East Of Eden Analysis

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In what ways can lessons learned by the character of a story affect the reader? In East of Eden by John Steinbeck, there are two generations of twin brothers introduced, Adam and Charles, and Aron and Cal. Adam and Charles, the older generation of brothers, face many family obstacles. Later, one of the brothers, Adam, has two twin boys of his own, Cal and Aron. These boys face similar conflicts throughout their lives together. These struggles help teach the reader several lessons including ones involving jealousy, parents, rejection, and the idea of timshel. As the story develops and the characters learn valuable life lessons through experience, the reader is also affected by these themes and can grow as well. One lesson that can be learned …show more content…

While reading about Cal’s rejection, the reader learns a tough lesson about how painful rejection can be. The worst thing that could possibly happen to a child is growing up without the feeling of being loved and cared for by a parent. Children instinctively see parents as someone who will give the world for them; when this is not the case, they feel rejected and unloved. All Cal wants is for his father to love him and believe in him. However, Adam makes it very clear that he likes Aron better, despite the fact that Cal cares for his father much more than Aron does. Steinbeck writes, "The greatest terror a child can have is that he is not loved, and rejection is the hell he fears…And with rejection comes anger, and with anger some kind of crime in revenge for the rejection, and with the crime guilt—and there is the story of mankind…if rejection could be amputated, the human would not be what he is” (268). This quote is entirely correct and all prove true with Cal. Since Cal constantly has this pain of rejection from his father, he experiences anger and the need for revenge on his brother. In the end, this anger becomes too much to carry and Cal ends up showing Aron Cathy, the biggest mistake in his life. However, through all this pain built up over the years, Cal can only see what he wants to do in the heat of the moment, not the consequences that he will face in the

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