East of Eden Analysis

AP Language
Monday, October 14, 2013

East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Humans are in an internal war of good and evil. John Steinbeck, the author of East of Eden, used the internal conflict of virtue and vice in the development of his characters. While some characters have evil in their souls, others have a passion of good. In the case of the novel being biblically allegorical, the ironies of the symbols and situations may cause one to psychoanalyze the initial intention of Steinbeck in writing the story. Steinbeck is creating somewhat of a bible for his children, as he is God and the characters represent people in the bible. He is sewing the seeds for a place mark of today that started yesterday. As Steinbeck stated in the novel, "We have only one story." (Steinbeck, John, East of Eden, 415) The evolution of the characters are based off of Steinbeck's 'story', his story, the only story he knows, that caused the quarrel within himself to choose a side of good or evil. I am certain that underneath the top layers of frailty in humans, yearns the drive to be good. But, evil prevails.
The concept of virtue and vice in society is warped in Steinbeck’s opinion. “It would be absurd if we did not understand both angels and devils since we invented them.” (East of Eden, 132) The creation of angels and devils comes from man. Despite the fact the author mentioned angels in this quote, I believe the context of this quote and the reoccurring theme of the novel implies that devils are the ‘invented’ he speaks of. Angels are the balance of the devil, except there are more devilish personas and dispositions in the novel. Steinbeck continues to give the yin and the yang, the positive and the negative, the balance of his own psychological battles.

At the point conscious thinking occurs in a human, the clash of morality as well as immorality occurs almost spontaneously. “They were not pure, but they had the potential to be, like a soiled white shirt” (East of Eden, 217) Every man possesses the ability to angelic, but it is up to the man himself to consummate and channel that quality. The unnatural teaching of good and the instinctual human creates the internal battle and Steinbeck, well aware of these odd but natural occurrences, uses the characters in the novel to act out a drama of complex substitutions and replacements in his ‘story’. The notion of Steinbeck creating these characters out of his own personal dissension allows the reader to understand the dispute between what he is, and what he wants to be. Sometimes the evil in someone may conquer the drive of goodness within themselves. “Maybe we all have in us a secret pond where evil and ugly things…grow strong… might it not be that in the dark pools of some men the evil grows strong enough to ... swim free?”(133) Because of the fact that Steinbeck consistently has a doubtful, questioning tone when speaking of the natural wickedness in humans shows the doubtfulness he has in himself. Is it a possibility that humans are naturally evil? Yes. It is also a possibility that we have the ability to be pure, but we choose to go eastward; east of Eden, east of all great-doings and into eternal hell and evil. It would be appropriate to agree with Steinbeck’s initial quote. Everyone has a story of who they are and that ‘story’ predicates the choice you make and the life you live. John Steinbeck wrote the novel, self-reflected, and noticed his own demons within himself. Thus the creation of characters to mirror his thoughts of whom he truly is. As the narrator, John Steinbeck takes on the role of God while each and every character depicts his iniquitous and moral qualities.