The East of Eden
The perpetual debate between good and evil or perhaps between a good and an evil person impulses within every single individual. While God gives human beings a free will and the power to choose good over evil, in most cases, human beings choose evil over good. This essay extensively analysis the theme of perpetual battle in John Steinbeck’s novel East of Eden. Although it is indeed light that gives us joy, sometimes we discover that both darkness and light are necessary for our growth and maturity as we strive for contentment.
In the novel, Steinbeck emphasizes the theme of the struggle between good and evil. According to him, the perpetual battle is the only exact thing to have happened in the entire story of humankind and that all human beings find themselves and their thoughts attached to the actions of this tale. Additionally, most characters in the novel struggle are clearly evident as they grow and learn more about the often unjust and harsh world in which they are placed (Bayley 146). Cal feels inferior to Aron’s perfection, and consequently, he must battle himself. Likewise, Charles, as a child with a father who only loves him as second best, he is torn between the choice of good or evil.
The story of good and evil presented throughout the text dates back from the beginning of humankind (Genesis 2:4-3:24) In the Garden of Eden, man first become cognizant of the difference between good and evil after in eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil which they were prohibited from eating. Consequently, human has the choice to fall prey to earthly sins or rise above it and find gods favor. Because this story is familiar to each of us, it is recited several in many different forms ranging from John Proctor’s Crucible struggle to Frankenstein’s creature’s battle.
In the East of Eden’s story, the struggle between good and evil is evident both internally and between characters. For example, Cathy symbolizes devils and looks for evil in everyone and tries to get it out and exploit it. Steinbeck says, “And it occurs to me that evil must constantly spawn, while good, while virtue, is immortal. Vice always has a fresh young face, while virtue is venerable as nothing else in the world is.” To achieve it, Cathy must often change her name and appearance to continue with her corrupt evil work. After killing her parents, Cathy changes to Catherine Amesbury and later changes her name to Kate after killing Adam and leaving her sons behind (Bayley 146). She is a sweet, adoring girl to Faye, but to the other girls leaving in her warehouse, she is a merciless punishment enforcer. Therefore, she must watch out her plans regularly before and strategize them from the beginning to the end to be sure they will be able to carry the out.
Here, the story of evil is candid. The devil can always conceive and implement new ways to lure people to him, and yet the evildoers will always die and forgotten. On the other hand, good is honored and remembered from generation to generation. Ady Claims that the teachings and philosophies of Samuel are often relied long upon after his death (6). Lee incorporates these teachings during his appraising of the Trask twins. Therefore, the good always conger evil as it is evident in the East of Eden. Near the end of her life, Cathy begins to reluctantly realize that the evil in which she thrived on led to her downfall. While she had trained herself not to trust anyone, in the end, she began to doubt herself.
The most candid case of a perpetual struggle between good and evil is presented through Cal. At a tender age, she was aware nearly everyone over him favored his light-haired brother. When he confronted his mother, her mother believes, Adam loves his brother more because he looks like Cathy. Moreover, his peers are afraid of him, and consequently, he has no friends. Aron wins the first girl the twins meet, and thus Cal feels he has no choice but his evil action. Further, he believes her mother’s blood that runs in his veins prompts him to be wrong. Additionally, most of Cal’s evil action is as a result of his quest for love and acceptance. Steinbeck says, “…everyone in the world to a large or small extent has felt rejection…and there is the story of humankind.”
While Cal felt the rejection throughout his entire life and new Abra favors his brother Aron, he decides to trick the young girl in pursuit to win her love (Ady 11). However, underneath the harsh appearance of Cal, there is a yearning desire to live a good life. He genuinely loves his brother Aron and desires to protect his weaker sibling. In one of the nights, he cries out and prays to God to help him be suitable for both his thoughts and actions. After understanding his father better, Cal is devoted to helping him recover some of the funds lost in his business venture and commit his time to makeover twenty thousand dollars.
Before his death, Adam blesses his only living son and gives him the opportunity to live his life, either evil or good from that moment onwards. Although he has made mistakes throughout his life, Cal now understands his father loves him, and he can live his life righteously. He decides to live a good life and start with self-acceptance and self-love. Therefore, after he realized he would make very many mistakes in life, which is common to all human beings, Cal is able to dedicate his life to living the best of it so as to be remembered as a good person. Thus, he was accepted by his father Abra, his brother Aron, his mother, and found the love for which he had struggled to get for too long.
In both Cathy and Cal, the entire story of humankind unfolds in the search for love, the feeling of rejection, hopelessness, and ultimately the acceptance of their individuality. Steinbeck successfully crafted a novel with a storyline that will endure for many generations because of its honesty, truth, and reflection on humankind and the constant perpetual battle between the good and the evil. For example, by understanding Cal’s actions through psychoanalysis and philosophy analysis, one can get a better understanding of why individuals are often caught in the darkness instead of evil, yet they know there are severe penalties in the darkness. Indeed, darkness and light are all necessary for our growth and maturity as we strive for contentment.
Works Cited
Ady, Michael P. An analysis of John Steinbeck’s novel “East of Eden” using Northrop Frye’s theory of archetypes. California State University, Dominguez Hills, 2010.
Bayley, Elisabeth. “Mimesis, desire, and lack in John Steinbeck’s East of Eden.” East of Eden.
Bible, Holy, et al. “King James Version Bible.” (2013).
Brill Rodopi, 2013. 145-166.
Steinbeck, John. East of Eden. Penguin, 2002.