East of Eden (novel)

East of Eden

First edition cover First edition cover
Author	John Steinbeck
Language	English
Genre	Novel
Publisher	The Viking Press
Publication date	September 1952
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
ISBN	NA

For other uses, see East of Eden (novel) (disambiguation).

East of Eden is a novel by Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck, published in September 1952.

Often described as Steinbeck's most ambitious novel, East of Eden brings to life the intricate details of two families, the Trasks and the Hamiltons, and their interwoven stories. The novel was originally addressed to Steinbeck's young sons, Thom and John (then 6½ and 4½ respectively). Steinbeck wanted to describe the Salinas Valley for them in detail: the sights, sounds, smells, and colors.

According to his last wife Elaine, he considered this to be a requiem for himself—his greatest novel ever. Steinbeck states about East of Eden: "It has everything in it I have been able to learn about my craft or profession in all these years." He further claimed: "I think everything else I have written has been, in a sense, practice for this."

Elaine, in looking back on the year that he worked on the book, said that his work on the novel affected him deeply. Perhaps the best way to put it would be to say that it was the last stage in putting himself back together after the years that had torn him apart.

Plot summary

Template:Spoiler The story is primarily set in the Salinas Valley, California, between the beginning of the 20th century and the end of World War I, though some chapters are in Connecticut and Massachusetts, and the story goes as far back as the American Civil War.

Adam Trask, after a tumultuous childhood in the East and enduring harsh treatment from his younger brother, Charles, spends his time either in the military or wandering the country. While visiting his brother at the family farm in Connecticut, they find a viciously beaten woman on their doorstep. Adam falls in love with her, and soon marries her, failing to recognize her as an innately evil woman.

Samuel Hamilton and his wife Liza, immigrants from Ireland, raise their nine children on the rough unfertile hillside. As the Hamilton children leave the nest, Adam Trask, newly wed and newly rich after inheriting considerable wealth from his deceased father, Cyrus Trask, settles with a pregnant Cathy into a large and fertile plot near Samuel Hamilton's. After Cathy gives birth to twins, she shoots Adam in the shoulder and flees. Adam recovers and raises his children with the help of his Cantonese cook, Lee, and Samuel Hamilton, who is a regular visitor.

Meanwhile, Cathy becomes a prostitute in a brothel in the city, renaming herself Kate to avoid recognition, and evenutally becomes the owner of the most "respectable" brothel in the area after killing its former owner Faye. Kate makes the brothel infamous for its brutal treatment of clients.

Adam's sons, named Caleb (Cal) and Aron—after their namesakes in the Bible—grow up oblivious of their mother's situation, with Cal pursuing a career in business with Will Hamilton, one of Samuel's sons, and with Aron going to college to become an Episcopalian priest. Cal finds out about his mother from a drunken acquaintance of his father, and goes to meet her; Kate learns of her two children, and recognizes Cal's similarity to her in terms of mindset.

Adam becomes inspired by Samuel Hamilton's inventiveness and begins to come up with ideas on how to transport produce across the country using ice on trains. The plan fails, causing Adam and his family, now living in Salinas, to lose most of their wealth. To give a gift to his father—admittedly to buy his father's love—Cal works with Will Hamilton to make his father's money back, capitalizing on the First World War by selling dehydrated beans (grown in the Salinas Valley).

Aron returns from college for Thanksgiving. At dinner, Cal gives his father the money, but Adam refuses to accept the money and tells him to give it back. Adam added that Aron's gift was living a good life, which he wished for Cal to do. Cal tells his brother about their mother, who is devastated by the news (he was under the belief that she died and was buried on the East Coast) and enlists in the army to fight in World War I. Aron is killed in battle and Adam has a brain haemorrhage as a result. The novel ends with Adam saying timshel! (Hebrew for 'Thou Mayest', alluding to the point that Cal has the ability to conquer his meanness). Template:Spoiler-end

Major themes

The book explores themes of depravity and beneficence, love and the struggle for acceptance, greatness and the capacity for self-destruction, and especially of guilt and freedom. It ties these themes together with references to, and many parallels with the biblical Book of Genesis (especially Genesis Chapter 4, the story of Cain and Abel).

Steinbeck's inspiration for the novel comes from the fourth chapter of Genesis, verses one through sixteen, which recounts the story of Cain and Abel. The title, East of Eden, was chosen by Steinbeck from Genesis, Chapter 4, verse 16: "And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden" (King James Version).

Steinbeck's allusion to Cain and Abel is furthered by the naming of the Trask family; the first letters of the names of the brothers are in match throughout the generations (Charles and Adam, Cal and Aron).

Some of the biblical parallels include:

Book of Genesis, Cain and Abel	East of Eden, Charles and Adam	East of Eden, Caleb and Aron
Cain is a "worker of the ground"; Abel is a "keeper of sheep" (Gen. 4:2, ESV).	Charles is a farmer who works diligently even after he inherits considerable wealth from his father, Cyrus.	Caleb invests in bean crops. Aron vies to become a priest, who are commonly compared with shepherds.
God rejects Cain's gift of crops in favor of Abel's lamb (Gen. 4:3, ESV).	Cyrus prefers the gift from his son Adam (a stray puppy) over the gift from his other son Charles (an expensive knife).	Adam rejects his son Cal's money and would rather he lead a good life like Aron.
After rejection from God, Cain kills Abel (Gen. 4:8, ESV).	After being rejected by their father, Charles attacks Adam and beats him nearly to death.	After Adam rejects Cal's money, Cal informs Aron of their mothers' brothel. Aron, distraught, enlists in the war and gets killed.
God put a mark on Cain to deter others from killing him (Gen. 4:15, ESV).	Charles receives a dark scar on his forehead while trying to move a boulder from his fields.	Cal is described as having a more dark and sinister appearance than Aron.

File:East of eden.jpg

Recent edition cover

Writing "East of Eden"

As he was writing the novel, Steinbeck went through a number of possible titles for the book, including "The Salinas Valley", which was the working title from the beginning, "My Valley", after a Texas businessman suggested he make it more universal, "Down to the Valley", and then, after he decided to incorporate the Biblical allusion directly into the title, "Cain Sign". It was only upon transcribing the 16 verses of Cain and Abel in the text itself that he enthusiastically took the last three words of the final verse, "East of Eden", as the novel's title.

The book did not go well with the critics, who found the novel heavy-handed and unconvincing in its use of Biblical allusion. Nevertheless it became an instant best-seller in November of 1952, a mere month after it was released, and is now considered one of Steinbeck's finest achievements.

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

The book was adapted for cinema in the 1955 film East of Eden by director Elia Kazan, and starring James Dean, Julie Harris, Richard Davalos, Raymond Massey, Jo Van Fleet, and Burl Ives. The movie deals with the second half of the book, hence Dean acts the part of Adam's son Cal while Davalos plays Aron, Cal's twin brother.

In 1981, a TV miniseries was aired, more faithful to the novel. It starred Timothy Bottoms, Jane Seymour, Bruce Boxleitner, Karen Allen, Warren Oates, Howard Duff, and Anne Baxter.

Universal Pictures is scheduled to produce another remake of the novel, directed by Ron Howard for a tentative release in 2007.

Popular Culture

• Matt Costa's "Ballad of Miss Kate" is based on Cathy Ames.

External links

Summaries and Discussion

The following pages contain chapter summaries, anaylses (of themes, symbolism, and motifs), and/or character profiles:

• Steven Jacowski on East of Eden Background information; character information; discussion/review.
• SparkNotes: East of Eden Chapter summaries; character information; analyses of themes, motifs, and symbols; quotations.
• NovelGuide: East of Eden Chapter summaries; character information; analyses of metaphors and themes; quotations
• GradeSaver: ClassicNote: East of Eden Chapter summaries; character information; analysis of themes.
• Google Patents The character Samuel Hamilton (Steinbeck's maternal grandfather), as referenced in the novel, has three patents associated with him: a Thrashing-Machine, a Header Spring and a Plowshare Attachment.