Sibling Rivalry due to Rejection & Jealousy
Growing up with siblings a sense of competition was always dealt with. Who was better or who got the better present for example. Sibling rivalry was definitely an occurrence that is seen throughout the novel East of Eden by John Steinbeck. Specifically how the author embraces the good and the evil in the personalities of his characters. The brothers from the book Charles and Adam were resembling the more Biblical brothers known as Cain and Abel. As scenes unfolded in the novel, we glimpse at the rivalry that goes on between the two. Even when the generation carries on to the new brothers, Cal and Aron, there’s still a connection being made to the legend. “Symbol story of the human soul” as Lee, a character, relates it to the same idea. In the secence of
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that the story accurately depicts how two brothers can connect with a Biblical legend so precisely, and for the fact that another set of brothers also act out the same damra.
The sibling rivalry in the novel follows a perfect connection to the Cain and Abel legend.
Through certain scenes from the novel, we can relate the brothers Charles and Adam to the exact legend. There's such a strong comparison that we can understand through the actions and way of life that the two brothers follow the same idea. In regarding to the scene when Cyrus the father of the boys, was favoring Adam’s present over Charles's. He deeply appreciated the puppy, over the expensive German knife that was gifted to him. “What did you do on his birthday?’ You think I didn’t see? Did you even spend six or four bits? You brought him a mongrel pup you picked up in the woodlot. You laughed like a foul and said it would make a good bird dog. That dog sleeps in his room” (Steinbeck 268 ). Soon Charles becomes
very resentful and depressed due to his father not being very appreciative of his present. Resulting in him becoming very violent which he ends up almost killing his brother cause the jealously was overtaking his conscious. Lee, another character from the novel shares the story of Cain and Abel and how timshel plays such a mass effect on embracing one's decision making over good or evil. “I think this is the best-known story in the world because it is everybody’s story. I think it is the symbol story of the human soul. The greatest terror a child can have is the 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” (270). Referencing to the fact that Lee is talking about the Biblical brothers, yet it gives an accurate description of what was felt by Charles and Cain. Rejection plays such a big role on one’s emotions that embraced Charles to hurt Adam just as Cain killed his own brother due to jealousy afterwards. The comparison from Charles and Adam is there, as the new generation comes about we notice that it shares the same connection. The children of Adam, Cal and Aron also act out a similar drama that not only relates to their father and uncle but to Cain and Abel. In the similar situation, Cal offers his father a gift that's worth $15,000. As a matter of fact Adam shows a great deal of disappointment towards Cal for taking from the farmers during his stay in the army. Just like Charles, Cal is unable to control his jealousy in which he attacks Aron. Not in the sense of violence, but rather takes his brother to meet his mother. Aron was told that she had been dead, however, she was still a prostitute. “Adam asked, ‘Do you know where your brothers is?’ ‘No I don’t ,’ said Cal… ‘He hasn’t been home for two nights. Where is he?’ ‘How do I know?’ said Cal. ‘Am I supposed to look after him?’ (511). As this ruined his belief of his mother’s death, Aron felt devastated and ended up going to the army. Resulting in his death for the reason that it was Cal’s wrongdoing to blame. All which was triggered by jealousy. ‘He couldn’t help it, Cal. That’s his nature. It was the only way he knew. He didn’t have any choice. But you have. Don’t you hear me? You have a choice (493). Cal puts the guilt on to himself because he does not wish to share any of his mother’s charactics so he wants to use that as his excuse for his actions. However, Lee does not let him do that due to the fact that it revolves around the timshel, and he should control his good and evil. The sibling rivalry in the novel follows a perfect connection to the Cain and Abel legend. In which the story embraces how two brothers compare to the Biblical legend so accurately with their actions, as well another generation of brothers act out the same drama. In the novel and the legend Abel, Adam, and Aron all payed a price for their brother’s mistake, some were hurt and some faced death. Sibling rivalry is something that will always exist, however, one must learn to handle the rejection and jealousy.
East of Eden by John Steinbeck is an optimistic film about a boy becoming a man and trying desperately to earn the love of his father and mother in the troubled times of the Great Depression. Cal, the main character is a troubled teen who lives with his entrepreneur father, and a brother who is following closely in his fathers steps. Cal’s mother left him and his brother to become a madam of a whorehouse. The struggle takes place between Cal and his father due to his fathers lack of compassion for his son. The conflict rises further when Cal tries to help his father repay a debt, his father further isolates his son and this turns to violent outbursts. Steinbeck focuses on Cal in order to suggest the theme that without love people become violent and mean.
Just because people within a family are blood related and living together, it does not mean they are identical in their beliefs and actions. In some cases the generations of people in the family have the same way looking at things and understand the same sets of rules and believe in same kind of moral behavior. Unlike that, in the novel, “The Chrysalids”, the protagonist, David Strorm and his father, Joseph, the antagonist have very different characters and conflicting points of view.
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.
All siblings are cruel to one another in many different ways; but the story written by James Hurst called "The Scarlet Ibis" takes the idea to a whole new level.
Then there is the relationship between Charles and Adam. Charles physically and mentally abuses Adam to the extent that he tries to kill him when Charles thinks that their father, Cyrus, loves Adam more. Throughout all this Adam still loves Charles, even after he finds out that Charles and Cathy had slept together and his sons may have even been fathered by Charles. Later in the novel, Adam forgives Charles and writes him a letter to try and put their differences aside, only to find out that Charles has died.
When two siblings are born together, and are close in age, many people wonder whether they will be the same or different altogether. A “River Runs through it” shows two brothers who grew up in the same household, and grew up loving to do the same activity fly fishing. Both brothers were raised in a very strict presbyterian household. Norman is the older brother, and he is much more responsible and family orientated. Paul is the irresponsible younger brother; Paul as an adult was not at home much anymore. Both brothers were loved equally as children, but how they view and use love is what separates them. Paul and Norman differ in behavior and character.
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.
The novel, The Sisters Brothers, written by Patrick deWitt is the story of two adventurous brothers named Eli and Charlie who travel from Oregon to San Francisco during the gold rush in the 1850s. The brothers are hired to find and kill a man named Hermann Warm. They run into a wide range of tough situations and sketchy characters such a rich businessman named Mayfield who runs his own town. The brothers have two very different characters which affect how they are to react to these situations. Eli is sweet, caring and chivalrous while Charlie is a quiet, angry man who was forced as a child to kill his father to protect his mother. Deep down they are both violent, cold blooded killers. Along their journey to San Francisco, Eli has an internal conflict to decide wether he wants to keep living the killer’s life or settle down and start a shop with his brother. When they arrived in San Francisco, they become exposed to the “gold fever” which was caused by the gold rush. Instead of killing their target they befriend Warm and search the rivers for gold to become rich. Sadly, Warm tragically dies from the chemicals and Charlie is burned and forced to have his hand cut off which leads to the brothers returning home to their mother as changed men.
The novel East of Eden by John Steinbeck is an allegory to the biblical story of Cain and Abel, and many of its characters become embodiments of both good and evil. As they struggle to overcome what has been decided for them they are taught they hold the power to overcome and rise above their destiny’s. When the Hebrew idea of “timshel” is introduced to the allegory of Cain and Abel, it become apparent that whether life is predestined or not; mankind holds the ultimate ability of deciding what will become of himself. Adam’s choice to move on from Cathy, Cal’s decision to forgive himself, and Cathy’s decision to let evil overcome her prove that overcoming what is predestined for one lies in the hands of the individual.
The sister's fights are usually underlined with their desires to make each other into better people. The sisters are connected by their pursuit a better life causing them to push each other towards their goals. When Emily gets herself
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.
Most children experience agony and hope as they face the struggles of sibling rivalry throughout their childhood. This situation has been experienced by children, of whom may or may not have siblings, for hundreds of years. Several stories represent this crisis, including the Biblical story of Abel and Cain which was written over 3000 years ago. Abel of whom was forced to be Cain’s ash-brother. Cain had developed an intense feeling of jealousy of Abel when his offering to the Lord was rejected while Abel’s was accepted. This caused him great agony, but he wasn’t the only one. The fairytale “Cinderella” encompasses the ideas of sibling rivalry as well as the agonies and hopes that correspond with it.
The eldest brother who is also the narrator of the story gives the reader a glimpse into their lives and the struggles that he and his younger brother Sonny go through. Through the narrators eyes Baldwin does a wonderful job showing how the brothers grew up to lead different lives but are both still struggling from the hold that poverty in Harlem has on them. Baldwin shows how both “the narrator and Sonny are both imprisoned and also free in exactly opposites ways” (spark note). For example, Sonny has physically been imprisoned due to his addiction to drugs but was able to escape from Harlem and create his own life through music. Whereas the narrator is physically free but trapped in the housing projects of Harlem which he clearly hates. It is Baldwin’s unique style of writing that has the characters asking themselves the question, “Does one embrace the hand that they are dealt in order to live or does one bow down and allow it to consume them?” Baldwin shows how each brother at different times in their life allowed for it to do both. For instance, in the beginning Sonny seemed to be consumed by his suffering which led him down the path of drugs but by the end he had embraced it and let his suffering playout through music. The narrator on the other hand seemed to embrace everything that he was dealt and did the best he could to better his life.
Your ethics about how you handle your children is morally wrong, a child is a gift that is bestowed upon not a last option to save the life of its other siblings. Yes, as a parent it is understandable that you would do anything to save your child. To you it might have been seen as the right thing to do at the time but you may have not considered the after affects it would have on the family. In the article “Savior Siblings” by Virginia Bernhagen demonstrates cases similar to yours. Also, with information provided by lawyers Amber Kaimer and Daniel Kolmel to provide you with the facts of your wrongdoings.