The color and temperature of a person’s eyes comprise the first layer of his identity. Welcoming, smiling eyes identify their owner as a friend, while angry, bitter eyes warn of a comparably biting personality. A person’s eyes show much at a first glance. In literature, they perform a more significant job, reflecting the character of the soul they guard. In developing the famously complex characters of his novel East of Eden, John Steinbeck heartily subscribed to this literary symbolism by giving special meaning to the eyes of his characters as ‘windows to the soul.’ This can be seen especially in the characters of Adam and Cathy Trask. The life of Adam Trask, as detailed over the course of the novel, was not an easy one. He was forced to endure …show more content…
a great deal, experiencing spiritual highs and lows until the day he finally passed away. The dynamic nature of Adam’s soul is reflected throughout the novel in Steinbeck’s descriptions of Adam’s eyes.
Adam grew up in a broken household. His birthmother drowned herself in a fit of spiritual masochism, and his cold stepmother gave his father a stronger son when Adam was a toddler. Growing up as an unwelcome reminder of his father’s past, Adam was conditioned to hold his tongue. He developed a strong personality and interests, but forced his character behind layers of silence and obedience. As described by the author, “He [Adam] covered his life with a veil of vagueness, while behind his quiet eyes a rich, full life went on” (Steinbeck 20). Adam grew as a bright, inquisitive child, but did so behind walls he erected out of fear and understanding that he was unwanted. He restricted the expression of his developing soul to shield himself from hurt, hiding behind what Steinbeck described as “tunneled eyes” (20). Once Adam escaped from the influence of his father, he was given more freedom to develop. His shielded eyes became warmer and more open as he grew into adulthood. When he finally found a partner in Cathy Ames, his eyes shined with nothing but happiness, reflecting openly the pure joy present in his long-concealed soul (169). This bliss turned out to be …show more content…
the calm before the storm of emotions he was to endure when his newfound love showed her true colors. When Cathy ripped away from her responsibilities as a mother and wife without warning, shooting him in the process, Adam was destroyed. The blank expression Adam wore throughout his youth returned to his blue eyes. This time, however, the unwavering blankness was not a shield he erected out of fear, but rather the reflection of the bleak, nearly defeated nature of his soul. Wrote Steinbeck, “Adam opened his eyes, and they were blank like a sleepwalker’s eyes” (207). The love of Adam’s life had departed, and with her had gone his very soul. Adam would suffer in this state for ten years, watching his sons grow but never caring for them as their father. It wasn’t until the final days of his friend Samuel Hamilton’s life that a change in Adam was begun. In his final conversation with Samuel, Adam learned that Cathy had taken over a brothel in nearby Salinas. Following Samuel’s funeral, Adam decided to visit the brothel, where Cathy, now Kate, had established a network of depravity. The prospect of seeing the woman who had abandoned him within days of giving birth to his sons inspired fear in Adam’s heart. Upon meeting her again, however, he found that his fear was unwarranted. He recognized her for the cruel being she was and found that he was finally free of her influence. After returning from his visit, Adam remarked to Lee, “in some strange way, my eyes have cleared…I’m free” (331). Adam’s eyes had for so long reflected the numbness of his soul, broken beyond repair by Cathy’s departure. Once he was able to look her in the eye and recognize the ugliness rippling through her soul, however, Adam’s soul became free. Steinbeck illustrates Adam Trask as a character with a battered soul. Throughout his troubled life, the nature of Adam’s troubled spirit is revealed through the windows of his eyes. The character of Cathy Ames has resounded throughout literature as one of the most evil.
Introduced by Steinbeck with a discussion of monstrosity in humans, Cathy walked through life with the vestments of a human but the soul of a devil. Though Cathy maintained a façade of innocence to ward off suspicion, the darkness of her soul was revealed in her few moments of weakness throughout the novel. From the time she was a child, Cathy had “face of innocence” and beauty that attracted children and adults alike (73). Behind her wide eyes, however, something darker lurked. As described by Steinbeck, “…she had some quality that made people look…back at her, troubled at something foreign. Something looked out of her eyes, and was never there when one looked again” (73). Cathy was skilled at using her natural beauty and poise to manipulate others, always maintaining her impeccable appearance. The events of her childhood, however, revealed her to be a creature much darker than her attractiveness would suggest. Her parents died in a mysterious fire, and the lives of the men she manipulated were without exception destroyed. When she finally arrived on the doorstep of Charles and Adam Trask’s farmhouse, her deception continued; she entranced Adam and the two eloped within months. Adam fell head-over-heels for his golden bride. He and many others saw nothing but goodness and virtue in her hazel eyes. Samuel Hamilton, however, saw something more. As he described after his chilling first
encounter with Adam’s bride, “the eyes of Cathy had no message no communication of any kind…They were not human eyes” (177). Jolted into Samuel’s mind by the troubling meeting was an ancient memory of a public hanging he witnessed as a boy. He saw in Cathy’s eyes the same lack of humanity present in the eyes of a man executed for monstrous crimes. Cathy worked to fill her eyes with beauty, attempting to disguise the true nature of her soul. Despite this effort, however, she was unable to fully assume the guise of humanity. This well-crafted façade she erected to clothe her dark soul became even less substantial in times of weakness. At both of the points in the novel where she consumed alcohol, Cathy let slip her disguise of beauty and gave the person in her company a glimpse of her darker side. As described in Cathy’s final night with Mr. Edwards, “she poured another glass for herself and another. Her eyes became set and cold. Mr. Edwards felt a fear of her. Something was happening to her which neither she nor he could control” (95-96). Cathy strove to control those around her. When she lost control of herself, however, her darker nature showed through her falsely warm eyes. In her most difficult moment in the novel, childbirth, Cathy’s dark soul was revealed further. As described of Samuel Hamilton as he prepared to deliver Cathy’s babies, “he had not looked at her closely until now. And he saw true hatred in her eyes, unforgiving, murderous hatred” (191). As Cathy suffered through child labor, the concentration she could normally devote to maintaining a guise of humanity was unavailable. In its absence, the seething hatred that permeated her being was allowed to surface. Through her eyes, the cruelty and anger that filled her soul were made starkly visible. In her most vulnerable moment, Cathy’s darkness was brought to light. Steinbeck developed his character Cathy Trask as a unique evil, a dark creature hidden behind a golden beauty. He allowed his readers to see through this veil of beauty, however, by allowing the soul to be seen through her cold, inhuman eyes. John Steinbeck provided an indirect discussion of the human soul in his East of Eden by allowing glimpses of his characters’ souls to be seen through their eyes. By displaying both the good but weathered soul of Adam Trask and the dark soul of Cathy Trask, he invited readers to develop a greater understanding of their own spirits. By showing the contrast between the wavering but pure soul and the unchangeably dark, Steinbeck provoked a question in the mind of his audience: are there those among us with darkness hiding behind their otherwise welcoming eyes?
In some novels, strong impressions are exploited to conceal other meanings. Unraveling these symbolic word puzzles may reveal insights into the author's perspective and one's own secrets. A careful analysis of selected passages of two books: Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God and Francis Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, will show that symbolical language can reveal even more insight. In this comparison, symbolism in the passages containing variations of the words "blossom" or "blooming" will be examined to reveal human development beyond sexuality and anatomy.
Many Characters in the novel Grand Avenue, by Greg Sarris, are wearing masks. Masks that conceal themselves and their culture in an attempt to fit into the world that has enveloped their history and stifled their heritage. The key to these masks is the eyes. The eyes of the characters in the novel tell stories.
This excerpt from Zora Neale Hurston’s book, Their Eyes Were watching God, is an example of her amazing writing. She makes us feel as if we are actually in her book, through her use of the Southern Black vernacular and admirable description. Her characters are realistic and she places special, well thought out sentences to keep us interested. Zora Neale Hurston’s art enables her to write this engaging story about a Southern black woman’s life.
Several characters through the course of Steinbeck's novel East of Eden demonstrate a lack of self-knowledge or corruption of the soul. A gap is created between some the character's actions and their true essence as a person. The disparity between a character's conduct and their identity as a human being is often a demonstration of the fight between good and evil within the character's own soul. Caleb, one of Adam Trask's twin boys embodies this struggle vividly throughout his life. This search for self-identity plays into a key theme of the novel, which is that of free will. Despite the fact that there is a variance in the way a character wants to act or the person who they truly are at heart and the way that they actually carry out their lives, free will offers hope. Steinbeck pushes the idea that a person's life and fate is never out of their control and that it is never too late to change the road that you are on. It can be argued either way that this break up of fundamental identity, expression and self-knowledge is the nature of man or simply provoked by the events in the character's lives. It becomes apparent through Caleb's life that the nurture of the individual seems to be the larger factor in causing this separation. Caleb Trask's character demonstrates how the struggle between good and evil within an individual can affect one's self-knowledge, which is catalyzed mainly by the nurture of the character and, ultimately, is amendable through free will.
East of Eden was a novel that explored the roots of evil in its most primal form. Through intricate plot lines and complex characters, John Steinbeck weaved a tale of brutality, cruelty, and isolation. One important character that helped to illustrate the presence of evil throughout the book was Cathy Ames, an intelligent woman who ruthlessly used other people to serve her own needs. When reflecting upon East of Eden, a debate that often surfaces is whether Cathy's evil was a result of nature or nurture. Arguments for and against both sides are in the book. At some times, Cathy is portrayed as a wicked fiend who's aggression stems from nowhere but her own empty heart. Other times, Cathy appears weak and afraid of people who aren't the least bit intimidating. Those are the moments in the book where one must question whether Cathy is truly evil, or just an impatient and self-centered individual.
Schultz, Jeffrey, and Luchen Li. "East of Eden." Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 8
Eyes in “The Displaced Person” tend to be illustrated with violent terms. The eyes are harsh and very rarely are they described softly; Mrs. McIntyre has eyes like “steel or granite,” characters’ gazes often “pierce,” and “icy blue eyes” and other similar descriptions are common.
John Steinbeck's novel, East of Eden is the epic story of a California family who struggle to overcome issues of betrayal, infidelity, and the age old battle between good and evil and sibling rivalry. The story centers around two generations of brothers in the Trask family-Adam and Charles, and Adam's sons Aron and Cal. In each generation, one of the Trask brothers is moral and good while the other brother behaves badly and immorally. Because the good Trask brothers are favored, the bad Trask brothers develop envious tendencies and a recurrent theme of sibling rivalry appears throughout the book. Steinbeck's dramatic account of the Trask brothers and their rivalry in East of Eden is an impressive tale, but it is also a familiar one that closely echoes a
The main character Adam Trask proves that by letting go of Cathy and deciding to create a new type of Eden that mankind holds the ultimate decision to rise above their destines. After finding Cathy and marrying her, Adam believes that he has found the missing part of his life. Cathy becomes the emblem of perfection and a key to happiness for him. As Adam continues to fall in love with her he starts to fall more out of touch with reality causing him to miss the obvious signals that Cathy does not feel the same way about him. Her manipulative ways are able to fool Adam’s kindness. Adam, being too naive to pay attention the obvious indications that Cathy does not love him is left in complete shock after she shoots and leaves him after the birth of their sons. After centralizing his dream around creating his own Eden with Cathy as his own Eve, he se...
“Her face was fair and pretty, with eyes like two bits of night-sky, each with a star dissolved in the blue.” This elaborate simile creates a mental image of the natural beauty of the young princess, Irene, by comparing her eyes to the night sky. The simile also parallels the depth of Irene’s soul to the dark, endless night sky.
Provided that an essential aspect of the journey of the expedition of Adam and Eve is their quest for judgment, Masaccio scrutinizes Adam and Eve’s facial emotions, correlating their expressions to the story. Although Adam and Eve eat the fruit of knowledge at different moments of time, their eyes simultaneously open, “the eyes of them both were opened. And they knew they were naked. (3)” In the Expulsion of Eden, Masaccio expounds their relationship and emotions after they are expelled from the Garden. When examining Eve, the viewer notices she is covering her body; hiding her nakedness. Her face open to the world, her mouth slightly open, almost illustrating a cry of grief. Adam, however, shelters his eyes, and does not cover his body, his nakedness. Interestingly, both receive dissimilar punis...
Doctor T.J. Eckleburg’s Eyes: Throughout the novel, Doctor T.J. Eckleburg’s eyes seem to represent God’s eyes. His eyes are looking down on American citizens and judging them for their immorality.
The Eyes are the terrifying and aggressive secretive enforcers of the law. The Eyes symbolize God and how he is always watching, they are always watching as well. “I wonder who told them. It could have been a neighbour, watching our car pull out from the driveway in the morning, acting on a hunch, tipping them off for a gold star on someone’s list. It could even have been the man who got us the passports; why not get paid twice? Like them, even, to plant the passport forgers themselves, a net for the unwary. The Eyes of God run over all the earth.”(65). This symbolism is an important feature of the book because it creates fear for the citizens of Gilead. To the citizens it symbolizes a higher authority that is capable of doing great harm and is always watching. “We aren’t allowed inside the buildings anymore; but who would want to go in? Those buildings belong to the Eyes.” (166). The fear that the Eyes add to the story line reminds the reader how aggressive and evil the government of Gilead is, that the characters of the novel have such strong fear towards these people. From this the characters weaknesses are apparent. For example the main character Offred is a strong woman who does not express fear, though when you hear her talk about the Eyes you see a part of her weakness and fear peak through. In addition a feature that the Eyes bring to the novel is suspense. Whenever the characters see the van with the
The eyes represent G-d staring down upon and judging American society as a moral wasteland. Just like the billboard is left faded and ignored after “many paintless days”, religion is neglected. Myrtle, one of the characters who resides in the valley, abandons typical religious beliefs by committing adultery and trying to obtain wealth and prosperity through Tom, demonstrating her rejection of spiritual values for the goal of achieving material wealth. The eyes and the advertisement also suggest the decay of the Americ...
Adam said, “It is right on my shoulder and right on my ear” by reading these words, you can sense how the writer is trying to approach the sensation of Eve’s sound on Adam’s perception. Also, you can get a sense that Adam felt something, Eve’s sound had touch his feelings. Adam described Eve as a small creature with the long hair. She eats too much fruits and he was afraid that they will run out of food because of her. The first Friday after god creates Eve, Adam stated that his life is not as happy as it was. (Twain,p:23). It was disappointing, because God created Eve to be his helper, and they are spouse to get along. Once God created Eve, Adam spent his time complaining rather than enjoying Eve’s company. As the truth to his nature, Adam prefer to do everything by himself rather than sharing the work and the garden with Eve. Twain showed us Adam’s character in a very comic way, which gave us the sense that Eve is enjoying her work in bothering Adam. The character of Adam presented by Mark Twain as a doer more than a thinker. He is more into working than thinking and imagining, which is the opposite of Eve’s personality. As an example, Eve took the