The Character Of Cathy Ames In John Steinbeck's East Of Eden

Steinbeck has various biblical allusions throughout East of Eden that most of us seem to look over, making the reasoning behind his plotline and character choices seem a little choppy. By having background knowledge on the Hebrew word Timshel, knowing the story of Cain and Abel, and knowing the ongoing battle of understanding the fate God's’ presence has on humans, readers gain a deeper understanding and comprehend the material and get more out of it. However, Steinbeck throws a curveball to his readers with involving Cal; he shows the drive humans all have to do good and feel good about themselves. Cal represents the ambition in all humans that sometimes gets bottled up and buried deep down. This book shows the silver lining that we miss

The novel, East of Eden, by John Steinbeck references to the bible quite a bit when describing some of the characters. Steinbeck refers to the story of Cain and Abel, two brothers who lived in peace until Cain slaughtered Abel. One day the two boys were to offer sacrifices to god; Abel offers his best lamb and Cain offers grain to god. God prefers Abel’s gift over Cain’s and in a jealous fit of anger Cain murders Abel. After this God comes to talk to Cain about what he had just done and in doing so he banishes Cain to “the land of Nod, east of Eden”(Genesis 4:16). Steinbeck uses a few Cain like characters throughout the novel to illustrate the reality of humanity; jealousy and favorability shapes our society and the way people act. There is no place to escape one's baser nature besides death’s home; steinbeck shows this through Cal Trask, Charles Trask, and Tom Hamilton.

Much later in the novel, the narrator makes an edit to his former opinion on Cathy and questions if he was justified in labeling her as a monster her a monster. He leans to being somewhat sympathetic toward this figure who was previously deemed a demon, wondering that “since we cannot know what she wanted, we will never know whether or not she got it.” This quote remains true, as Cathy’s true motivations remain a mystery even as East of Eden wraps up. As her cruel actions seem to have no logical or clear aim, the reader is left questioning her motives, and if she really was just a “malformed

Eve has been a powerful female figure throughout history and provoked so many female authors because she is depicted as the first woman, made from the rib of the first man, Adam. Since Eve was the first, and mother to all women, she was preserved to have passed on an evil nature to all women after tasting the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge and asking Adam to as well. Women have invested their time in Eve’s defense by arguing that it was not the fault of Eve alone, and that if Adam was supposed the be a symbol of strength, and wisdom, then he should been able to see through Eve’s fruit and the trickery of the serpent. The story bible has been used as a symbol of oppression for women by the word of God being law in the Christian

When Cathy is first introduced, the narrator calls her a monster, but in chapter seventeen, the narrator begins to doubt his claim, pitying her “waiting for her pregnancy to be over, living on a farm she did not like, with a man she did not love” (138). By including a statement discussing her unhappiness gives Cathy a human motivation to escape, although her escape is evil. When Cathy leaves, she shoots Adam because he attempts to stop her, but she does not aim for his head or heart to kill him, only a shot to the leg, which is enough to stop him, but not enough to kill him. A fatal shot would have been easy for Cathy, however, she had no reason to, so she only damaged Adam enough to achieve her goal. Unwanted pregnancies and unhappy marriages are all situations women attempt to escape, and in some cases, in extreme ways, like shooting their husbands. Humanizing Cathy connects humanity to evil.

The darkening of Cathy Ames’ scar represents the growing of evil. Throughout her whole childhood, Cathy escaped punishment through deception and manipulation. It is not until her boyfriend discovers her true intentions and desire to steal his money that Cathy will first be punished. He unsuccessfully tries to kill Cathy, leaving her with a scar on her forehead. As Cathy’s crimes become more complex and rooted deeper in evil, the scar darkens, “‘And both of them remarked about how sometimes it was darker than other times”’ (212). When first meeting Cathy, characters feel an uncomfortable strange feeling in her soul and then remark on the peculiar scar. The scar exhibits Cathy’s true nature and ever-growing evil.

Cathy, the twin’s mother, insists that there is only evil in the world, and immersed herself into taking advantage of other people’s flaws and weaknesses. Cathy also had that freedom of choice, but she always made the wrong decision and remained the totally evil character throughout the novel.

John Steinbeck uses a wide variety of literary devices throughout his novel, most notably, his wide use of allusions. The two younger generations of the Trask family mirror the biblical tale of Cain and Abel, both in name and in actions. Cain and Abel is a tale of two brothers, one a farmer, the other a shepherd, who each offer gifts to god. God chooses Abel’s gift over Cain’s gift, and in a jealous rage, Cain murders Abel. God then exiles Cain to the lands east of Eden, where he is sent to wander. Both generations of Trask brothers mirror the story of Cain and Abel. One brother is favored above the other, which leads to anger from the sibling cast aside. Adam’s father cast aside Charles in favor of Adam, and Adam, unaware of the similar circumstance, casts aside Caleb over his more amiable brother, sending him into a jealous rage the same way Adom’s brother had years before. The repeating circumstances convey the insight that history may not repeat per se, but rather it rhymes. Another major allusion within “East of Eden” is the title itself. Cain is sent to the lands east of Eden as his punishment, and so is Charles, who confines himself to his farm to think over his actions. Caleb finally breaks the cycle, being relieved from his spiritual wandering by his father. The title contrasts the theme of the novel, which emphasizes human choice in their fate.

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:

Throughout East of Eden, Steinbeck illustrates the complexity of morality through many characters’ struggles with the idea that they can choose their own destiny. This is most obvious with Cal, but Lee demonstrates the maturity to think clearly about his place in the world and his former mistaken viewpoints. Through Lee, Steinbeck argues that individuals have the power and obligation to choose their own destiny, no matter how difficult and harrowing their past was. Steinbeck argues that individuals have a responsibility to seek out truth and clarity, even though they can just as easily choose to live in ignorance. After Samuel’s death, Lee says that the world went out “like a candle,” describing the sudden lack of clarity in his thoughts and emotions.

Individuality generally exists as a principle of Western bias, yet John Steinbeck uses timshel frequently throughout his controversial East of Eden as a more dynamic and autonomous moral notion to guide behavior. Steinbeck asserts that the individual’s thoughts, not thoughts achieved through collaborative efforts, exists as the greatest catalyst for change. He expresses this idea more elaborately when declaring, “And this I believe: that 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 (131). The power of choice lies at the core of every great thought and it serves as a prerequisite for acting on thoughts.

Another biblical allusion in this book that goes along with Eden is of course Adam and Eve. Steinbeck continues the book of Genesis with Adam Trask and Cathy represent Adam and Eve. Which Steinbeck portrays that representation to Adam and Eve throughout the book.

Cathy-Kate combines many biblical figures as well.  She is not only Eve, but she is Cain’s wife and the serpent of Eden as well (Fonterose, Joseph.  p.3380).  Thus she is the representation of evil too.  Cathy is evil to the point where she is not human.   Her presence in the novel is meant to represent evil and all of its cruel intentions.  All of her deeds are intended to show how far from the real world Cathy actually is (Howard, Levant. p. 245).  Steinbeck compares Cathy to other prostitutes in Salinas Valley, the setting of East of Eden.  She is described as the only whore who is incapable of being a good person.  She is an inhuman being whose life revolves around cruelty and wrongdoing.  She is solely satanic and destroys the innocence of man (Marks, Jay Lester. p. 126-127).

Cathy could see no good in the world or in any of the other characters. She believed that there was only evil in the world and therefore surrenders herself to it fully. Cathy is portrayed as a wicked fiend who's aggression comes from practically nowhere but her own empty heart, but other times Cathy appears weak and afraid of people who weren’t the least bit intimidating. These are moments when we have to stop and think if she really is truly evil, or just an impatient and self-centered person. Cathy’s upbringing had no real play as to why she manipulated and deceived so many people. Her parents always showed her love and tried the best they could to educate and entertain her. There was nothing horrible in her childhood that would have given her an excuse as to why she was the way she was. Cathy was just not the typical child. She was very different from other children; it could be argued that she was born evil and was just a result of nature.

Adam’s goodness may be the preferred trait one would prefer to inherit, however it ends up being the downfall of him because it prevents him from seeing a person for who they really are. His kind nature ultimately is the reason he is able to be tricked by Cathy’s manipulative ways. However, after believing he is left with nothing and letting himself wallow in self pity, the honorable and wise Samuel Hamilton reminds him of an important story. Mr. Hamilton reminds Adam that King James of the bible once said, “thou salt prevail over sin”, however it is up to the man to rise above his pain and mistakes. Adam, still feeling sorry for himself, is hesitant to believe Samuel’s advice. However, after making a visit to his wife Cathy in her new life as a whore, he finally realizes he can be okay with out her. He realizes that his children deserve a father better than one who is in love with a whore. He sees through Cathy’s manipulation and decides that he can live happily with what he has. Adam confirms his choice to overcome Cathy saying, “I seemed to come out of a sleep, in some strange way my eyes have been cleared. A weight is off me”(Steinbeck 328). Adam rises above the Cathy he once idolized and allows himself to see who she really is. In result not only does he realize the improved Eden he can build with his sons, he proves that the power to overcome his destiny lays within one self. Adam, however is not the only Trask who proves this possible, Cal