East Of Eden By John Steinbeck: Chapter Analysis
East of Eden by John Steinbeck has copious amounts of connecting plots, important details, symbolism, and major foreshadowing. The chapter that best represents themes and foreshadowing with subtle symbolism, therefore making it one of the most important chapters in the book, is chapter twenty-four. Indeed, it is one of the most important chapters in the entire book because it further develops the story and sets the stage for Cal and Aron’s drama. The chapter begins with Samuel Hamilton visiting the Trask place after he has resigned himself to death. As Samuel speaks with Adam Trask with fallow land in the background (a symbol of Adam’s state of mind), he makes a remarkable allusion to Shakespeare. Samuel tells Adam, “Maybe you’re playing
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When the Trasks and Samuel sit down for dinner, Aron eagerly tells their guest about hares he is raising (an allusion to Abel’s lambs). However, his brother Cal says, “Next year my father is going to let me have an acre in the flat,” (Steinbeck 298) hinting that not only is he following Cain’s footsteps, but also that his father is, perhaps unknowingly, helping him along. Later in the novel, the author will make Adam’s preference for Aron obvious. It is the very foundation of Cal’s inner conflict with himself and with his family, but begs the question if darkness was always a part of Cal. These are the themes of nature vs. nurture and fathers and sons subtly written into a boy’s behavior. In contrast, during this period Adam is disinterested in both of his sons, and Cal has no reason to lash out because he does not feel inferior. Cal is written as a relatively normal boy and this chapter gives the reader a window into how he could have been instead of what he became. All of this ties in the themes of family, and how those things shape a human being. But the most powerful meanings come in the shape of Lee’s words. Steinbeck writes his thoughts on humanity, good vs. evil, and morality all through him. The reader is presented with all the knowledge in this chapter, and the rest of the novel plays it out. Lee continues on the story of Cain and Abel and the real translation of “thou shalt” and “do thou”
When the Trasks and Samuel sit down for dinner, Aron eagerly tells their guest about hares he is raising (an allusion to Abel’s lambs). However, his brother Cal says, “Next year my father is going to let me have an acre in the flat,” (Steinbeck 298) hinting that not only is he following Cain’s footsteps, but also that his father is, perhaps unknowingly, helping him along. Later in the novel, the author will make Adam’s preference for Aron obvious. It is the very foundation of Cal’s inner conflict with himself and with his family, but begs the question if darkness was always a part of Cal. These are the themes of nature vs. nurture and fathers and sons subtly written into a boy’s behavior. In contrast, during this period Adam is disinterested in both of his sons, and Cal has no reason to lash out because he does not feel inferior. Cal is written as a relatively normal boy and this chapter gives the reader a window into how he could have been instead of what he became. All of this ties in the themes of family, and how those things shape a human being. But the most powerful meanings come in the shape of Lee’s words. Steinbeck writes his thoughts on humanity, good vs. evil, and morality all through him. The reader is presented with all the knowledge in this chapter, and the rest of the novel plays it out. Lee continues on the story of Cain and Abel and the real translation of “thou shalt” and “do thou”