East Of Eden Character Analysis

Alas, Babylon, written by Pat Frank, genuinely explores the human psyche. The story features characters who experience and endure a nuclear war in the mid 1950’s; survivors of the attack must encounter trials and tribulations, adjusting to a world without the presence of civilization. As they combat formidable obstacles, characters determine how to resolve conflicts and analyze their feelings. Frank develops his characters through structure and dynamics, and readers are reminded of the changes in the emotional state of being in such drastic circumstances. As I read the novel, I was completely engrossed in the emotional and psychological world of the characters, and I recognized several thoughts and emotions I could relate to.

Judane Carigma Open-ended Prompt Essay 2016 Many works of literature contain a character who intentionally deceives others. The character’s dishonesty may be intended either to help or to hurt. Such a character, for example, may choose to mislead others for personal safety, to spare someone’s feelings, or to carry out a crime. Choose a novel or play in which a character deceives others.

"Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react"(unknown). What happens to you in life is mainly your fault, sure there are conditions you can't control. For decades women have sat back and accepted life as it is until something didn't go their way.Very few women actually fought for what they wanted in life. Abby exhibits positive ethics in the play “ The Crucible” written by A. Miller, because she empowers females , utilizes emotion, and upholds her personal beliefs.

This passage forms a big idea about the tendencies of the character in the story East of Eden, and more importantly about human nature. Steinbeck informs the reader that humans have been and always will be caught in a continuous “net” of good and evil. This same net has influenced civilization and culture since the beginning of mankind, and applies to every human ever born. Just like the biblical story of Adam and Eve the two people blessed with a life without worry, sinned and passed their evil onto their ancestors. The author underscores the importance that all humans must face this struggle; some may choose the path of good or evil, but many find themselves balancing between these two paths, sometimes leaning more towards the light, or perhaps even tipping too far into the darkness. The final line of this quote backs the author’s argument, as it implies that there is no other place for one to find oneself; every person is trapped in this net, a net that ultimately influences your life decisions and

Imagery is another important element which London uses to illustrate and emphasize his theme. In “To Build a Fire” Earl Labor sees the “mood and atmosphere, which is conveyed through repetitive imagery of cold and gloom and whiteness,” as being “the key to the story’s impact” (63). London does rely heavily on imagery to set the mood of the story, and in this way he draws a picture of the harsh environment that his character must endure. London uses imagery with such skill that the reader can almost feel the deadly cold of the environment and can almost hear the “sharp, explosive crackle” when the man’s spit would freeze in mid-air (119). Through the use of such vivid imagery, London guides the reader toward the realization of the story’s theme; the reader can visualize the man “losing in his battle with the frost” and therefor can picture man in his conflict with a cruel and uncaring universe (128). Symbolism is also an important element in “To Build a Fire”. David Mike Hamilton’s criticism, he says “the fire symbolizes life as does the white snow that falls at the beginning of the story.” He also views “the dark point in the midst of the stamped snow, foretelling the end of the fire, and thus of life” (2). I strongly agree with Hamilton’s criticism; “the dark point in the midst of the stamped snow” because it not only foretells the end of the fire but of the end of life itself.

In John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, the characters Cathy and Adam demonstrates the fact that good and evil intertwine with each other. Adam was a sweet boy who offered “no violence, no contention, and to do this he had to retire into secretness, since there is some violence in everyone” (Steinbeck 20). Adam Trask represents everything good with the world in this story and tries his best to remain pure. When he gets pulled into Cathy’s crazy whirlwind of hate and pure evil, the two coexist only because of her lies. The narrator describes Cathy by saying, “I’ve built the image in my mind of Cathy, sitting quietly waiting for her pregnancy to be over, living on a farm she did not like, with a man she did not love” (Steinbeck 184).

The Other Side of Paradise explores topics society refuses to speak about today. The author Staceyann Chin grows up as an outcast in Jamaica. The memoir begins with Chin at a very young age, her and her brother Delano both live with their grandma. Chin was left alone after being born by her mother and her father refuses to claim Chin as his own child. Throughout the memoir, Chin experiences sexism, classism, racism and strict religious standards. Furthermore, The Other side of Paradise, along with bell hook’s article, provides insight towards the roles of race and class, as we see in the memoirs characters, Staceyann and Delano.

Using his freedom of choice, Adam chooses to be loyal to his brother and chooses good over evil. Years later, after Adam has served in the army and been discharged twice, he wandered around, not wanting to go home yet. He was picked up by sheriff's men who judged him vagrant and he was put on a road gang to serve six months. After his six months were over, two days later he was picked up again and given another six month sentence. However, this time Adam would run away and escape: "It took him five days to cross the short distance into Georgia. He took no chances, held back his impatience with an iron control." (Steinbeck) This passage shows that Adam is still a representation of good at this point because later on Adam explains how he felt like he owed the first six months. He the need to stay and complete those six months of hard labour because he was feeling guilty about not going home where Charles was eagerly awaiting his arrival. The last and best example of Adam utilizing his free will is when he is dying. At the end of East of Eden when Adam is on his deathbed Lee implores him to open his eyes and look at the only son he had left and forgive him. Lee begs Adam to forgive Cal and give him his blessing before he dies so that his son may live. Adam uses his last breath to bless Cal with the realization that he had the gift of free will too: "His whispered word seemed to hang in the air:

As the reader embarks on the journey through part one of John Steinbeck’s “East of Eden”, they shall find underlying secrets which point to the struggles between good and evil, that resides within every human being that comes into the world since the time of Adam and Eve. Steinbeck starts out by describing the land surrounding Salinas Valley. In his description of Salinas Valley, he defines what is good and evil, which allows the reader to unlock the secrets or twists that are being told if one is looking for them. John Steinbeck himself said about East of Eden that Your literate and understanding man will take joy of finding the secrets hidden in this book almost as though he searched for treasure, but we must never tell anyone they are here.

“Is there, then an evil that is innate, that is the little piece of monster in all of us.” (Cusatis). Every person has two sides, no one is completely good or completely evil. In the East of Eden, John Steinbeck uses a biblical metaphor to illustrate the innate good and evil that humans encounter. The novel includes several characters that are purely evil or do evil deeds. The Trask family is directly correlated to the Garden of Eden and other biblical narratives. “Steinbeck puts more into his stories than Genesis 4” (Fontenrose). Steinbeck illustrates the concepts of good and evil, family, and love to describe the frailties of the human experience.

In the book “The Way I Used to Be” a teenage girl, Eden, plays a very important role, being a significant character. This story focuses on Eden’s high school experience and follows her emotions as she grows up. I can see myself in Eden as she copes with each struggle she faces. She acts with a great deal of independence through each hard time. The people Eden is surrounded by motive the way she reacts to each situation.

Steinbeck uses this passage to introduce the character of Cathy Ames, a manipulative and evil woman of East of Eden. As Steinbeck described, Cathy was a monster not solely because of her evil actions nor her manipulative nature, but from her lack of reasons for her wrongdoings. From a young age, Cathy started her evil actions. However, she was very clever in perpetrating them, never receiving any blame or punishment for them. One instance was when she arouses two boys from the neighborhood and makes them look as if they raped him.

East of Eden is a story that is based on the biblical stories of Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel. Like the story of Adam and Eve, East of Eden has characters that embody Adam and Eve to an extent. While the story of Adam and Eve tells about the beginning of man, how we came to be on this earth, and why we have original sin, East of Eden uses Adam Trask and Cathy Ames as the beginning of a complex and conflicting story of good vs. evil. Adam Trask is presumed to be Adam, good natured and goodhearted, while Cathy is presumed to be Eve. Only while Eve was deceived into committing sin, Cathy embraces it wholeheartedly and commits evil simply for its own sake.

East of Eden, a novel written by John Steinbeck, is set in Salinas, California, a place Steinbeck calls home. Steinbeck believes East of Eden to be his most sacred piece of work. Throughout the novel, Steinbeck explores the universal themes that all humans experience, such as: lust, family, sin, and free will. The novel foreshadows the roles that the characters play as they reenact the biblical story of Cain and Abel. Several characters through the course of Steinbeck’s novel, East of Eden, demonstrates a lack of self ability and corruption of the soul.

The personalities of the two most influential women in John Steinbeck’s novel East of Eden, Cathy and Abra, are complex. One is evil, and the other is good. Despite their different personalities, they are surprisingly similar. Moreover, the women’s involvement in the story portrays the cycle of good conquering evil. Steinbeck describes Cathy as the “Eve” of the Trask family and depicts her as serpentlike and catlike.