Steinbeck’s Magnum Opus: East of Eden

Centennial Edition of East of Eden. This is the copy that I have.

John Steinbeck, a celebrated American author and Nobel Prize winner of Literature (1962), has written some of the most recognizable works in modern American literature. Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men are most likely names that you’ve heard of. The Nobel Prize asserts that the 1962 award was “for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humour and keen social perception”, a sentiment echoed by many others. A  great deal of his works takes place in California, Steinbeck’s home state. In particular, the book he considered to be his ultimate test, East of Eden, focuses on Steinbeck’s Salinas Valley in Central California. 

This novel is one of my favorite books that I’ve read so far, up there with Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, any work by Han Kang, Dickens, and more. Today’s article is going to be a quick summary and an expansion on themes from the book that I enjoyed the most.

East of Eden

The narrative follows two families, the Hamiltons and the Trasks. East of Eden is a mix of both nonfiction and fiction; a created story embedded with Steinbeck’s recollections of the Salinas Valley and his ancestors. It is a family saga, following generations of people, similar to Isabel Allende’s The House of The Spirits. East of Eden is considered to be a generational epic, as it spans roughly three generations of the same family, following their individual voices. Black and white, it can be seen as a commentary on good versus evil. Of course, that’s just a surface-level observation. More obviously, the story mirrors the biblical story of Cain and Abel, reflective in some of the central characters like Cal and Aron, or their father, Adam and his brother Charles. This parallelism is the foundation of the novel’s message.

In the Book of Genesis, Cain and Abel are the first sons of Adam and Eve. Cain a farmer and Abel a shepherd. Both brothers made sacrifices to God, with Cain offering up “the fruit of the ground” while Abel offered up the “firstlings of his flock.” However, God didn’t show any regard to Cain, and accepted Abel’s, stoking bitterness and jealousy in Cain. He killed his brother Abel, committing the sin of murder, which led him to be exiled to the land of Nod, said to be located east of Eden (where Steinbeck got the title from). Cain had become the first murderer, and some say Abel was the first martyr. There have been many interpretations of their story, with some focusing on general themes like jealousy or on the fratricide. It’s been referenced for ages, and can be seen in some Shakespearean works (Hamlet!). Steinbeck also drew from the story, and in the novel, the first resemblance of Cain and Abel is seen in the relationship between Adam and Charles, though it becomes more pronounced in the dynamic between the twins (Adam’s sons with Kathy) Cal and Aron. Perhaps the most prevalent idea in the book is that “evil is inherited”, because the characters all grapple with the notion of “good” and “evil”. 

How can you be good? This is the question that Cal Trask struggles with, as he tries to win his father’s attention. His feelings of inadequacy and deprecation are amplified by Aron, who is naturally pure and good. Unlike Cal, Aron never hesitates to do the right thing. Though Cal feels a fierce love for Aron, that love only makes him feel guiltier for harboring his feelings of jealousy. Unfortunately, Adam also shows preferential treatment towards Aron. Despite all of this, Cal desperately tries to be good, a goal he chases throughout his life. Cal and Aron play out the story of Cain and Abel in their own way, and this is central to the novel because it sets up the stage for Steinbeck’s overall theme. The idea of redemption and change.

“Timshel”.” A term popularized by Steinbeck himself, it represents the core of East of Eden. In a discussion between the characters of Lee, Samuel, and Adam, they talk about the different translations of the word and the significance of each. In particular, Lee argues that the translation of “timshel” to “Thou Mayest” indicates that man has a choice, as “he can choose his course and fight through it and win.” People can overcome and conquer their tribulations, on their own accord. Although the novel does put forward the thought that evil is an innate part of humanity, East of Eden insists that individuals have the ability to conquer evil. That resolution is given to Cal, who out of all the characters in the novel, struggled the hardest with his moral destiny. 

“Now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good.” 

The struggle between the two extremes of good and evil was not vanquished; and East of Eden posits that this battle will be continued by future generations. Yet, the message of hope is still there. I highly recommend reading the book if you haven’t, as the story is thought-provoking and  holds several messages that may resonate with you. If you’re not a bookish-type of person, there’s a film version that was made in 1955, an epic period drama film with James Dean as Cal Trask. It was named as one of the 400 best American films ever made by the American Film Institute, and has been preserved since 2016 in the U.S. National Film Registry (selected by the Library of Congress). Happy reading/watching!