Good, Evil, and The Power of Choice: A Review of “East of Eden”

The Penguin Classics modern print of East of Eden. The sturdy paperback advertises the creation of the upcoming Netflix adaptation of the novel. The book’s placement among foliage emphasizes the book’s natural motifs and the origin of the book’s title being a description of Adam’s garden. Photo Credits: Isaac James

Isaac James, Community Desk Lead for The Powderhorn

Most students at Watauga are likely familiar with the great novelist John Steinbeck. In freshmen English, many will read his book “Of Mice and Men” as a part of the curriculum. Packed full of his signature prose, the book is often thought of as an introduction piece to the world of Steinbeck. Having grown up in the region himself, Steinbeck’s vivid depictions of California’s central coast region, the setting for the majority of his most famous works, are remarkable in their ability to transport a reader to a completely different time and place. 

It’s this poetic and idyllic style of writing that leaves countless readers intrigued after “Of Mice and Men.” Of Steinbeck’s works, one of the most popular next choices is his landmark achievement “East of Eden”.

One of the biggest distinctions between “East of Eden” and “Of Mice and Men” is the length of each novel. “Of Mice and Men” is known for its brevity, clocking in at only about 100 pages. “East of Eden,” on the other hand, is more than 600 pages. This page length is actually one of the book’s greatest strengths. The book is often billed as a “saga,” and the length of the book lends credence to that title. Over the course of the book, readers become immersed further and further into the story, the characters, and the setting of the Salinas Valley with each turn of the page. “East of Eden” is widely regarded as a book of characters, and those 600 pages are exactly what Steinbeck needed to bring those characters to life. 

The main characters of “East of Eden” are Adam Trask and Samuel Hamilton, with the book chronicling the stories of their families. The book begins with a poetic description of the Salinas Valley setting, before introducing the Hamilton family and their rugged life in the valley. Samuel Hamilton is the head of the family, a gregarious and humorous Irishman who is loved voraciously by all those who know him. Hamilton is creative and incredibly clever but is unable to bring his family out of a cycle of poverty on their arid plot of land. After introducing the Hamiltons, Steinbeck brings the book across the continent with the Trask family in New England. 

The Trask family consists of Cyrus Trask, a harsh and dishonest Civil War veteran, his wife, and his children Adam and Charles. Charles is a violent young child, constantly tormenting his brother Adam, in large part due to jealousy of Cyrus’s favoritism towards Adam. 

The story centers around the Trask family for much of the beginning stages of the book, as the reader grows old with the brothers. It’s around this time that a third storyline is introduced, that of Cathy Ames. Ames later becomes Adam’s wife under a series of circumstances, and she serves as the novel’s main antagonist. Her role as an antagonist, though, is often debated, with some readers fighting against the depiction of her as the book’s manifestation of evil. What can’t be argued though, is that Ames is one of the most frightening characters in American literature. Steinbeck’s ability to defy your worst expectations makes her one of the most exciting and simultaneously dreadful characters in any book.

Steinbeck’s inclusion of “evil” and “good” characters is one of the many ways in which the book utilizes Biblical motifs. With a title like “East of Eden,” it comes as no surprise that Steinbeck uses Biblical allusions and allegory throughout the novel, with the story in many ways meant to mirror that of Cain and Abel. Even the names Charles and Adam Trask, and Adam’s later children Caleb and Aron, are directly meant to follow the pattern of the “C and A” naming scheme. Through these analogies the book explores sibling rivalry, the struggle between good and evil, and most importantly the power of human choice, or as Steinbeck writes it, “Timshel,” Hebrew for “Thou Mayest.” 

Steinbeck’s self-ascribed “life’s work” is one of the most beautiful and profound books in literature. The book will build you up, break you down, and build you back up again, each time more surprisingly than the last. The characters of “East of Eden” cease to be characters, instead becoming people you feel like you could really know, people you could love or hate. The ability of this book to bring characters to life is unrivaled, and for that reason the book is a must-read for anyone with an interest and some free time to pick the book up for themselves. With all of that said, though, the choice is yours to make. “Timshel.”