Comparative Essay of East of Eden and One Hundred Years of Solitude

Unattainable Perfection Everything is ruined if an eye is not kept on the entire picture of the situation. The novel East of Eden, by John Steinbeck, and the novel One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel García Márquez, both emphasize the negative outcomes that are met during the futile attempt to create a perfect world. Attempting to create a world where everything runs without difficulty can be extremely difficult in itself. Characters use land as an output when they are put in these difficult situations that cause overwhelming emotions. War is used as a distraction for characters who find themselves in unbearable situations and as an attempt to develop their character in positive ways. The authors also both create the idea that the negative character traits of the person attempting to create this world, are passed down through future generations, creating not only a struggle for the first generation, but also for those who follow. Both novels explore the idea of a Garden of Eden on Earth, and thoroughly demonstrate the greatest achievements and ultimate downfalls of individual characters and how it affects not only them, but also the world around them. Firstly, when characters are put into difficult situations, they use land as an output for their overwhelming emotions. To begin, these emotions certainly lead to a negative mental outcome. Once Adam Trask from East of Eden is focused on creatinghis idea of his perfect garden, he looses sight of everything that is happening around him. He is oblivious to the fact that his brother is begging him to stay, and has no recollection that his wife does not intend to stay with him if he moves. Adam wants to make this garden to share with his loved ones, and even if he moves to California and accomplishes this dream, he will have no one to support him or to share it with. The idea of loosing focus of the other important situations taking place around the character can also be seen with José Arcadio Buendía from One

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