moving forward because it represented hope during a period in his life. I chose this thesis statement because one of the aspects that makes this story move forward is Kino’s hope and greed; even if this greed is based on his hope. Steinbeck quotes: “Every man suddenly became related to Kino’s pearl, the schemes, the plans, the futures, the wishes, the needs, the lusts, the hungers of everyone, and only one person stood in the way and that was Kino, so he became curiously everyman’s enemy” (Steinbeck, 27).

Of mice and men, published in 1937 is one of the most important and influential novels of John Steinbeck. The American author was born in 1902 in Salinas, California in the United States. Salinas was a prosperous farming community in 1920’s .Therefore, the geography and demographics of Steinbeck’s place of origin greatly influenced Steinbeck’s novels and development of his characters who have a strong identification with land. Steinbeck developed strong interest in writing in early adolescence in high school and after that, he was enrolled at Stanford University in 1919 which gave him opportunity to sharpen his writing skills majoring in English. The author is widely known for writing novels including award winning The Grapes of Wrath written

What exactly influenced Steinbeck’s writings? Was it his background, his past, or was it the way he grew up and learned. There are many factors that come into play when trying to depict what exactly influenced an author. A lot of people believe that he was heavily influenced by California, where he lived. As many as nine of his works were proven to be based off of some part of california life in his time. But not all of his inspiration could simply come from California.

Every great writer had their own influences, John Steinbeck was no exception. Steinbeck’s influences cam from family, friends, and his environment to write detailed descriptions to involve or influence the reader. Whenever someone reads one of John Steinbeck’s works they are in immersed in the scene he is describing, he makes you feel as if you are right there experiencing everything there first hand.

John Steinbeck's novel The Pearl is full of lessons to be learned, but there is one that is

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.

According to the textbook, the Garden of Eden was the presences of God, not a location.

After I read “The Pearl”, I learned that once our enemy has become nature itself, our animal instincts take over. After Kino’s house burned down and his canoe destroyed, Steinbeck quotes, “He was an animal now, for hiding, for attacking, and he lived only to preserve himself and his family.” (Steinbeck, 64). I used to think that we humans would be able to maintain our sanity through any situation. However, Kino taught me that we all become animals when nature becomes our enemy such as the time when he left the town: “The wind blew fierce and strong, and it pelted them with bits of sticks, sand, and little rocks.” (Steinbeck, 69). From this, we’re shown that once they’ve left their home, their “paradise”, nature becomes their enemy, and it haunts them in every corner. During this period, Kino becomes more animal-like such as his response to when he and Juana saw the pool of water: “They came utterly weary to the pool, and Juana slumped to her knees…Kino drank long and thirstily at the pool.” (Steinbeck, 80).