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The Character of Adam Trask in East of Eden
In Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, the word love is defined as a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person. Love can bring two people together but it can also have a person be rejected by another because of love. In the novel East of Eden by John Steinbeck, the main character, Adam Trask, confronts a feeling of love throughout the whole book but he either rejects the love of people who care about him or has his love rejected by the people that he cares about. When Adam was a young man in the beginning of the novel, his father, Cyrus Trask loved him but Adam did not love him back and when Adam went into the army he did not come back home until his father's death. Later on in the story Adam really loved his wife, Cathy, but she didn't love him back and so when she tried to leave him and he would not let her, she shot him. Even though Adam survived he was demoralized for most of his life because he still loved her. Through Adam's experiences of love in the novel, John Steinbeck shows that Adam Trask has an inability to handle love.
When he first appears in the novel, Adam Trask is a young man who is not loved by his brother or mother but only by his father. Cyrus had punished Adam before and had tried to teach him to be a soldier and so Adam hated him for that and when Cyrus told him he loved him, Adam did not accept his love. Cyrus tells Adam, "I think you're a weakling who will never amount to a dog turd. Does that answer your question? I love you better. I always have. This may be a bad thing to tell you, but it's true. I love you better. Else why would I have given myself the trouble of hurting you?" (Steinbeck 28). Cyrus is telling Adam that he has always loved him and that the only reason that he punished him is because he loved him. He wants Adam to go into the army because he knows that Adam would be courageous and since Cyrus was in the army, he wants to pass on the legacy. When Adam came home from his discharge, his brother and him were talking about their father and Adam told him the truth.
The idea of good versus evil is illustrated in several ways in John Steinbeck's East of Eden. This is seen through the external conflicts in the novel, the internal conflicts of the characters, and a universal understanding of the battle between good and evil.
First of all the question rises what is love. Love is having a sense of security in someone. When we love someone we usually mean that we can turn to that person comfortably if all other doors of the world are shut to us. This is the one person that we trust and like to be in company with. In the novel Cyrano de Bergerac, Cyrano loves Roxane more than anyone else but he is shy to tell her so. When he finds out of her feelings towards another character Christian, who she likes because of his looks, Cyrano finds a way to express his love to Roxane. He decides that he would write to her in the name of Christian who comparatively is a poor writer and "wishes to make Christian his interpreter"(II,85).
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.
Throughout the novel East of Eden, Steinbeck uses many biblical references to illustrate clearly the conflict between the opposing forces of good and evil. Much of the plot of East of Eden is centered upon the two sets of brothers representing Cain and Abel. Both pairs are similar to Cain and Abel in the way they go about winning their fathers’ favors. All four give gifts to their fathers, and the fathers dismiss the gifts of Charles and Caleb, the Cain representations (Marks, Jay Lester. p.121). Caleb and Charles Trask are obviously the more malignant brothers. They are also the more loving towards their father. Steinbeck’s purpose in this is to illustrate the need of the Cain character in the story. Abel, Adam and Aron, is the opposite of his brother and naturally good and pure. The purpose of Adam and Aron in East of Eden is to clarify the belief that purity must know wickedness (Marks, Jay Lester. p.122). Steinbeck illustrates the need for both good and bad with the actions and beliefs of these supposed “good” characters. The representations of Abel, Adam and Aron are both described as unloving. Adam has not treated his children fairly and his treatment is caused by his innate goodness. Aron grows as an ignorant selfish person because he is naturally good (Fonterose, Joseph. p. 3382). Steinbeck uses Cain to illustrate the choice man has. In the case of Charles, Cain dies an unhappy man who did not live a worthwhile life, Caleb on the other hand, chose to realize his dark past, but chose to continue living his life with hope (Marks, Jay Lester. p. 122-123).
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.
Raymond Carver’s “The Cathedral” is a simple short story, which expresses to the reader that not all who are physically blind cannot truly see. There are many cases in this story where Robert, the blind man shows how the husband, who is also the narrator, a new way of appreciating life. The narrator is not only being superficial and ignorant, but not being able to see what is beyond the physical eye. Mr. Carver writes the story in the first person point of view, allowing the reader to see from the narrator perspective on life, and comes across as a self-absorb man, who has a negative attitude. We do not know if this ignorance is because he has a closed mind, or if he is in fact, a part of his personality, because he applies his logic of thinking
There is a big amount of homeless veterans. The author is important because gives important data about the homeless. The author also gives information about how many homeless veterans there are. This proves that there are a big number of homeless veterans. "More than 150,000 veterans are homeless on any given night in the U.S. Nearly twice as many experience homelessness at some point during the year." (Leaving no soldier behind) In other words this proves that there is a huge amount of homeless veterans. Many soldiers are on the verge of homelessness at some point in their life. There are more than 150,000 veterans that are homeless every day and more joining them. Homeless veterans are serious problem. They deserve better for serving their time and risking their lives for our country. 150,000 of the homeless are veterans this proves that there are a vast amount of homeless. Not only does that prove that veterans make up a huge percentage of the homeless but also does this. The author is important because he gives the ratio of homeless veterans with data. Found on a trusted website the data is valid. Another way to prove that there are a big number of homeless veterans. "It has been estimated that fewer than 200,000 veterans may be homeless on any given night and that twice as many veterans experience homelessness during a year." (Homeless Veterans Pro...
When Lear tells Gloucester “A man may see how this world /goes with no eyes” (4.6.146-47) he displays both of their misfortunes, but it is too late to prevent ultimate tragedy. Shakespeare proposes that their tragic saga is a mere game to the heavens. “As flies to wanton boys, are we to th’ gods,/They kill us for their sport” (4.1.37-38). This line generalizes the overall simplicity behind the tragedy of King Lear. Even though Gloucester and Lear made terrible, fatal errors the reader feels at the end as if it is intended to be their destiny.
Some veterans utilize their time served as a stepping-stone to further their opportunity and move on to an improved lifestyle. However, some find themselves homeless. Homeless veterans are inevitable amongst us today and it created a discredit to their branch of service and ultimately themselves. Who is at fault, the government or the individual? The Government has programs in place to assist veterans before and after released from the service to have a smooth transition into the civilian population. The military itself does not constitute a greater chance of veterans becoming homeless. It ties directly to the individual and their choice to become homeless. Some claim the blame to the military that leads veteran to become homeless. The assumption is not true. The service of the military is a contributing factor for veterans to become homeless. They were not homeless prior to entering the service, why should they be homeless now. What many failed to understand is how the veterans’ situation resulted in their status. Many homeless veterans have attempted to use the program that’s been offered but most of the time the acceptance rate is not well due to reasons like “lack of funds” (GPD, 2013)by the government assistance. Homeless veteran have many reason why they are homeless such as Post Traumatic
...by and The Garden Party the themes are apparent throughout the introduction. In Araby the setting begins in a state of darkness introducing the main theme of light and darkness. Similarly, the beautiful setting described at the beginning of The Garden Party establishes the upper-class ranking of the Sheridan family, demonstrating class distinction. Although the two main characters are from different classes, the family backgrounds of each provide information which helps to further develop their themes respectively. The struggles which both characters face demonstrate character development and contribute to the themes of the stories. Both short stories prove to be literally effective in that they disclose the main themes at the outset of each story. Although the themes may alter over the course of the stories, they are clearly defined in their respective introductions.
A big portion of which are children, veterans, and mentally ill people. The group that suffers the most among the homeless are children, specifically teens. The Covenant House, a nonprofit organization that helps spread awareness for youth homelessness states, “Every year more than 2 million kids in America will face a period of homelessness” (Covenant House). These kids face various types of abuse from either parents or guardian 's. They are easily in danger due to street violence and/or related with gangs on the will to survive amongst themselves. Society often views these kids as rebellious teens but it usually isn 't up to them to decide where they end up. Veterans are another group that is also popular in the homeless community, as Veterans Inc. statistically states,”Veterans are more at risk of becoming homeless than non-veterans”. Many veterans after war or service do not have direction in life which is what is accustomed after so long or suffer from illnesses like PTSD (Post traumatic stress disorder) that terminates the capability of one to live a normal life, which also makes it difficult for other people around them like friends and family to help. The life during service is stable structure and it all goes away after, trying to restore stability, not only that but the resources that they were established are also
Love has many definitions and can be interpreted in many different ways. William Maxwell demonstrates this in his story “Love”. Maxwell opens up his story with a positive outlook on “Love” by saying, “Miss Vera Brown, she wrote on the blackboard, letter by letter in flawlessly oval palmer method. Our teacher for fifth grade. The name might as well have been graven in stone” (1). By the end of the story, the students “love” for their teachers no longer has a positive meaning, because of a turn in events that leads to a tragic ending. One could claim that throughout the story, Maxwell uses short descriptive sentences with added details that foreshadow the tragic ending.
In the opinion of many, there is nothing worse then seeing a veteran living on the streets, someone who risked their life for their country and then they get thrown out to fend for themselves. More than one in ten homeless adults are veterans, totaling to 47,725 homeless veterans or 11 percent of 436,921 homeless adults in 2015. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) states that the nation’s homeless veterans are predominantly male, with roughly 9% being female. Homelessness as a whole has been decreasing for years, including the veteran population, dropping 35% since
What is love? Webster’s dictionary defines it as, “attraction that includes sexual desire : the strong affection felt by people who have a romantic relationship.” The Urban dictionary calls it, “nature's way of tricking people into reproducing”. Tina Turner goes so far as to call love a “second hand emotion”. Over time the concept of “love” has evolved; popular culture has held sway on these evolutions, causing the value of love to diminish and the subject to simplify.
Overall, while King Lear is able to fit many of the criteria of a tragic figure, such as being arrogant and noble, and also being responsible for his own downfall that leads to his own catastrophic end, he does not execute being a tragic figure well as he is missing the ability to draw pity from those following his story. Through Lear’s careless distribution of land, and the disowning and disrespect of Cordelia, Kent and the fool and the fact that he never understands and is remorseful for the tragedies that he caused, he is unable to become the true tragic figure he could have been. If King Lear had been able to make a change along the way and think about his actions and treatments of people, he would have been able to cause people to feel pity for him, which would have made him William Shakespeare’s greatest tragic figure.