Character Analysis of Cathy Filled with misanthropy and convinced in the hypocrisy of humans, the character Cathy in East of Eden dominates as the ultimate source of evil in the novel, and uses manipulation to achieve an unknown goal, however, at the same time she demonstrates immense levels of fear ultimately leading to her downfall.
A delicate and tedious process, the art of manipulation that takes time for one to confidently master. With keen insight to understanding how to mislead and alter the opinions, ideas, and judgment of others, one may presume power over others. In East of Eden, Cathy serves as the novel's primary source of evil and exhibits power over those she encounters. The power she obtains comes from her understanding
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For example, Cathy’s mother discovers her “naked to the waist” in the barn with two young boys convinced the young men are at fault. In actuality, Cathy seduces her peers into partaking in the horrendous deed and consequently, whippings become the punishment . On the contrary, Mr. Ames is notably suspicious of the heterodox that is his daughter unlike most others. In spite of his sagacity, he falls to manipulation by/of Cathy and “soon forgot his haunting Reservations” believing in the fallacy of his daughter's appearance and like others falling into her malicious trap (Steinbeck 76). Furthermore, her use of control by the means of sex is apparent in that she challenges misogynistic gender roles where males presume dominance in sexual relationships. Her superiority of dominance and refusal to yield to the desires of men is central to her character in her later years. To be …show more content…
Edwards, a whoremaster, exemplifies her challenging of traditional roles; he loses his pristine business persona and finds himself sexually attracted to her. However, this attraction is fatal for Mr. Edwards as “[his attraction to her] ruined his judgment, canceled his knowledge, weakened him.” (Steinbeck 96). Here, the decaying Mr. Edwards appears terrified of Cathy after her recent outburst; however, he desperately wants to believe her capability of/for good. Moreover, towards the end of her cynical life, Cathy assumes the position of the brothel owner after poisoning the previous owner. While at the helm, Cathy accumulates a collection of photographs showcasing the men who visit her place of work. These photographs hold immense power over the people whose faces appear in the pictures. To be specific, such materials insure Cathy with safety for if anything happens to her hurt “[the pictures] would be dropped in the mail, [and] will go where it will do the most harm” (Steinbeck 323). By using her keen knowledge the effects of sex, in this case, prostitution, Cathy effectively controls her environment and the victims encompassed within. In any case, the reader can wonder if Cathy’s
The idea that man's relationship with good and evil is not predestined is a central idea in this novel. The conflict between good and evil is a universal battle. Many characters in the novel, East of Eden, struggle both internally and externally with Good versus evil.
The struggle of sibling rivalry over ability and temperament has taken East of Eden in a whole new perspective. Steinbeck’s portrait on sibling rivalry shows the good vs. evil of each character in the story. The nature of good vs. evil as natural selection is also seen in siblings, as a compete for something physical, mental, or something emotional. The sibling rivalry from the biblical characters embraced Steinbeck’s characters throughout every concept in the novel, the good vs. evil confines the characters personality in every idea of Steinbeck’s novel. From the biblical story of Cain and Abel to Adam and Charles to Cal and Aaron the story continues through out every generation.
One fear that Octavia Butler illustrates in the relationship, between Shori and her human symbionts, is the overwhelming influence that pleasure has over human beings. The euphoric feeling inspired by the venom of the Ina combined with several health benefits cause humans to leave their normal ways of life and adapt to a foreign culture. Brook, a symbiont that Shori inherited from her father articulates this point when she says, “They take over our lives. And we let them because they give us so much satisfaction and…just pure pleasure.” (Butler 127) Another example of the use of pleasure as a means of domination is visible in the way that humans become highly sensitive to the suggestions of Ina once they have bitten them. It is only after Shori bites her proposed assassin that she is able to question him. After exposure to her venom, the man has no choice but to answer her questions. This embodies the fear that people act against their...
Throughout Steinbeck's novel East of Eden, he captures the idea of Timshel through different characters. Many believe that Timshel is left in open, giving the character the choice. Moreover, Timshel is actually planted in one, they either fight evil with Timshel or give into the dark side.
Question 1: In what way is the novel an allegory of The Garden of Eden?
Steinbeck uses the biblical story of Cain and Abel in East of Eden to show us that we do not have set fate. Steinbeck uses the Hebrew word “timshel”, which means “thou mayest”, to suggest that man has the ability to choose good or evil. “Timshel” affects the characters in East of Eden such as Cal and Aron and their choice of overcoming good or evil. Steinbeck sees this novel as his most important work, and he uses it as a way to state his personal ideas concerning mankind:“The free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected. And this I must fight against: any idea, religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual.”(Steinbeck,132). Steinbeck shows God has given humans free will and their ability to choose good or evil, if they so decide. He portrays the “C” characters to be connected to Cain, such as Charles and Cal and the “A” characters to be connected to Abel, such as Aron and Adam.
The Bloody Chamber is a remake of the original fairytale Bluebeard; however Angela Carter rewrites the fairy tale using her feminist views to raise issues concerning roles in relationships and marriage, sexuality and corruption. Carter challenges the classic role of the male protagonist and the female victim; she does this by changing the stereotypes of the traditional fairy tale’s males as the saviours and females as the victims. She challenges the fairy tale’s traditional sex roles when she replaces the brother of the bride for the mother as the rescuer, “one hand on the reins of the rearing horse while the other clasped my fathers service revolver” this demonstrates to the reader that women are as strong as men, even stronger and can take on a expected man’s role and make it their own therefore challenging the stereotypical gender roles of Men. In addition to this as a feminist, Carter uses anti-essentialism to present that time, power and position are the details that makes a man act like he does and a woman like she does. This is revealed through the setting, France 1790’s, were men and women were not equal. The Marquis in this story is presented as a wealthy older man who has the ability to seduce and retrieve what he wants, “his world” this emphasizes the power he maintains and it gives him ownership not only of his wealth but the young bride and even possibly the...
The culture Connie lives in and the people guiding her in life have failed to teach her the evils of society that lead to temptation and seduction. In the Bible, Eve was seduced by Evil to eat a forbidden fruit, and as a result, they were banished from paradise. When Connie was seduced by Arnold Friend in the story, it led to her
Throughout the narrative, the text utilizes the conflict over the crisis of cognition, or the very mystery regarding the Marquise’s lack of knowledge surrounding her mysterious pregnancy, as a catalyst for the presentation of the plurality of opinions associated with the Marquise’s current status in society and presumptions to the father’s identity. In itself, this state of cognitive dissonance prevents the Marquise from making any attempts at atoning for her supposed sin, as she herself is unaware of any possible transgressions responsible for her current predicament. In turn, this separation from the truth pushes the marquise to fall into the conviction that the “incomprehensible change[s] in her figure” and “inner sensations” (85) she felt were due to the god of Fantasy or Morpheus or even “one of his attendant dreams,” (74) thereby relinquishing her subconscious from any guilt. However, despite her self-assurance of innocence and desperate pleas at expressing her clear conscience, the marquise becomes subject to external pressures from both her family and society, who come to perc...
Timshel; meaning “thou mayest”, holds a significant role in East of Eden. It shows that anyone can desire to surmount vile in their hearts and create morality within them self. In the novel, Steinbeck portrays the significance of timshel through the introduction of free will, the internal conflict of Caleb, and the blessing of Adam.
This theory proposed by Springer is evident throughout EVE of Destruction. For instance, we may know that after the robbery and her programming changes, she will only kill, but we still cant deny how she maintains how attractive and sexual she is depicted. Throughout the movie, EVE’s body is the feminine part of her nature, while her violence is the masculine part of her nature ( Springer). Using this theory further, one can see how EVE’s eagerness to kill and destroy can be representative of her sexual
Most versions of Eve’s experiences in Eden before the fall are never truly explored, instead adhering strictly to the biblical text and focusing on her role in the fall. Milton, however, offers a radically different depiction of Eve. Her active involvement is not constrained only to her deception and fall. Milton goes beyond her portrayal in the Bible, depicting her prelapsarian role in Eden. While the hierarchical order of all creatures, including men and women, remains intact, Milton portrays an Eve who works directly alongside Adam. She is able to think and act for herself and exhibits her independence throughout the story. Milton’s Eve in Paradise Lost, then, is a feminist, rejecting
All in all the actions of Eve were neither good nor evil, but instead necessary. Through her actions she brought to light the evils of the world, and as a result man is able to appreciate that which is good. Moreover one cannot blame Eve for what she did because although as we have seen God did instill upon mankind free will, he used his threats as a means of manipulating this gift. Although there were many trees in the Garden of Eden, having the tree of knowledge of good and evil forbidden created mystery for Eve, and therefore drew her to it over the tree of life. And once both Adam and Eve choose with their own free will to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil immortality is no longer an option. Now that man is knowledgeable enough to appreciate immortality, God removes it as an choice. In a way this story shows us the flaws of both man and God. Man in that he is tempted by that which is forbidden and does not always respect the orders of those in a position of authority; And God is shown to be somewhat devious and perhaps even malicious at times.
... standards and moral codes. Both are regarded as epitomes of cruelty that repulse and paradoxically attract. Their similarities coincide especially at the beginning of the novel; especially when Heathcliff supplicates Catherine’s return: “Cathy, do come. Oh do once more! Oh! My heart’s darling, hear me this time—Catherine, at last!” (Emily Bronte: 23).
Eve is enamored by the Tree of Knowledge and how much more beautiful it looks in the dark, “That brought me on a sudden to the tree of interdicted knowledge: fair it seemed, much fairer to my fancy than by day (V.51-53).” The reference to the tree looking better at night than in the day tells the reader that Eve is already distant from God and does not have the ability to be in “God’s light” to see the faults in her situation. This is one of the main reasons why Eve falls to the temptation. Throughout lines 82-87, Milton describes in detail the temptation that Eve undergoes. He uses phrases like, “the pleasant savory smell,” and “so quickened appetite,” to relay to the reader on why she gave in to the urge. The use of imagery and diction helps the audience understand just how convincing Satan was and how her quick disobedience to God is a sign of