John Steinbeck's East of Eden - Caleb Trask and the Message of Perseverance

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Recommended: John Steinbeck's East of Eden

Caleb Trask and the Message of Perseverance in East of Eden Caleb Trask was a man with many faults and shortcomings. Yet, Caleb was also a man who had a deep longing to be perfect and pleasing to his family, a man who craved his father's attention, and a man with a better heart than any other character in the book. In his novel, East of Eden, John Steinbeck uses the character of Caleb Trask to convey the important message of hope and perseverance. When I first read East of Eden, nothing about Cal Trask's personality or his mannerisms made him likable. He was introverted, cold, and hard. I could not help but sense the story of Cain and Able being played out in a modern day version between him and his twin brother. Although Cal and his brother Aron were twins, distinct differences existed between the two boys. Aron was a natural spot of sunshine, illuminating his surroundings wherever he went. He was a curly topped child who was adamantly attached to his rabbits. Cal was the opposite of his brother, quiet and serious; he was looking forward to farming a small patch of land that his father was going to give him. Yet there existed an even greater difference between Cal and his angelic brother. Cal had a foreboding sense of anger and evil about him that was completely foreign to Aron. Cal takes pleasure in making his brother cry, and in causing a little girl to urinate in her pants by frightening her so. It becomes apparent, though, that Cal struggles with his darkness and wishes passionately to be rid of his meanness. He doesn't like the way he is, but at the same time he can't change himself, either. From my first introduction of the two brothers, I was taken with Cal. He wa... ... middle of paper ... ... 1989. JOHN STEINBECK(1902-1968). San Jose State University. 17 Jan. 2001. . Levant, Howard. The Novels of John Steinbeck: a Critical Study. Columbia: U of Missouri Press, 1974. Murray, Robert Davis, ed. Steinbeck. Englewood: Prentice-Hall, 1972. National Steinbeck Center. Salinas, CA. 17 Jan. 2001. . Steinbeck Country. San Jose State University. 17 Jan. 2001. . Trosow, Esther. John Steinbeck's Pacific Grove. 17 Jan. 2001. . Trosow, Esther. John Steinbeck's Biography. 17 Jan. 2001. . Valjean, Nelson. John Steinbeck: The Errant Knight. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1975.

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