Trask Brothers In East Of Eden

Spanning the period between the American Civil War and World War I, East of Eden presents two generations of brothers as they battle between good and evil. The first generation consists of the placid Adam Trask and his hot-tempered brother Charles, and the second generation is made up of Adam's sons, the fair-haired, mild-mannered Aron and the dark-haired, quick-tempered Cal. Deeply influenced by the biblical story of Cain and Abel, the novel begins in California's Salinas Valley, where the young narrator was born. He recounts the story of his Irish grandparents, Samuel and Liza Hamilton, who settle in the Salinas Valley, where they meet the members of the Trask family.

The first part of the novel concerns the first generation of Trask brothers,

At heart a scholar, Lee raises the twins and remains a constant friend to his employer, Adam Trask, and to their neighbor, Samuel Hamilton, who is raising nine children himself. After a scholarly discussion with Adam and Samuel, Lee researches the Cain and Abel biblical story and proffers the novel's central concept of timshel ("thou mayest"). As the twins grow older, Aron and Cal vie for their father's affection, much as Adam and Charles did earlier. Cal is by far the more complex brother, and knows full well that his father loves Aron more because he resembles their mother. As a teenager, Cal gambles, visits brothels, and is consumed by jealousy over Abra Bacon's love for Aron. Meanwhile, Aron falls in love with Abra, who returns his childish love but realizes later on that Aron, who plans to enter the ministry, is only in love with her glorified image. The daughter of a crooked Salinas politician, Abra comes to love Cal instead, and like him, wonders whether a parent's evil nature can be inherited. In an attempt to gain his father's love, Cal decides to go into business to raise $15,000 to recover his father Adam's business losses. The monetary gift, however, results in disaster: Adam reacts violently when he learns that Cal took advantage of farmers during war-time in an effort to make the money. However, like his father before him, Adam fails to