Vuong Do
Ms. Hinshaw
English 3H, 2
13 September, 2015
Timshel Seashell at the Seashore
Sean Covey once said, “You are free to choose what you want to make of your life. It's called free agency or free will, and it's your birthright“. A life is only worth living if there are rights and freedom. East of Eden is a bibliological novel, written by John Steinbeck, that is based on the Bible. The author uses the characters to symbolize the conflict between good and evil. Timshel is one of the most crucial themes in the book. In East of Eden, Steinbeck attempts to convey the readers that Timshel is the ability for one to make their own decision, and through this, they are able to live happy lives. This is one of the factors that make the book so astounding
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The book illustrates that sins are passed down from a generation to another, for example, from Cyrus to Adam, then from Adam and Cathy to their sons. An example with best describes this would be Aron. In the book, after he finds out that his evil mother is still alive, Aron is once again haunted by the bad memories. Therefore, Aron decides to shut the world out by joining the army, but in return he has to give up his dream of being a priest and his family. Steinbeck uses this example to show how Aron’s life was destroyed by his mother. Similar to Aron, after Cyrus’s death, Adam and Charles inherit a large amount of money from Cyrus, which somewhat symbolizes the sins that are passed down from Cyrus to Adam. All the bad things he did, for example, lying about the war, stealing money from the GARS, neglecting his sons, now Adam has to carry those sins. As the story progresses, retribution comes and destroys Adam’s life, for the sins that his father created. He was shot by his own wife, he lost a large amount of money from selling, and he had to spend years living in guilt. It is unacceptable that a person is haunted for the rest of their lives for what they didn’t …show more content…
In East of Eden, Steinbeck says, “And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected “ (132). Having a mind is easy, but allowing it to not be controlled is much more difficult. A person with a free mind can act based on what they think. In East of Eden, Cathy is one of the characters who cannot be controlled, “They look at me and thought they knew about me. And I fooled them. And when they thought they could tell me what to do - Oh! That’s when I fooled them best” (465). The people who try to control Cathy, for example, Adam and cathy’s parents, end up in tragedy. Cathy fits Timshel the best because no one can tell her what to do or what to say. Everything she does or every scheme she plans is based on her decision. It is her choice to be manipulative and dishonest. Steinbeck adds Cathy into the story because he wants the readers to make a connection and compare between the people who have free will, versus the people who don’t. In other words, free will allows a person walk their own
In the novel, East of Eden by John Steinbeck, rhetorical devices are used to illustrate the characters throughout the book to be either be good or evil by the usage of diction, connotation and denotation as well as other rhetorical devices. By using rhetorical devices it allows the audience to gain a better deeper comprehension of the book. The rhetorical devices allow Steinbeck to describe the characteristics of each character to define them as either good or evil which allows the reader to analyze the parallels between one another. In addition, rhetorical devices for example metaphor, tone, diction, simile, imagery, analogy, allegory, and paradox contribute to the author’s style which creates an image for readers to comprehend. Steinbeck uses word choice, tone, anaphora to highlight the juxtaposition between Cathy Ames and Abra Bacon to illustrate how evil and goodness change the perspective about their inherent point.
In the novel “East ofela Eden,” the author John Steinbeck uses a biblical reference forshadowing the fate of each charicter. Notably, the reacurring names that starts with “A” and “C”, referring to Cain and Abel from the bible, the sons of Adam and Eve. Additionallt, Cain out of spite kills Abel because God accepts Abel’s offering rather than Cains. In the novel the charicters who are sinful have names that begin with C-Caleb, Cathy, Charles, and Cyrus and the “good” charicaters have names start start with A such as Adam, Aron, and Abra. Furthermore the relationship bewteen Cain and Abel is quite similar to Charles and Adam becuase Charles once tries to kill Adam.
Steinbeck tells the story of the Trask and the Hamilton family. As the reader progresses through this narrative, it is understood that both of these families contribute to the war effort in distinctive ways exhibited through personal endeavor. Furthermore, Steinbeck focuses on good vs. evil, represented through the good, Abel-like and the evil, Cain-like characters; determinism, shown through Cathy and the wickedness that possesses her; and timshel, introduced by Lee, the Chinese servant of Adam Trask, and symbolized by the free will of the characters. In addition to these various ideas, the narrative also comments on the wars that America participated in during the time frame in which East of
And through this agency, she learns to appreciate life for what it is, and experience the world through the joy of it being her own. Throughout the novel, this agency was continuously denied from her, through the
This is part of the larger timshel (free will) theme of the story. In the end, the individual has free will to decide what is good and what is evil. Steinbeck demonstrates this by illustrating Cathy’s reaction when Adam presents her with money from Charles’s will: “Kate pushed the eyeshade back on her head. ‘You want me to think you’re just dropping this money on my lap. Well, I'll find out what you’re up to.
John Steinbeck’s renown allegory East of Eden explores the characteristics of human nature, including the potent principle of free will. Steinbeck’s use of rhetorical strategies throughout the passage enables him to illustrate his message, emphasizing the significance of creativity in the essence of humanity and the threats against it. Steinbeck utilizes various elements of vivid language, rhetorical appeal, and style to elucidate his argument, urging individuals to fight for their free will and to assert their individuality. Steinbeck’s use of metaphor in the first paragraph depicts the extent of the significance of free will through his vivid comparison of individuality to the “glory [that] lights up the mind of a man.” (Steinbeck 1)
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.
Ayn Rand is a talented author whose use of literary elements makes her novels all the more interesting. A significant example of this is when Rand articulates the use of the story Adam and Eve throughout the chapter by conveying explicit meanings and making connections to help the reader better understand the situation that the characters are facing as they enter into a new phase of their lives with more knowledge than they had before. Adam and Eve is a tale from the bible depicting the events that occurred the first time humans were created and the first time they sinned. The story begins when the protagonists, Adam and Eve, make a mistake by taking a bite of the apple they were told not to as it would give them “the knowledge of good and evil,” (Fairchild).
This relates to a quote from The Pearl by John Steinbeck that says,
Inner turmoil is something that plagues nearly every character in John Steinbeck’s East of Eden. The struggle to accept the evil within oneself and the nature of this evil within life itself is very troubling and confusing to many, especially Cal Trask and Lee. Cal struggles over the idea that his evil tendencies are pre determined-his destiny-despite his desire to change. Lee, however, believes that evil is not a predetermined path or an inheritance, but rather something that you can change through self-determination and by embodying the idea of timshel and that with this change, one is cleansed of sin and achieves a greater good that somebody who has never sinned. John Steinbeck develops the idea of predestination and timshel through the
Steinbeck’s use of rhetorical strategies throughout the passage enables him to illustrate his message about free will, emphasizing the potential and significance of timshel and creativity in the essence of humanity and the threats against it. He utilizes diction, imagery, and rhetorical appeals to elucidate his message and persuade readers of their role in asserting their individuality. Steinbeck’s use of imagery in the first paragraph illustrates the extent of the potential of free will through his vivid description of the “glory [that] lights up the mind of a man” (Steinbeck 131) and its transformative qualities. This is significant as it delineates the role of free will in humanity, defining a “man’s importance in the world.” (Steinbeck
East of Eden, by John Steinbeck, reflects the complexities in father/son relationships. The connection between a father and his son is vital to their development. The novel explores the impact of these relations is immense. The central allusion of the novel is comparing several characters to Cain and Abel, who were formed through their attempted relationship with their father-like figure, God. They struggled and vied for the attention, love, and respect of God, which subconsciously influenced their actions and thoughts.
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).
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.
In the novel East of Eden, contrary to Fontenrose’s criticism, Steinbeck portrays the relationship between good and evil as an inherent part of the human condition, shown through his characters as they struggle with their choices and ultimate path, providing an understanding of humanity within the biblical struggle generation after generation must face. Steinbeck delineates good and evil as attributes present in everyone, existing from birth, and asserts that both are resolute and immutable in their existence. “Humans are caught… in a net of good and evil,” (Steinbeck 413). From the moment Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, humans were doomed to have both good and evil inside of them, without any ability to truly overcome the evil. Though Fontenrose supplies valid points in that Steinbeck uses the