East Of Eden Theme Essay

In Part 4 of East of Eden, by John Steinbeck, the character Lee is one of the most important characters in determining the final path of the story, because of the influence he has on seemingly every major character and his role in introducing the novel’s key themes. When first meeting Lee in the story he creates the impression of a one dimensional character. He is introduced as Adam’s dutiful servant and speaks a hard to understand pidgin English dialect. However, this first impressions of Lee couldn't be more wrong. Throughout the book we learn he is a smart and thoughtful character, only speaking pidgin for protection against being a Chinese-English person living in California. Eventually he has a positive influence on many of the characters, and is ultimately a conduit for many of the themes portrayed in East of Eden.
Lee is first introduced when the newlyweds, Adam and Cathy Trask, travel to Salinas and move into the old Sanchez
evil is not only shown in East of Eden, or in all literature for that matter, but it is also a theme in life. Toni Morrison, recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature, suggested this about goodness, “an act of selflessness that can be taught and learned; as narcissism driven by a desire to think well of oneself; and as an inherent, embedded gene. No discussion of goodness is complete, she added, without a consideration of evil” (The Harvard Crimson). Morrison also goes onto to talk about an interesting school shooting that took place in an Amish community where the community forgave the shooter and wanted the best for him. This in an interesting parallel to Lee in East of Eden. Lee realized that Cathy was born pure evil, it is in her DNA and she has no desire for goodness. Where Cal’s concerned, Lee can see that has has the desire for goodness and because of this he should be forgiven and helped. Lee sees both evil and good struggling to escape in Cal, but gives him the guidance he needs to let goodness