ipl-logo

East Of Eden Theme Essay

825 Words4 Pages

Sahid Conteh
English 12
Mr. Gonzalez
September 7, 2015 The Secret behind The Scars
In the book “East of Eden” by John Steinbeck, we see the author infuses the perspective of christianity, the story of cain and abel in the bible struggling with the idea of good versus evil, the author uses this theme in the bible from the old testament in contrast to life at the Salinas Valley. In this book, there are several significant themes that are derived from the bible, but the most significant one is betrayal.

A key characteristic which we see both Charles and Cathy best embodies. Through comparing and contrasting these two characters, the author reveal the true significance of their scars and their choice “ timshel” to betray Adam.

In the beginning of chapter 8, Steinbeck introduced Cathy as monster “ I believe there are monster born in the world to human parents, some you see, misshapen and horrible, with huge heads or tiny bodies; some are born with no arms, …show more content…

Charles like Cathy both had a scar which symbolises their connection to see through each other; both characters in the book are basically the same as they both embodies similar characteristic such as betrayal towards someone who love them both dearly. Charles excises the meaning of “timshel” when he chose to sleep with his brothers wife “ He breathed harshly. “I already been with a whore. “ You’re a pretty strong boy. Move over a little. ‘ how about your broken arm? “ I’ll take care of that. It’s not your worry” Suddenly Charles laughed. “ the poor bastard, he said and he threw back the blanket to receive her” (pg 125.11). This quote emphasised how Charles exercised the meaning of timshel by sleeping with his brothers wife. Charles betrayed his brother, just like in the bible, Charles betrayal is equivalent to Cain’s betrayal of Abel in the book of

Show More
Related

  • Rhetorical Devices In East Of Eden By John Steinbeck

    2078 Words  | 9 Pages

    For instance, Cathy Ames was one of the character who standed out in the novel, which made the audience aware of who she was and is a big comparison to other characters throughout the book. Adam told Charles that him and Cathy got married. Which makes Cathy leave to the bedroom and closing the door. Charles say negative things about Cathy “She’s no damn good, I tell you.

    Read More

  • Cathy Ames In John Steinbeck's East Of Eden

    981 Words  | 4 Pages

    In John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, Cathy Ames is presented as a monster. She is the most evil character in the novel, and rightfully so. Cathy manipulates other characters into doing her bidding by tapping into their weaknesses and trusting natures. Physically speaking, Cathy had a face of innocence, formed in the shape of a heart, which contrasts with her morally culpable, sinful behaviors. Cathy was born a Catherine, the name meaning “pure” which she is shown not to be from the very beginning.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God

    943 Words  | 4 Pages

    Edwards could not admit of secondary causes such as free will… and the preservants of the saints.” Edwards is described as physically and verbally accusatory towards other religious groups and towards sinners. He believes they should and will get what they deserve. Edwards accuses the sinners in many ways, each time describing how they could die by the wrath of God every

    Read More

  • Crossing Into Eden Analysis

    671 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mankind will only survive by living with adversity, not with perfection. Humans seek success but true growth comes from the struggles faced obtaining it. Without the challenge, mankind and nature itself withers away in boredom and sterility. Humans, as with all organisms in nature, survive by adapting to challenge, not by the lack of them. The narrator in Wallace Stegner’s “Crossing Into Eden” finds that paradise is no place for humans because it is too perfect and does not offer the adversity mankind requires to exist.

    Read More

  • HF Comparative Research: The Aviator's Wife By Melanie Benjamin

    774 Words  | 4 Pages

    No one will ever know how Charles acted around Anne and we can never for sure say what he was like. The author likely chose this side of Charles to show how truely traumatic this event was for their family and the impact it

    Read More

  • Cathy Ames Character Analysis

    623 Words  | 3 Pages

    Cathy has a significant role in the novel. Steinbeck uses her for contrasting the other characters. By revealing that Catchy is truly evil, conveys how innocent the other characters are, even if they do commit dark actions. In addition, by comparing and indicating Cathy to a devil and a witch shows that she is inhuman.

    Read More

  • Charles By Shirley Jackson

    230 Words  | 1 Pages

    The irony of the situation can be understood by the reader as Laurie's mother narrates the stories of misbehaving Charles. It’s ironic that Laurie's parents are nervous about Charles being a bad influence on Laurie and the reason why he is not behaving at home. Laurie made Charles up and

    Read More

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

    905 Words  | 4 Pages

    Cain ended up murdering Abel out of envy of his favorable position, and that conflict is reflected through Charles and Adam Trask, and later Adam’s children Caleb and Aaron. The characters struggle with the notions of good and evil. Timshel is a repeating theme. The concept is the biblical depiction of the internal strife between good and evil that lies in each character. Adam Trask is a central character in the novel, who the reader sees mature and struggle as both a son and a father.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In John Knowles A Separate Peace

    1701 Words  | 7 Pages

    Adam and Eve had a perfect Garden of Eden, until Eve ate the apple and contaminated the garden. In being tricked by the snake, Eve betrayed God’s word. Mankind has often betrayed others because of the darkness in their heart. In A Separate Peace, John Knowles uses Phineas as a sacrificial lamb to portray Gene’s savage side and demonstrate that peace can never be achieved at a worldwide level until man accepts the darkness in his own heart.

    Read More

  • Nathan Price In The Poisonwood Bible

    445 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this chapter, Foster discusses the portrayal of Christ-like figures throughout literature. An allusion to Christ may include: uncanny knowledge of scripture, being good with children, being alone in the wilderness and being burdened with the task of redeeming a sinful world - all of which are traits that Nathan Price from The Poisonwood Bible exhibits or distorts. Nathan Price serves as an ironic depiction of Christ. Like Jesus, Nathan is intimately familiar with the Bible and can summon any portion of it from memory to support his arguments, such as when Anatole tells the Price family why the Kongolese people are not receptive to Nathan’s family. However, Nathan is abusive and dismissive towards anyone who disagrees with him, especially his children and wife, a perversion of

    Read More

  • By The Waters Of Babylon Theme Essay

    441 Words  | 2 Pages

    The interpretation of the theme – truth in “By the Waters of Babylon” In the short story “By the Waters of Babylon” the author Stephen Vincent Benét conveys the theme, “truth is a hard deer to hunt, if you eat too much of it at once, you may die of the truth” (Benét, 255). Which is a hyperbolic metaphor that means truth is like knowledge, hard to find. So, if too much of it is eaten at once, death is likely; as in truth is dangerous and hard to regulate among people if it is boundless. When the protagonist John was tired after travelling to the forbidden Place of Gods seeking knowledge, he fell asleep in one of the big dead-houses.

    Read More

  • Cathy In John Steinbeck's East Of Eden

    508 Words  | 3 Pages

    Edwards, who falls in love with her and gives her a lot of money and gifts. Soon he finds out who she really is and what she did, he takes her to a small town to Connecticut, where he beats her almost to her death and leaves her there (East of Eden 130). Cathy manages to crawl to the Trask farm, where she finds help and comfort by the two brothers (East of Eden 146). Adam falls in love with her immediately, but Charles sees right through her. As she is getting better, she manipulates Adam into asking her to marry her (East of Eden, 154).

    Read More

  • Jealousy In East Of Eden

    835 Words  | 4 Pages

    Once upon a time, there were a set of twins born into a corrupt household. One of the twins was secretly jealous of the other, which resulted him taking his own brother’s life. This tragedy occurs in the novel, East of Eden, written by John Steinbeck. East of Eden is about several families being brought together and having love-hate relationships. The characters in the novel are separated into two different name groups, C and A.

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis Of Babylon Revisited

    1232 Words  | 5 Pages

    Sapp John Sapp Hensley English 11/ Fourth Period 05 February 2018 Part 12: Rough Draft “Babylon Revisited” is a very detailed and well written story that has many ups and downs bound to leave the reader on the edge of their seat. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses many different types of writing techniques in “Babylon Revisited” to make this story grab the reader’s attention even more so than some of his previous works. Fitzgerald’s style portrays one of the most important aspects of this book by far, setting the tone for this story giving you more details throughout.

    Read More

  • Norah's Story 32 Analysis

    698 Words  | 3 Pages

    Marguerite de Navarre’s Story 32 not only pertains to religious conflict, but also instills a belief of morality. In a story meant to have underlying messages, this tale has a lot of detail at the surface that can be organized as messed up or wickedly charming depending on perspective. A preposterous event worth recognizing is the punishment that the husband gives his wife. This relates to not only the consequences of sinning, but also the mindset of a man to bring such a wrath to the household. In contrast, Bernage’s point of view brings an impressive, open-minded look to forgiveness and how people can bring sense to others’ demonstrative actions.

    Read More

More about East Of Eden Theme Essay

Open Document