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East of Eden
by John Steinbeck



More information on the radar plot criteria

This radar plot is meant to give a graphical representation of the book in question. For a better idea of what each spoke means, see the table below. Also, keep in mind that higher numbers are not necessarily better. Depending on your taste, a 0 may be just as appealing as a 10 (or a 5, etc) in a particular category. (Click to close)


Category 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
Maturity 18+ 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8
Violence Excessive Violence Violent acts (no blood-gore) No Violence
Action Constant Action Even mix of action-drama No Action
Epic Lord of the Rings Epic Large scope, less detailed Limited scope
World Completely unique Half real/half unique Set in our world
Realism Focus outside the realm of accepted science Focus evenly split between explainable-unexplainable Nothing unexplainable - not the focus
Modernity Present Day (or beyond) 1980-1999 1960-1979 1930-1959 1870-1929 1800-1869 1700-1799 1400-1699 200-1399 (1000)-199 Ancient
Humor Laugh out loud throughout Funny (but not primary focus) Intentionally not funny

Samuel Hamilton left Ireland and ended up on Salinas Valley, California. With his wife Liza, he settled on a bad piece of land and started a family (having 8 children in total). Since his land did not produce crops well, Samuel was forced to make his living as a blacksmith, an inventor, and by drilling for water. With so many children, and with so little desire to make money, the family stayed poor. Samuel was a handsome man full of life, big ideas, and humor.


Adam Trask was born in Connecticut in 1862. His mother died during the birth, leaving Cyrus alone to take care of Adam and his brother Charles. Cyrus works as a military advisor (in spite of limited service). Charles realizes Adam is his father’s favorite when he buys him a beautiful watch, which Cyrus ignores in favor of the stray dog that Adam gives as a gift. Charles beats and nearly kills his brother. Adam leaves to join the army, where he serves 2 tours. Afterwards, he lives as a vagabond rather than returning home. Arrested, and twice forced to work on road gangs, he eventually escapes and returns home. Cyrus has died and left the boys with over $100,000.


Cathy is a disturbed young woman. She learns at a young age how to manipulate and control those around her. She drugs her parents and set the house on fire, also planting evidence in the barn that she has been killed. Cathy leaves and joins a local whore house, where she becomes the favorite of Mr. Edwards, the man who runs multiple whore houses across the east coast. He gets her drunk one night, and her normal inhibitions are dropped, causing her to reveal her manipulations. He takes her out and beats her mercilessly. Nearly dead, she drags her body to the Trask doorstep.


Adam and Charles take Cathy in, but Charles is hesitant to trust her. Adam immediately falls in love, and eventually asks her to marry him. Wounded and desperate, Cathy agrees. After a fight with his brother, Adam decides to take Cathy to Salinas Valley. Before they leave, Cathy sleeps with Charles one night when he is drunk.


Adam buys a beautiful piece of land and meets Samuel when he is brought out to determine if there is water to be found on the property. Cathy is pregnant, and it is decided that Samuel will deliver the baby (as he is known to have delivered all his children and many others in the area). While riding to the Trask ranch with Lee, Samuel forces Lee (Adam’s household servant) to reveal that he only speaks in broken English because that is what is expected of him. In reality, he is an intelligent, scholarly man.


Cathy is in labor and Samuel comes to help. During the labor, Cathy bites Samuel on his hand. Otherwise, the delivery goes well, but everyone is surprised when she delivers twins. Cathy refuses to take the children and sends them away. Liza Hamilton helps take care of the boys and gets the house in order, but Cathy refuses to nurse them. Once she has recovered, Cathy tells Adam she is leaving. He tries to stop her, but she shoots him in the shoulder. Upon leaving she joins a whore house in Salinas. Adam is devastated and Lee becomes the day to day father of the two boys.


A year later and Adam has physically recovered, but he still has not given his boys names. Realizing this, Samuel goes to him and punches him until he realizes he most take responsibility for his children. A long discussion is had about the story of Cain and Abel, and the confusion surrounding God’s acceptance of Abel’s gift, but not Cain’s. Ultimately, it is decided the boys will be Aaron (later shortened to Aron) and Caleb (Cal).


Slowly and methodically, Cathy fulfills a plan that allows her to murder the current owner of the whore house and then to take over. At around 5, Cal and Aron meet Abra, the daughter of a local resident. Aron falls in love and declares he will marry her. Soon after they move to Salinas proper, where Aron and Abra become close friends. Charles dies, leaving his money to Adam and Cathy (he is not aware that they are separated). Adam tells Cathy, allowing her to take the money much to her confusion. Adam engages in a risky business proposition that results in him losing nearly all his money.


Cal, during one of this late night walks around town, overhears from a drunk man that his mother is still alive, and runs a whore house in town. He goes there and sees his mother. He begins following her until she confronts him one day. With the U.S. about to enter into WWI, Cal strikes a deal with Will Hamilton to get farmers to plant beans at a guaranteed rate of $.05/lb. As the war starts they are able to sell them to the British for $.12/lb. Cal makes over $15,000. He chooses to give this money to his father. Aron, meanwhile, has gone off to college a year early.


Cal chooses to give the money to his father on Thanksgiving when Aron has returned from school. Adam is immensely proud of Aron and his education, but when Cal gives him the money he is not happy. He believes Cal stole the money, and when he learns the truth, he believes Cal took advantage of the farmers and should give it back. Furious for being scorned, Cal takes Aron and shows him their mother. Unable to deal with the truth, Aron joins the army and is sent overseas. Cal burns the money.


Cathy, meanwhile, learns that one of the girls knows that she murdered the former owner. She has the girl run out of town, but she begins to worry that someone will believe her story. When Cal brings Aron to the house, she becomes even more distraught. She soon commits suicide to escape her fears.


Aron is killed in battle, and Adam has a stroke upon learning the news. Cal and Abra (who are now in love) go to Adam at Lee’s beckoning. Lee yells at Adam to speak to his son and forgive him for what has happened. Adam, unable to speak and completely bed ridden, lifts his hand slightly to bless Cal. Then, with a great surge of effort, speaks the word Timshel to Cal before falling to sleep.




There are so many good things that can be said about East of Eden that it is hard to know where to start, so I’ll start with something simple. This is probably not something I would have noticed if I had not just read Fall of Hyperion (and maybe not even something that most people think about at all) but after what I said about Fall it’s only fair to bring it up again. Throughout East, a chapter will start with the narrator (John Steinbeck) speaking in first person. He will then transition subtly, practically imperctibaly if you aren’t looking out for it, to a third person telling of the main story at hand. These transitions are so perfectly done, however, that it makes the abrupt and jarring changes in Fall even more noticable. Again, this may seem like a minor point to bring up, but I think it is a perfect example of how beautifully this book is written.


Now, for the meat of the work. There is, of course, the major parallels in the story between the Biblical story of Cain and Abel and the lives of Charles and Adam as well as Cal and Aron. In each case, one brother (the A brother, to keep in simple) gives a gift to their father which is accepted in spite of it’s relatively small value. The C brother, on the other hand, gives a gift of greater value that is rejected by the Father. (Just to provide the specifics: Charles gives his father a gold watch, Adam a stray dog. Cal gives his father $15,000.00, Aron goes to college).


Cain, we learn through the discussion Lee has with Samuel and Adam, then has the choice to live a life that overcomes sin. Timshel, thou mayest, is the command given to Cain by God. Charles, however, is never given this command. Fortunately, at the prodding of Lee, Adam has the courage and strength to say the very same word to Cal as he lies on his death bed. The power of this word at the very end of the book cannot be understated. As I was reading the last 100 pages, seeing where things were headed, I thought “there is no way in which the ending of this book is not overwhelmingly tragic.” Obviously, however, the ending was not pure tragedy. Certainly there was sadness in the death of Aron and in Adam’s stroke. Adam’s blessing to Cal, however, was such a beautiful display of strength and love that I could not help but be full of hope upon concluding the book. Adam broke the cycle his father had set up, and gave Cal the most important gift of all: the ability to choose his destiny for himself, rather than being forced down a certain path.


So, is Adam the father of Cal and Aron, or is Charles? There answer is not clear in the book, but my gut tells me that Charles is definitely the father of Cal. Their personalities and actions throughout the book are very similar and it seems likely that Steinbeck wanted us to think this was the case. Aron, however, may have actually been Adam’s son. How is this possible since they were twins? After the birth, Samuel tells us that they were actually born in different sacs, each of their own egg, which means it is technically possible that each egg was fertilized by a different man. Though unlikely in reality, it provides an interesting framework for the book since it gives us a clearer reason why Adam would inherently prefer Aron over Charles. Again, there is not firm evidence for this, but it is how I choose to interpret it for now.


Another question I had was, is the John Steinbeck the narrator THE John Steinbeck? Was his grandfather really Samuel Hamilton, and was there really a Trask family in the Salinas valley? I still don’t know, but it was great reading the book thinking “these events may really have happened in some way”. The way the story is told certainly gives the impression that John is telling us a story about the town he grew up in. In fact, if we ask our own parents to tell us the story of how they ended up where they are now, and how their parents got to where they are, it’s easy to see how ever family has a story that would make a good book. If you have a John Steinbeck to write it, that is.


This book was fantastic. There really isn’t anything else that needs to be said. The characters are perfectly realized, the writing is beautiful, and the story is intimate. One cannot help but recommend such a wonderful book with gusto.




“And I made a promise to myself that I would not consider enjoyment a sin. I take a pleasure in inquiring into things. I’ve never been content to pass a stone without looking under it. And it is a black disappointment to me that I can never see the far side of the moon” (306).



17 - Sexual content, violence, adult themes



Yes


Read ID (use for comment below): 31



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