Book under discussion:
East of Eden
- John Steinbeck
Steinbeck began working on the book in 1948,
calling it "Salinas Valley."
He wrote that he "would like to stop everything
to do a long novel that I have been working on
the notes for a long time."
In 1949-somewhat recovered from a painful
divorce-he was still thinking of the novel as "Salinas Valley."
But in 1951 he was calling it East of Eden.
The book was published in 1952.
Why would "Salinas Valley" be an apt title for the book?
And why might East of Eden be a better title?
Note how Chapter 1 depends on a number of contrasts.
Cite several and discuss what such contrasts suggest.
Steinbeck wrote in Journal of a Novel,
the journal he kept while writing the novel,
for example, that this was to be a story "of good and evil,
of strength and weakness, of love and hate,
of beauty and ugliness-the inseparable mutually dependent
pairings out of which 'creativeness' is born."
How does this opening chapter suggest the epic scope of the novel?
And why might readers resist his language about
the history of California?
What might be his purpose in telling the state's history thus?
In Journal of a Novel, Steinbeck writes that
"I want to make this book so simple in its difficulty
that a child can understand it."
What does he mean by that?
It's certainly not a child's story.
But he said something similar about
The Red Pony and Of Mice and Men-that he wanted
these books to have a similar clarity of outline and expression.
In his journal Steinbeck wrote:
"I have purged myself of the bitterness that
made me suspicious of the self, the 'I';
you see before you the composite of a real past
(a history of limited, imaginative Hamiltons)
and a fictional present (fable of Trasks).
I am whole and free and know that art and life depend on the lonely,
anguished, solitary effort."
Some significant information is conveyed in that quote:
that his is a double-stranded narrative, with one strand biographical,
one symbolic (the C and A characters that suggest
the Cain and Abel story from the Bible).
And he admits that a character "Steinbeck"
will be a part of the story-the I
that frequently interrupts the narrative.
Comment on the impact of that "I"
and why Steinbeck chooses to place "a character Steinbeck",
who expresses uncertainties and doubts, in the novel.
The Trasks are, as he said, his "symbol people."
As Steinbeck re-envisions the story of Cain and Abel,
it seems that he is sketching "A" people who are good
and "C" people who are evil.
But even in the beginning of the novel,
is that pattern entirely fixed?
Is Cyrus a bad father?
Is Charles completely evil?
Is Adam a convincing character?
An admirable one? Is his goodness believable?
In his journal, Steinbeck wrote:
"I think you will recognise that the Hamilton sections
are much more difficult than the Trask sections.
For the Trask chapters flow along in chronological
story while the Hamilton chapters which play
counterpoint are put together with millions of little pieces,
matched and discarded.
Also I am playing all around in time with the Hamilton sections.
By this method I hope to get over a kind
of veracity which would be impossible with straight-line narrative."
Steinbeck had two sons by his second wife, Gwyn,
and he was separated from those sons by his 1948 divorce.
This book was written for them, and it is a novel about
fathers and sons. Discuss.
In Journal of a Novel, Steinbeck wrote this about
the letter from Charles to Adam:
"The letter written by Charles to Adam is a very tricky one
and it has in it, concealed but certainly there, a number of keys.
I recommend that you read it very carefully-very carefully because
if you miss this, you will miss a great deal of this book
and maybe will not pick it up until much later..."
What did he mean by that comment?
In contrast to the Trasks, what values are important in
the Hamilton stories?
What kinds of contrasts is he setting up with the two stories?
Is Sam Hamilton-based on Steinbeck's own grandfather
(a man whom the author did not know well,
since he died when Steinbeck was a toddler)-a good father?
In what ways is he an admirable man?
What is his role in the novel?
Cathy is, of course, the character in the book
who is perhaps the most fascinating and horrifying.
Note the ways that Steinbeck as "I" narrator introduces
her in early chapters-first as a monster and then,
rereading the "text" of her, revising his opinion.
Why does he do so?
What point is he making when he asks the reader to
shift his/her judgment of Cathy?
("It doesn't matter that Cathy is a monster...")
Look up the meaning of "metafiction."
This may be the first novel of metafiction in twentieth century
American literature.
Discuss qualities of the self-reflexive, self-conscious novel.
Note the number of texts in the novel.
It's a book about the nature of the creative process. Discuss.
Why is Cathy suspicious of Lee, of Samuel and of his wife? Explain.
What are Lee's roles in the novel?
Why does Steinbeck include the story about his mother?
Does Cathy change in the course of the novel?
In the last section, the book becomes Cal's story,
as he struggles with his own "badness."
Is he to blame for telling his brother about his mother?
Why is Kate fascinated with Aron? Why does she leave him money?
Discuss the various money-giving scenes in the novel and what they mean.
What is the significance of Kate's story?
Why does Steinbeck tell her history in such depth?
What is the significance of Abra and her background.
Why can't she tolerate Aron?
Why is she attracted to Cal? To Lee? To Adam?
What is the meaning of the ending,
of the insistence of the words spoken.
Several critics have noted that Steinbeck may not have
had his translation "thou mayest" correct.
Does it matter?
Must the phrase be "thou mayest" in this
rendition of the Cain and Abel story?
