East of Eden is a novel by John Steinbeck, a Nobel Prize winner in literature. Steinbeck considered this work to be his “magnum opus”, his masterpiece. Touching upon complex themes such as the everlasting cycle of sin, the simple yet inextricable relationship between parents and children, and the capacity of a human soul for evil, it is rightly considered so. Lyrically written and thought-provoking, East of Eden is eerily accurate in its portrayal of humanity.
While the story may seem fragmented in its different settings at first, the characters’ tales eventually twist together. Samuel Hamilton, an honest, open-hearted farmer establishing a family in the sere land of Salinas Valley, California. Adam Trask, a mild man haunted by his childhood with a dishonest father and an abusive brother. Cathy Ames, a pretty young girl with a warped “monster” of a soul. John Steinbeck himself, the narrator, growing up with his sister Mary as a minor character.
One clear underlying theme that ties the novel together, one that many readers would relate to, would be the thirst for acceptance, and the jealousy and recklessness that results from failure to obtain it. Humans stand firm in the face of many hardships, but in many cases, all it takes is a rejection from a loved one, whether it be a father or a lover, to break them down. In East of Eden, murderous thoughts—and deeds—spring from that rage. The seemingly insignificant rejection of a gift, the sweeping aside of a sign of affection, arouse a turmoil of dark emotions in the human mind. This is a natural reaction that cannot help following the absence of gratitude and delight when it is what we yearn for. How many sins in the world would we have been able to prevent if we’d known how much one careless word could slash at another person? East of Eden portrays the devastating and startling effect of rejection with incredible vividness.
If being deprived of appreciation can spur humans into heartless evils, what else could? In the outwardly angelic, yet satanic character of Cathy Ames, Steinbeck explores the concept of evil in humans further. Cathy is described as a monster who uses her sexuality as a weapon and does not hesitate to sacrifice her family and lovers to attain what she wants. Meanwhile, other young, warmhearted men attack, banish, and murder others for their sheer want of affection. How depraved can a human heart become, and how much of it can be administered to by love?
The effortlessly graceful prose and the flowing narrative, together with vivid portrayals of scenery and characters, succeed in making East of Eden an appealing and satisfying read in spite of the heavy questions that it ponders. Exploring the ideas of destruction through sin, how it can shift forms, and how easily a person may become a slave to his own darkness, the novel is a powerful and thought-provoking piece of work. East of Eden is a true masterpiece that successfully portrays the wonders, horrors, and mysteries of the cycle of humanity.
(Published in The Sequitur, September 2019, Westdale Secondary School, Hamilton, ON)
