East Of Eden Analysis

In what ways can lessons learned by the character of a story affect the reader? In East of Eden by John Steinbeck, there are two generations of twin brothers introduced, Adam and Charles, and Aron and Cal. Adam and Charles, the older generation of brothers, face many family obstacles. Later, one of the brothers, Adam, has two twin boys of his own, Cal and Aron. These boys face similar conflicts throughout their lives together. These struggles help teach the reader several lessons including ones involving jealousy, parents, rejection, and the idea of timshel. As the story develops and the characters learn valuable life lessons through experience, the reader is also affected by these themes and can grow as well.
One lesson that can be learned

by watching Cal is that jealousy can cause one to do awful things. For example, throughout his whole childhood, Cal can see that his father Adam favors Aron over him. This makes Cal extremely jealous of his brother, Aron, and causes him to strive for love and attention from his father. In order to do so, Cal earns back all fifteen thousand dollars that Adam loses in his failed lettuce business and gives it to his father in an attempt to win him over. However, Adam rejects the money and this causes Cal to go ballistic. Steinbeck writes, “Nearly everyone preferred Aron with his golden hair and the openness that allowed his affection to plunge like a puppy. Cal’s emotions hid deep in him and peered out, ready to retreat or attack” (348). This incident leads to an outrage of jealousy within Cal and in the moment, all of his emotions boil up at once and cause him to do something awful; he decides to show Aron that Cathy is a whore. Although Cal knows that this will hurt Aron deeply, his anger takes over and he can not think straight. As a result of Cal’s outrage, Adam joins the army and dies. Cal knows that this is all his fault and he can never take back what he did while enthralled in pure jealousy.
Another theme that is clear while observing Cal is that children are greatly influenced by their parents. When Cal finds out that his mother Cathy is an evil whore, he instantly believes that he too, is evil. Cal states, “I hate her because I know why she went away. I know- because I’ve got her in me” (449). After finding out that he comes from an evil mother, Cal is quick to conclude that all of his evil actions are derived from her and that he is destined to end up like her. However, after Cal visits Cathy, he realizes that although he does have some evil within him, he also has inherited some good from his father, Adam. After realizing that he is not all like Cathy, Cal feels better and sets himself free from any attachments to his mother. Although Cal finds that he is not as evil as Cathy, his initial reaction shows how much children feel they are affected by their parents and how generations will repeat themselves due to this parental influence.
Throughout his life, Cal has to suffer from the pain and fear of being rejected and neglected by his father.

While reading about Cal’s rejection, the reader learns a tough lesson about how painful rejection can be. The worst thing that could possibly happen to a child is growing up without the feeling of being loved and cared for by a parent. Children instinctively see parents as someone who will give the world for them; when this is not the case, they feel rejected and unloved. All Cal wants is for his father to love him and believe in him. However, Adam makes it very clear that he likes Aron better, despite the fact that Cal cares for his father much more than Aron does. Steinbeck writes, "The greatest terror a child can have is that he is not loved, and rejection is the hell he fears…And with rejection comes anger, and with anger some kind of crime in revenge for the rejection, and with the crime guilt—and there is the story of mankind…if rejection could be amputated, the human would not be what he is” (268). This quote is entirely correct and all prove true with Cal. Since Cal constantly has this pain of rejection from his father, he experiences anger and the need for revenge on his brother. In the end, this anger becomes too much to carry and Cal ends up showing Aron Cathy, the biggest mistake in his life. However, through all this pain built up over the years, Cal can only see what he wants to do in the heat of the moment, not the consequences that he will face in the

future.
Towards the end of the book, Cal learns the lesson that he has a choice in life between good and evil, the idea of timshel. Prior to this lesson however, Cal struggles with the guilt of showing Adam Cathy and leading to his death. Cal feels awful about what he did to Aron and can not bear the idea of his father never forgiving him. More important than gaining his father’s forgiveness, Cal needs to try and forgive himself. Cal carries the burden on his back that he causes Aron’s death, and for this, he does not know if he can ever forgive himself. Cal thinks that he is an awful person for what he has done and begins to give up on any hope of turning his life around and becoming a better person. However, Cal’s confession of his actions to Adam does not go as Cal expected. Contradictorily to Adam looking at Cal in disgrace, Adam actually uses his last breath to mutter one word that completely changes Cal’s perspective on his life for the better. “Adam looked up with sick weariness. His lips parted and failed and tried again. Then his lungs filled. He expelled the air and his lips combed the rushing sigh. His whispered word seemed to hang in the air: Timshel!”(Steinbeck 602). This one word has a life changing effect on Cal. He finally realizes that no matter what he does, he has and will always have control over his decisions in life and that his fate in this world is controlled by only one person, himself.