Caleb trask

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. Although Cal is seemingly “born” into evil, he struggles against what he sees as his inherited evil from his mother and is eventually able to break out of the cycle of generational sin

sons, Cain and Abel, offer sacrifices to God. Because God prefers Abel's gift over Cain's, Cain becomes infuriated and kills his brother in a jealous rage. The characters of Charles and Adam Trask, who share the initials C&A with their biblical forebears, closely follow the Cain and Abel paradigm. Cyrus Trask favors Adam's birthday gift of a puppy over Charles' gift of an expensive knife, and Charles almost beats his brother Adam to death in a jealous rage. However, unlike Charles, Adam becomes 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. 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

Following lines would like to show that Steinbeck, while using two different generations of the Trask family to outline two similar cases of Cain-Abel framework, wanted to use the differences in those stories to show his readers that it is up to every Cain (Charles, Caleb and essentially everybody) to free himself out of guilt of the crime he did. So although the “C” characters (Charles and Caleb) were the ones who should follow in Cain’s footsteps and thus be by nature evil, they go through a

The Bible as a Sustained Allusion The Bible is a sustained allusion throughout the course of East of Eden, paralleling with the eternal story of Cain and Abel. According to the Bible, Cain is the "tiller of the ground" (Genesis 4:2). Caleb Trask, a farmer at heart, made a vast amount of money by selling beans. Upon presenting Adam with his present of fifteen thousand dollars, Adam not only discarded the gift, but caused Cal pain by comparing him to his godly brother, Aron, who graduated

retelling of the biblical story of brothers, Cain and Abel from the book of Genesis, with a few subtle differences, including redemption for the “evil brother.” This epic tale of the Trask family is set mostly in the Salinas Valley of California at the turn of the twentieth century and during World War I. Adam Trask favors his son Aron over his son Cal, just as God approved of Abel’s sacrifice over that of Cain’s. Steinbeck uses the allusion of biblical brothers Cain and Abel to create characters

The greatest lesson that the novel teaches and the lesson that should be picked up is one that is hard to swallow. Ultimately every human being is like Cain and every human being inherits his sin but ultimately like Caleb does in the novel, human beings all have the potential to redeem themselves for timshel. Steinbeck uses the Hebrew word in a unique way to sum up his story. The word he uses appears in a passage in which God discusses sin with Cain. The word timshel

Just as Steinbeck diverges from the usual interpretation of Charles and Caleb as Cain, he does too in the cases of Adam and Aron as the biblical Abel. Abel is originally described as the good one, the innocent and more likeable, after all it was his gift that God preferred over Cain’s. This is also the case of Adam’s son Aron, that Aron is the preferred son over Caleb. In the first generation of the Trasks, following the Abel-Cain framework, Steinbeck had Adam as the Abel figure. Because there is

Charles first portrays the idea of sibling rivalry. Adam and Charles Trask have a huge rivalry going on as they grow up. Adam never has to fight for his father’s love. Charles is jealous over the love that their father, Cyrus, shows for Adam. Cyrus states "I love you better. I always have. This may be a bad thing to tell you, but it's true. I love you better.” (Steinbeck ). In jealousy, Charles beats Adam and nearly kills him. Charles Trask loves his brother Adam but cannot help but wish evil things on

John Steinbeck’s, East of Eden, is set in the Salinas Valley, a secluded area of Northern California. The Salinas River runs through this beautiful, yet unforgiving land and provides fertility to the dry land. While the valley has a rich geographical history spanning from sea, to forest, and then to the present day valley, it is a difficult destination to find prosperity. Two dramatic mountain ranges form the landscape of the valley that the author uses to exemplify the idea of good and evil. This