East Of Eden Trask Family Analysis

In East of Eden, John Steinbeck, the author, introduces two families; the Hamilton family and the Trask family on Part I of the novel. The Hamilton family is warm and big, unlike the Trask family which is small and cold. The families are both run by the father; each of them raises them differently though. One through good will and the other through inheritance and rules. Although they run the family completely different, how they run it determines how their children turn out to be.
The Trask’s and Hamilton’s are led by the father, although each father runs their family its own way. Cyrus, the father of Adam and Charles Trask, “was something of a devil;” he spends only thirty minutes in the Civil War, gets shot in the leg, and after that his
The Trask boys resemble Cyrus; one favors one child over the other and one is violent. Adam Trask was the favorite of Cyrus Trask. He didn’t know how or why but he just was, and when Adam grows up to have kids, Adam favors Aaron over Caleb. Additionally, Adam did not want to take care of their children when they were born, just like Cyrus. Charles Trask “grew up with his father’s assertiveness” (Steinbeck 20). He was the athlete, always winning at everything and if he didn’t have it his way he would fight for it. Charles grows up hating his brother because his father favored Adam over him. The birthday scenario causes Charles to almost kill Adam. This type of violence is only seen in the Trask family. Unlike the Hamilton kids which grow up sweet and nice just like Samuel and Liza. The Hamiltons are four boys and five girls. The first boy being George who “was a tall handsome boy, gentle and sweet, who had from the first a kind of courtliness” (Steinbeck 38). The second boy was Will who had “little imagination but he had great energy” (Steinbeck 39). The third son was Tom who “was most like his father. He had giant joy and enthusiasms” and he “was as inventive as his father but he was bolder” (Steinbeck 40). The last son was Joseph, he was “a kind of mooning boy, greatly beloved and protected by the whole family” (Steinbeck 41). After the four boys were five girls; Una, Lizzie, Dessie,
They are big unlike small. They are warm-hearted unlike cold. They are sweet unlike violent. And they are a united family unlike split. The fathers of the two families play a tremendous role in how they shape their kids by how they run their family. Cyrus Trask raises his two boys with harsh trainings and money after he passes away. That money plays an enormous role in shaping Charles and especially Adam. That money is suspicious money; it is money that Cyrus dishonestly took from veterans when he was involved in the war. Adam did not trust his father a great deal, so when he found out about the money “his whole world falls into panic desolation” (Steinbeck 19). This news shocks Adam greatly and caused Adam to grow up resenting and distancing himself from his father. Charles always beats Adam to compete for Cyrus’s attention. The lack of affection Cyrus shows towards Charles cuts inside Charles deeply. The lack of parenting Cyrus demonstrates against Adam and Charles is a lack of affection. Although Samuel raises his nine kids with generosity and affection. Samuel does not have a penny to waste, because he is incredibly poor. On his small farm his land is not fertile and he cannot find water. Samuel finds water for everyone else but himself. He is not rich, but his kindness towards everyone sets an example and shows his kids how to behave and live. All of his children are close to him and love him dearly. The