East of Eden

Title: East of Eden
Author: John Steinbeck
Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary (with spoilers):
East of Eden chronicles the stories of two families, the Trasks and the Hamiltons, while repeating the motif of Cain and Abel throughout the book. The story begins with Adam Trask, who is born to a solider who trains Adam for the army. Adam's brother, Charles, is jealous that their father loves Adam best, so Charles attempts to kill Adam. (Here is the first instance of the Cain and Abel story.) Adam joins the army, and after many years makes it back to the farm to live with Charles. When their father dies, the men inherit a large sum.

Cathy is a sociopath who murders her parents, flees her home, and gets involved with a criminal. When the criminal beats her up and leaves her for dead, she crawls over to the doorstep of Adam and Charles. Adam nurses Cathy back to health and marries her, but she sustains a scar on her forehead. They move to the Salinas Valley in California.

Samuel Hamilton is an Irish farmer with big ideas and a large family. When Adam moves to the Salinas Valley, Samuel befriends Adam, although he realizes something is not quite right with Cathy. Cathy becomes pregnant and gives birth to twins. She decides to leave Adam, and when he tries to stop her in his confusion, she shoots him in the shoulder. (Hence the second instance of the Cain and Abel story.)

Cathy moves to Salinas (the city) and begins to work for a house of ill repute, eventually killing the owner and taking charge of the house. Meanwhile, Adam is depressed, and his servant Lee raises the twins. (There is a great scene where Samuel forces Adam to pick names for the children, and we see the beginnings of the third instance of the Cain and Abel story.) Lee is a thoroughly interesting and complex character, who is often judged for being Chinese and, in the beginning of the book, speaks a pidgin dialect with everyone but Samuel.

When Samuel Hamilton dies, Adam goes to Salinas for the funeral. He gets really drunk and visits Cathy. Adam realizes that Cathy no longer has a hold over him.

The twins, at this point, are about 11 years old. Aron is a friendly and well-liked boy, while Caleb is less favored and has flashes of cruelty. Some visitors come to the farm, bringing Abra, a cool-headed girl who Aron soon decides to marry. On the advice of the Abra's parents, Adam decides to move to Salinas. Aron and Abra meet up in Salinas, and while their engagement begins as childhood play, it becomes more serious as they get older. However, Aron is self-involved in many ways. Perhaps Lee describes Aron best when he says that Aron's purity and goodness are often selfish. For example, Aron considers joining the ministry and not marrying Abra.

Cal learns the truth about his mother and goes to see her. Adam and Cal continue to keep the truth from Aron, to protect him. Aron finishes high school a year early and goes to Stanford, although he doesn't like it there. He writes love letters to Abra, but she feels that Aron is really writing about himself. When Adam loses the majority of his fortune on an attempt to ship lettuce across the country, Cal earns the money back with help from Will Hamilton. During Thanksgiving, Cal gives the money to Adam, who won't accept the gift. Hurt and bewildered, Cal takes Aron to see their mother. Aron freaks out and run offs, then joins the army.

Cathy commits suicide, and Adam has a stroke when he hears of her death. Abra declares her love for Cal, in part because he isn't perfect, and they start dating. A letter arrives with the news that Aron is dead, which gives Adam another stroke. Cal reveals why Aron left for the army. Lee begs Adam to give some sign that he has forgiven Cal, even though it is difficult for Adam to speak. Adam manages one word, "timshel," which means "thou mayest." This resonates with an early episode in the book, implying that Cal has the ability to overcome whatever evil is in him.

My Thoughts:
This book is a masterpiece. The characters are complex and believable. The plot is exciting and layered. In summary, this book has everything that a good book should. Steinbeck describes the inner motivations of the characters with the skill of a master writer.

Throughout the book, we see the Cain and Abel theme reemerge for different characters in a satisfying way. I found the theological discussions of Lee, Samuel, and Adam particularly interesting. Steinbeck is always questioning the nature of evil. Where does it come from? Do we have the choice to overcome it (like with Cal and the idea of "timshel")?

The characterization of Aron and Cal invites analysis. Although Aron is the more well-liked brother, he is less complex than Cal. While Cal suffers over his idea of self and struggles to be a good person, Aron has a righteous goodness about him, which doesn't leave room for ambiguity or difficulties in others. (In some ways, Aron's attitude mirrors Adam's first view of Cathy. Although she tried to tell him that she didn't want to move to Salinas or stay with him, Adam refused to hear it, imagining Cathy to be the picture of a perfect wife.) Aron's biggest struggle comes when he moves to Stanford, but even then, it is a superficial struggle. When college does not live up to Aron's fanciful expectations, Aron moves off campus and instead idolizes Abra. Aron also does not have the patience for ambiguity in others. He expects Abra to be perfect, an expectation that she can in no way live up to. When Aron discovers the truth about his mother, it shatters his view of the world, and he can't handle it.

Cal, on the other hand, sees the cruelty in himself and battles to be a better person. He simultaneously loves his brother for his goodness and hates his brother too, because life seems so easy for him. Cal often tries to do the right thing, but he is confused about how to do it. For example, when Cal tries to give the money to his father, he wants to show his father that he loves him. (Although even this action is complex, for Cal admits that a part of him hopes he can buy Adam's love.) Later, Cal burns the money. Cal doesn't realize that being good doesn't have to be such a grand gesture or that it doesn't have to involve his suffering. Although on the surface Aron is easier to like, Abra realizes that Cal is actually less selfish and more in touch with the world.

In my summary of the book, I didn't talk much about the Hamilton family. Although those characters are well drawn, most of them remain in the sideline of the plot. Their stories are more vignettes that add flavor to the work as a whole.

I have nothing but praise for this book. It was a wonderful read.