East of Eden:
Chapters 1-9
Jen Andre
Katelyn Cannarozzi
Kevin Conklyn
Do Now:
Complete the "Contrasts in
Brothers" worksheet. Can you
think of any similarities between
Adam and Charles?
Vocabulary
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•
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Niggardly (page 40) - grudgingly mean about
spending or granting; stingy
o This word is not often used today due to its similarity to the slur, “nigger”.
However, the two words are not actually etymologically related.
Theosophy (page 15) - religious philosophy;
teaching about God and the world based on
mystical insight
o Could be an interesting topic for the Philosophy of Life paper to discuss
how religious beliefs influence personal philosophy.
Inimical (page 35) - adverse in tendency or effect;
unfriendly; hostile.
o Thousands of actions that occur around the world today are considered
inimical, such as terrorist bombings.
Vocabulary
•
•
Pernicious (page 38) - causing insidious
harm or ruin; deadly; fatal
o Many terrorist groups commit pernicious acts of violence such as
the bombing in Boston.
Ubiquitous - (page 17) - present, appearing,
or found everywhere
o It's describing a presence of being everywhere at the same time;
like an influence.
Allegorical
Connections
Story of Cain and Abel
• Sons of Adam and Eve
• Cain = farmer, Abel = shepherd
• Both present gifts to God, who greatly favors
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Abel's gift
Cain murders Abel out of jealousy
God's punishment for Cain:
o
o
o
Cursed to live as a "fugitive and vagabond"
Sent to live in the land of Nod, which is east of Eden
Given a "mark" that would prevent others from
killing him
Bible.com,
 forced to live out his life with guilt
and Genesis 4.1-16
Cain and Abel Video
http://www.60secondrecap.com/library/eas
t-of-eden/3/
Cain & Abel = Charles &
Adam
•
Similarities
o
o
o
o
•
o
Brothers - Sibling rivalry
Give gifts to "father"
 What were the two gifts given to Cyrus?
"Father" favors Abel/Adam
Cain/Charles are jealous and attack their brother
Charles later gets a "mark of Cain" on his forehead
Differences
o
o
Charles does not kill Adam as Cain killed Abel
God sent Cain to wander the Earth, but in the
novel it is Adam who wanders
Biblical Names
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Names that start with C
o
•
o
Names that start with A
o
•
o
Characters similar to Abel - Adam, Alice
Good, kind, gentle
Adam - Hebrew for "Man"
o
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Characters similar to Cain - Cathy, Charles, Cyrus
Evil, dishonest, mean, sinful
o
The first human; tempted by Eve in the Garden of Eden
Will we see Adam take on a more biblical "Adam" role?
Samuel - Hebrew for "God has heard"
o
Leader of Israel, well known prophet
(Barnett)
"East of Eden"
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Adam and Eve were kicked out of Eden
for disobeying God and creating Original
Sin
God sent Cain to wander "east of Eden" in
the land of Nod
Land of Nod = Salinas Valley
Land outside of Eden is full of good, evil,
sin, and temptation
Characters must live their lives with these
forces around them and must make
the3.1-19)
(Genesis
(Genesis 4.1-16)
Cathy
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Cathy as Eve
o Introduces evil into the world
o Sinfulness
Important difference between Cathy & Eve
o Eve was tricked into committing sin by the snake
in the Garden of Eden
o Cathy freely chooses to be evil and commit sins
Cathy as the Devil
o No conscience; tempts others to sin
o Lacks an essential human quality
Cathy as Lilith of Jewish Myth
(Pelaia).
Cathy
•
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"Moral Monster"
"I believe there are monsters born in the
world to human parents...The face and
body may be perfect, but if a twisted gene
or a malformed egg can produce physical
monsters, may not the same process
produce a malformed soul" (Steinbeck
72).
EVIL
o
o
Kills parents
Lies all the time
Themes
&
Symbols
Theme: Good vs. Evil
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HUGE theme in the novel!
o
Right vs. Wrong, Light vs. Dark, Truth vs. Dishonesty
Steinbeck wanted to teach his sons about
their family and about right and wrong
Can be personal or interpersonal struggle
Examples
o
o
o
o
o
Charles vs. Adam
Cyrus vs. Alice
Dishonest Cyrus - stolen fortune
Evil, manipulative Cathy
Good, kindhearted Samuel
(Shillinglaw)
Symbol: The Salinas
Valley
•
Symbolizes land "East of Eden" - Land of Nod
o
o
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Physical symbol of Good vs. Evil
o
o
•
Full of evil, sin, and temptation
Humans must make the right choices to overcome
evil and original sin
o
Gabilan Mountains - bright, sunny, happy
Santa Lucia Mountains - dark, and brooding
Light vs. Dark, Good vs. Evil
Video
o
http://www.60secondrecap.com/library/east-ofeden/10/
("East of Eden: Metaphor Analysis")
Theme: Inheritance and
Fortune
•
Inheritance = Symbol of Original Sin
o Suspicious Trask fortune, apparently earned
•
by Cyrus in a dishonest manner
o Original sin - Inherent sin passed down to all
humans due to Adam and Eve's wrongful
actions in the Garden of Eden
o The dishonest fortune that Cyrus made is
literally passed down to his sons like an
"original sin"
Humans must bear the burden of original sin, and
of Eden
- Steinbeck")
the Trasks must bear the burden of("East
this
fortune
Theme: Family
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Different types of families
Hamiltons
o
Trasks
o
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Loving, honest, selfless, though never truly wealthy
Full of conflict, tension, rejection, abandonment,
and yet they become wealthy
Characteristics of these families will likely
affect future events in the novel
Why does Steinbeck place himself as
the narrator?
o
Video: http://www.60secondrecap.com/library/east-
Theme:
Loneliness/Isolation
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Charles lives by himself on the farm
Lives in the shed
o Not visited by anyone
o Rarely goes into town
o
•
Adam fears loneliness and craves human
connection
o
o
Used to the feeling of being surrounded in foxhole
during war
Goes to bar to feel comforted by human presence
o "One evening he felt a crippling loneliness for the close
men in barracks and tent. His impulse was to rush into a
crowd for warmth, any crowd. The first crowded place he
Theme: Rejection
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Charles was rejected by Adam when
Adam was supposed to visit him
Cyrus rejected Charles by favoring Adam
over him (as seen with the gift-giving)
Alice rejects Adam as the 'gift-giver' by
assuming it was Charles
("East of Eden: Metaphor Analysis")
Symbol: Charles's Scar
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Charles gets injured while trying to move
rocks with a crowbar
o
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"I don't know why it bothers me. I got plenty other
scars. It just seems like I was marked. And when I go
into town, like to the inn, why, people are always
looking at it" (Steinbeck 47).
Scar = mark of Cain
Punishment for his treatment of Adam just as
God punished Cain
Charles is ashamed, rarely goes into town
The scar serves to separate Charles from(Barnett)
Archetype
s
The Hero
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Adam
Generally good character that the reader
can sympathize with
Very likeable
Goes on a quest in the Cavalry (even
though he does not want to)
Continues quest as a wanderer
Later sticks up for Cyrus (says he believes
the fortune was earned honestly) despite
admitting that he never loved him
The Loner / Outcast
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Charles
Left on the farm alone, without his family
o Not truly loved by his father
o Voluntarily leaves society
 Feels like he does not fit in
 Gets weird looks due to his scar
 Spends most of his time on the farm
o
•
Adam
Has nowhere to go after the Army for a brief period
o Becomes a vagabond, drifting from place to place
o Does not want to return home
o
The Villain /
Temptress
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Cathy
Truly evil to the core
o Easy to hate
o Evil for the sake of being evil
o
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Temptation - like the Devil
Appealing and tempting on the outside, but her
soul is truly malicious
o She is cunning, clever, and meticulous in her
actions
o
•
Do you think she has any redeeming
qualities?
Caught in the Middle?
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Charles - is he truly a "villain"?
He does do bad things, but it is quite easy to
sympathize with him
Relatable - easy to understand sibling rivalry
and jealousy due to parental favoritism
Very violent - Cyrus does not want Charles to
join Army b/c it will bring out his worst nature
He has many recurring internal conflicts
o
o
Still bitter about the gift issue
Wonders if he truly loves his dad
Redeeming
Qualities...
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•
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"He protected Adam from his father's
harshness with lies and even with blametaking. Charles felt for his brother the
affection one has for helpless things, for
blind puppies and new babies" (Steinbeck
20).
Continued to send letters to Adam
Truly missed having Adam around
Weak/Obedient Women
• Most women in the novel fit this archetype
•
o Liza Hamilton, Mrs. Trask, Alice Trask
o All are obedient, dutiful, and quiet
o Talented wives and mothers
Cathy Ames breaks this mold
o Only woman who is not obedient to a man
o She makes her own decisions and chooses her
own actions
o This shows similarity to Lilith - unwilling to be
subservient to man
The Quest
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"The Quest" is a journey usually taken by
the "Hero" to somehow find himself
Adam's Quest
o
o
o
o
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o
Joins the Cavalry, but never really fits in due to his
peaceful nature
Leaves and becomes a drifter
Needs to find himself and where he belongs
Eventually makes the decision to head back home
His quest will continue!
Charles and Adam's Quest
o
To find out where their inheritance really came from
Conflicts
Good vs. Evil
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•
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Continuously repeats itself
Good "A" people vs. Bad "C" people
Good people vs. sin
o
•
o
Sin in the form of emotions - jealousy
Sin in actions - accepting a dishonest fortune
Do you think that any of the characters are
truly inherently good or evil? For example,
is Cathy evil to the core? Or can she
display goodness, but instead actively
chooses to be evil?
Man vs. Himself
• Many of the characters struggle internally
• Mrs. Trask struggles to reconcile suicide
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•
and her religion
Adam struggles to return home and leave
his wandering life
Charles struggles with jealousy and tries
to truly love his brother and father
Sibling Rivalry
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Progresses over time
Childhood - worst
Charles is bigger, more violent, more moody
o Jealousy leads to violent conflict
o
•
Young Adulthood - somewhat better
Distance helps them
o Many letters, Charles even wishes for Adam
to return
o
•
Adam and Charles are _______ - they are
very different and highlight certain qualities
in each other.
Sibling Rivalry
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Adam's return - strained, but calm
o Adam does not want to return home because of his
bad past
o The brothers disagree over the issue of the
dishonest fortune
o Adam no longer feels threatened because the
jealousy is gone
"Adam knew that his brother was no longer
dangerous. There was no jealousy to drive
him. The whole weight of his father was on
him, but it was his father and no one could
take his father away from him" (Steinbeck
Conflict Examples
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Adam decides to enlist in the army
o
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Cyrus and Adam
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Argue on where and what Adam should do with his
military career
Adam and Charles
o
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Shows conflict throughout society as they were at
war with Indians
o
Become distant and irritated by each other's actions
Charles is jealous of Adam
Mrs. Trask has conflict with her religion
o
cannot reconcile suicide with her theosophy
Final Conflict
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Final conflict between Mr. Edwards and
Cathy
Tries to kill her, but leaves her unconscious
and broken
She crawls up to the door of a house
Do you have any predictions?
"Wanting to live forced her to drag herself along
the dark road, looking for help. She turned in
at a gate and almost made the steps of the
house before she fainted. The roosters were
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Works Cited
Barnett, Dana. "Sibling Rivalry: Biblical Echoes in John Steinbeck's East of
Eden." Yahoo! Voices. Yahoo! Inc., 24 July 2007. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.
Bible.com. LifeChurch.tv, 2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.
"East of Eden: Metaphor Analysis." Novelguide. 2013. Web. 28 Apr. 2013.
"Inimical." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, 2013. Web. 01 May 2013.
"Niggardly." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, 2013. Web. 28 April 2013.
Pelaia, Ariela. "Where Does the Legend of Lilith Come From?" About.com.
About.com, 2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.
"Pernicious." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, 2013. Web. 01 May 2013.
Shillinglaw, Susan. "Writing East of Eden." Oprah.com. Harpo Productions, Inc., 18
June 2003. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.
Steinbeck, John. East of Eden. New York: Penguin Classics, 1992. Print.
"Theosophy." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, 2013. Web. 28 April 2013.
"Ubiquitous." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, 2013. Web. 01 May 2013.