ipl-logo

Cal Trask East Of Eden Character Analysis

556 Words3 Pages

Fate, the promise that one is powerless in impacting their destiny, has devastated countless individuals. Franklin D. Roosevelt, in an address to the American people, presented the simplicity of this devastation: “Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds” (3). John Steinbeck demonstrates this psychological battle in East of Eden, a book that explores the determination of fate and free will. Steinbeck demonstrates this theme through characters who hold varying beliefs in which idea is correct. Cal Trask, a symbolic character who represents Cain from the Bible story, initially believes he is a prisoner of fate and evil. In his adolescence, Cal possesses external locus of control mindset, or “the perception that chance or …show more content…

Another source of Cal’s external locus of control is his physical characteristics. Cal is described as “dark-skinned and dark-haired. He was quick and sure and secret...No one liked Cal very much and...everyone was touched with fear of him” (Steinbeck 421). Cal’s twin brother, Aron, is frequently described as having an angelic appearance and as immediately being the favorite of the twins. Cal feels hopeless in finding allies and friends as his physical appearance puts him at a severe disadvantage. Cal feels externally controlled as he had no power in deciding his appearance and therefore, his acceptance by others. Cal’s last and most severe form of control is his father’s expectations. His father, Adam, is described as a brainwashed character who only can see evil in Cal. Throughout the entirety of the book, Cal desperately attempts to meet his father’s unattainable expectations of perfect goodness: “...As Adam changes Aron into what he wants him to be, he refuses to see Cal as anything other than what he believes him to be” (Meyer and Veggian

Show More
Related

  • Impaired In The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

    454 Words  | 2 Pages

    He simply works to try to make his brother different and better for prideful reasons. In the end of the story this pride comes to haunt the

    Read More

  • Addie Boundren Character Analysis

    963 Words  | 4 Pages

    Even though she died very early in the novel, Addie Bundren is a very interesting character that set the stage for numerous events that occur later in the novel. Addie is a woman living in the 1920s with her poor family in rural Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi. Addie is the wife of Anse Bundren, and mother to her five children Darl, Jewel, Cash, Dewey Dell, and Vardaman. As somewhat of an resentful character toward much of her family, Addie creates many problems both before and after her death, and she is truly a fascinating character. Before she marries Anse, Addie was a schoolteacher.

    Read More

  • Wonder By R. J Palacio Character Analysis

    561 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the story Wonder, by R.J Palacio, the protagonist Auggie is going to a traditional middle school for the first time, despite his facial differences and learns many valuable lessons while he is there. Even though Auggie has a lot of bumps in the road, his experiences in Beecher Prep are an overwhelming positive in his life because he gains new friends, learns how to deal with tough situations, and finds new strength to deal with bullies. First off, Auggie meets a lot of people at Beecher Prep, many that he can call his friends, such as Summer, Jack Will, Amos, The Maxs, and others that stand with him at the end of the year and change his perception of how people can be. These friends are very important to him as shown in the text on page 77. “I knew the voice.

    Read More

  • Adam And Eve In The Odyssey

    1379 Words  | 6 Pages

    The original version of Adam, seeing all this chaos, decides to help his brothers using the experience he acquired

    Read More

  • Neil And Finny Character Analysis

    383 Words  | 2 Pages

    Character Comparison There are many similarities between characters from A Separate Peace and Dead Poets Society. One of them is between Neil and Finny. They both have lots of energy and are very friendly. Two other characters that are similar are Todd and Gene. They’re both quiet and dedicated to their academics.

    Read More

  • Silas Lapham And Bromfield Corey Character Analysis

    1160 Words  | 5 Pages

    How does Howells use linguistic capital to categorize his characters? Men who are well spoken are trusted greater, looked upon more favorably, and in most cases are more successful than their poorly spoken counterparts. Philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein stated, “The limits of my language mean the limits of my world”. Silas Lapham, a character more inclined to embarrass himself with his lack of linguistic savvy than to impress his successful peers, is an example of a man with poor linguistic capital.

    Read More

  • Examples Of External Locus Of Control In National Honor Society

    881 Words  | 4 Pages

    By having an internal locus of control, you can make goals for yourself and actually do something with your life instead of blaming things on your failures. An example that is great for this is when I was nominated for National Honor Society my junior year of high school. I filled out the application and I thought for sure that I was going to get in but when the letter came and said

    Read More

  • First Time Character Analysis

    906 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the movie First Time Felon Omar Epps played the character of Greg Yance. In this movie Epps character Yance a black male in his mid 20’s who is a drug dealer and a gang member Chicago. One day while in the neighborhood of Chicago Yance is picked up by the local police department. He is eventually arrested because of the number of drugs in his possessions at the time of arrest. He has two options 5 years in the state jail or four months in a military style boot camp.

    Read More

  • Brutha Character Analysis

    1818 Words  | 8 Pages

    The Main characters are Brutha, Vorbis, and Om. Om at first was a lazy god. This we can see by the fact he let his believers go and gradually he became powerless. Only Brutha, who is the protagonist of the book, is able to save him, and Om understands it is his only chance.

    Read More

  • How Does John Steinbeck Use Biblical Allusions In East Of Eden

    511 Words  | 3 Pages

    In John Steinbeck’s novel East of Eden, many characters are used in order to develop his stories with a plot lines falling closely to the bible. Character’s in this story tend to portray a biblical aspect, through actions and intentions. Steinbeck developed the theme throughout his novel which follows through the generations, the story of Cain and Abel. Cal, one of most complex character throughout the novel closely follows the biblical aspects of Adam and Eve’s son Cain; Cal also has several flaws that develops his character and impacts his life in various ways. In the book of Genesis Adam and Eve’s sons Cain and Abel both offer sacrifices to God.

    Read More

  • Father And Son Relationships In East Of Eden, By John Steinbeck

    905 Words  | 4 Pages

    Adam is raised with his young half-brother, Charles, his step-mother, Alice, and his pragmatic father, Cyprus. Cyprus is a military obsessed man who wants to imbue his children with the discipline and honor of the army. He craves order, discipline, and competition, which often leads to tensions between his two sons. Adam is kind and emotion, while Charles thrives under his father’s strict rules and games. The younger brother is dominant and thrives in all aspects of home

    Read More

  • Jealousy In East Of Eden

    835 Words  | 4 Pages

    Cal’s jealousy leads him to sacrifice his brother’s perfect image of their mother to cure his emotional wound. Furthermore, the twins went out hunting one day and Aron shoots a rabbit, but Cal claims that he shot it, and that they should both earn credit for it. The rabbit was clearly shot by Aron, but Caleb’s jealousy led him to say rather. Cal’s jealousy keeps him motivated by constantly wanting to be a better person than

    Read More

  • E. T. Elliott Character Analysis

    1702 Words  | 7 Pages

    Personal Meaning. In the movie E.T. Elliott is the middle child of three kids that is growing up in the 80’s. Growing up in the 80’s there are several experiences that Elliott had that are comparative such as being able to ride bikes around town everywhere. I was able to ride my bike down town at the same or around the same age that Elliott is in the movie. I say this is an example because now days you do not see children riding their bikes places at that age anymore, they are usually driven around by the parents.

    Read More

  • Comparing America And Eadlyn In The Selection Series By Keira Cass

    849 Words  | 4 Pages

    Have you ever read a book series, and about halfway through, the point of view changes? One example of this would be in The Selection series by Keira Cass. The first three books (The Selection, The Elite, and The One) are in the point of view of America Singer (later Schreave) and the last two books (The Heir and The Crown) are in the point of view of her daughter, Eadlyn Schreave. The last two are also set 20 years after The One. America and Eadlyn have many similarities and differences including, but not limited to, matters relating to their personality, their life, and their appearances.

    Read More

  • More And Congreve Character Analysis

    856 Words  | 4 Pages

    Similarly to More and Congreve, Melick finds comfort in his ignorance and is quite hostile to differing takes. De Mille describes Melick as “a litterateur”, whom alike to Congreve, proceeds to decipher the manuscript through the expertise he is familiar with (99). Yet, naysayers will state that Melick exemplifies an accurate interpretation of the novel as “a satirical romance” that mocks society; nevertheless, that is not the problem with Melick (De Mille 245). The issue that confounds Melick is his neediness to belittle and ridicule the remarks of his companions. After Congreve’s long and tedious explanation of “polar day”, Melick ridicules Congreve by giving him a glass of wine and remarking “after all those statistics… you must feel rather

    Read More

More about Cal Trask East Of Eden Character Analysis

Open Document