East of Eden Group at eNotes

She is evilSteinbeck wanted to stereotype her in the most mean way...

Wed, 3 Sep 2008 15:40:43 PST

She is evilSteinbeck wanted to stereotype her in the most mean way possible. She from an early age showed signs of intelligence, and her intelligence led her to the perfect scheme to kill her parents. It also helped her realize how much of a HA(hot ass) she could be and thus helped her become a prostitute. Her intelligence lead her to do these immoral acts. But I digress. Steinbeck intended to characterize her as evil, but she isnt...

Why would anybody ever doubt? She is certainly a victim of her own...

Fri, 1 Aug 2008 08:12:27 PST

Why would anybody ever doubt? She is certainly a victim of her own environment, but since when is deprivation any excuse for immoral acts? Neglect, abandon, promiscuity, manipulation and then murder - Cathy's choices go from bad to worse. She falls to the pits when she "botoxes" her benefactress! (Botox comes from the same strain as the toxin in botulism.) As they say, the best way to make someone wish you were dead is to make...

Blending of history and fiction?

Tue, 4 Sep 2007 17:59:28 PST

Is it acceptable to blend some real history and fiction as Steinbeck has done? What passages ring true? Where do you find it lacking?

Cathy

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 19:19:22 PST

Is Cathy really evil?

East of Eden is set in Salinas Valley in California, where the story is...

Mon, 9 Jul 2007 17:10:28 PST

East of Eden is set in Salinas Valley in California, where the story is set. The characters are members of the Hamilton family; Samuel and Liza Hamilton, who immigrated to California from Ireland in the 1860s and have four sons, George, Will, Tom, and Joe. other characters include the Trask family, who live on a farm in Connecticut. Cyrus Trask works in the War Department in Washington, D.C., his sons are Adam and Charles. There is a...

East of Eden is set in Salinas Valley in California, where the story is...

Mon, 9 Jul 2007 17:09:50 PST

The main theme of the novel is Good vs. Evil, or perhaps more...

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 12:36:45 PST

The main theme of the novel is Good vs. Evil, or perhaps more specifically, the never-ending battle between Good and Evil. The Salinas Valley can be seen to represent the lands where Adam and Eve were banished after being kicked out of the Garden of Eden (East of Eden). The story's characters, like Adam and Eve and Cain and Able of the bible, are struggling with their current sins, and the sins of the past. The specific use of description by...

How does Steinbeck use landscape to illustrate the novel's major theme

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 07:32:06 PST

How does Steinbeck use landscape to illustrate the novel's major theme

Well, we can't know how close a lost manuscript was to the final version...

Sun, 4 Mar 2007 10:04:07 PST

Well, we can't know how close a lost manuscript was to the final version we have, but yes, he did in fact lose a manuscript and have to rewrite it. In fact, in a case of a cliché come to life, Steinbeck's dog ate an early manuscript of Of Mice and Men.

Did John Steinbeck write a novel, lose the manuscript, rewrite the...

Sun, 4 Mar 2007 04:13:32 PST

Did John Steinbeck write a novel, lose the manuscript, rewrite the novel, then find the original which only differed from the original by a few words?

East of Eden begins with the narrator’s description of the Salinas...

Thu, 1 Feb 2007 14:04:06 PST

East of Eden begins with the narrator’s description of the Salinas Valley in California, where the story unfolds. The next chapter introduces the Hamilton family, beginning with the narrator’s grandfather Samuel Hamilton, who during the 1860s came to California from Ireland with his wife Liza. The focus then switches to the Trask family, living on a farm in Connecticut. Cyrus Trask is a Civil War veteran who becomes a powerful man in the...

What are the first 5 chapters about in the book "East of Eden"?

Thu, 1 Feb 2007 11:12:38 PST

What are the first 5 chapters about in the book "East of Eden"?