The Power Of Evil In John Steinbeck's East Of Eden

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.

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.

As a child, she obtained the knowledge how to mimic the emotions she is incapable of feeling. She uses this to her advantage in order to gain power and control by manipulating people, especially men. When she claims her own freedom by killing her parents in a burning house, she finds her first victim, Mr. Edwards. She uses her beauty and charm toward Mr. Edwards to gain his love and trust. Mr. Edwards was a cunning shrewd owner of a brothel, and withdrew his love and trust when he unraveled Cathy’s “dark secret”-not only the house, but her swindling.

A theme is a unifying or dominant idea in a literary work. Steinbeck described the competition of good versus evil as the story of mankind itself. He believes that every generation to come since Adam and Eve will now be immersed with the struggle of good and evil due to Eve’s curiosity that led to sin, eventually banning both her and Adam from the Garden of Eden. In East of Eden, Steinbeck makes the contest of good versus evil apparent through his contrasting description of the setting, the characters’ opposing personalities, and society’s changing morals.

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 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

“Nurture vs. Nature”, are some individuals destined to become evil? Or does the environment and experiences of the individual shape who they are? In Mary Shelley’s novel “Frankenstein” there is a character (the creature) that these questions apply to. Through her use of diction, changes in perspective, and imagery, she was able to make the creature seem more human than creature by making the reader sympathize with the creature.

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.

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.

In Steinbeck's book, “East of Eden,” he created many characters that struggled with the “light and dark” aspects of their personalities and actions, battling their dark intrusive thoughts, and stay true to the light. Throughout his life, Aron Trask as lead a pure life, in the eyes of his envious brother, Cal. Aron didn’t struggle with his conscience until Cal revealed something about his mother, his heritage, that he couldn't deal with. With the control he thought he had on his life slipping out of his grasp, he turned to the extremes and ran away from his family and his inner dilemma. The author shows the theme of “light and dark,” within Aron near the close of his story, to help convey his message: the dark parts of humanity’s heart don’t

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.

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

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

Everyone possess those evil and selfish actions, the biggest are maybe closing the mouth, ears, and eyes to what is going around, and instead stay self-preserved. Is the world an image of how sinful one can be? Or does it lay within your actions. In the novel East of Eden by John Steinbeck, Cal pursues to understand and live his life with his loved brother Aaron, dad Adam, missing whore mom Kate, and his trustful servant Lee. He lives in a life where his actions are defined from his ancestors, and allows his descents to drown out his uniqueness. Lee’s pure perspective of humanity along with his parental care, and companionship with Cal allow him to educate Cal about the choice between good and evil. The decision of every human being not only shows the evil or good of a person or the world, but will determine the flourish or destruction of the world and humanity.