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Blindness In East Of Eden By John Steinbeck

932 Words4 Pages

It is far better to know, to see than to be blind. Yet, ignorance is bliss right? In East of Eden, John Steinbeck explores the attributes that result from personal blindness, compared to personal awareness. Written in 1951, East of Eden is jam packed with examples of these two conditions. However, none illustrated in more depth than in the characters of Cal and Aron. Cal and Aron are brothers and fall on opposite sides of this coin. Cal is burdened with knowledge of himself and his background, and this weight he carries plays a factor in every aspect of his life. Aron on the other hand is oblivious. He doesn 't know who he truly is, and his blindness inevitably affects every decision he makes. Cal and Aron are in very different situations, but neither of them are …show more content…

I don 't want to be mean. I don 't want to be lonely. For Jesus ' sake, Amen.” Such a beautiful passage, and it has great significance. Cal 's burden is not altogether eliminated, and he continues to struggle with knowing and seeing his whole life, and Steinbeck shows many cases. However, what 's noteworthy is how Cal responds here. Because of his self awareness Cal is able to respond in humility before God, and make the conscious effort to be better. Aron is a very sensitive, fragile young man. He is in the dark on so much about his life. So much that Cal knows, and the challenges that come with that, Aron does not know and often does not want to know. The truth about the boys ' mother? Aron clearly prefers to stay in his bubble, and believe a lie. He doesn 't that what he 's been told is false, but deep down he 'd rather cling to the lie than have to bear the truth. Aron seems to fear what he does not know, and it seems that he doesn 't know that. Because of this personal blindness, he sees every aspect of his life in a somewhat blurry fashion. Aron

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