East of Eden Blog 3 Chapters 30-44 June 12-18
These chapters are full of conflicts and struggles for the Hamiltons, the Trasks, and Cathy (Kate). Discuss the conflicts and struggles as they apply to the different characters. Themes of man’s loneliness, failure, and guilt dominate these chapters. Furthermore, we see how man searches for truth in an attempt to make sense of life’s hardships. Discuss these emerging themes in terms of the characters.
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Throughout these chapters the Hamilton’s faced many hardships and struggles that threatened to destroy the very fabric that kept them together as a family. The death of Samuel was taken hard by all his family members and even the strongest could not escape the pain of loss. Tom was separated completely from his family isolating himself on the ranch where he would wander in the wilderness and right poetry to himself. Will was becoming one of the most successful business men in the nation. Dessie’s light had gone out of her after losing her first love and she lost her glow and started to move through the motions of life without any purpose. The other Hamilton siblings had already settled down and were making lives for themselves. Tom and Dessie were lonely and lost in their lives, they had nothing to live for and it seemed to them that they were useless and no one cared or wanted them anymore. So naturally instead of being lonely alone they came together to be lonely with each other. Even after Will’s objections Dessie went to live on the ranch with Tom to try and find the light that she had lost. The first few weeks brought promises of happy lives for the both of them, but no matter how they tried to make things like they were before there was always a piece missing that could never be filled. So it all came to a head one night after Dessie had been having stomach trouble and Tom gave her the only thing he knew that would cure stomach aches. To his terror the salts Tom gave Dessie were the very things that killed her. Although Dessie death was a complete accident Tom never forgave himself and all the artificial love and happiness he and Dessie had built up was stripped away and only pain and anguish remained. Tom was filled to the brim with suffering and misery and after Dessie’s death his cup overflowed and there seemed to be nothing else to do in his lifetime so he took his own life because he could not live with the fact that his beloved sister was dead because of his actions.
ReplyDeleteLike the Hamilton’s the Trask's had a number of tough times throughout these chapters. Adam wrote to his brother to whom he had not spoken to for over ten years. His letter was answered by two lawyers explaining that Adam’s only brother Charles had died and left over one hundred thousand dollars to him and his wife Cathy. This note brought two hardships upon Adam, for one the fact that his brother was dead and the realization that he would again have to face Cathy to discuss the money left behind. Adam and Lee discussed what should be done about the money in what they thought was a closed room, when little did they know but young Cal had listened to every word that was spoken. Cal’s loss of innocence the night he found out that he truly had a mother and that she was alive and well and working as a whore in Salinas forced Cal to grow up quicker and learn that the world is not always sunshine and rainbows. Another event that affected the whole Trask family was Adam’s iced lettuce experiment. The efforts failed miserably and on top of losing almost his whole fortune his boys and he were looked down upon as fools only capable of dreaming unrealistic dreams. Though Adam brushed off the ridicule like a house fly, the insults and verbal abuse were sticking to his boys like a leech. Cal just stood firm and took the jokes and names by himself dodging them as best he could, but sensitive Aron found shelter from the storm in the arms of his beloved Abra. One of the most challenging things the Trask family had to deal with was the secrecy that surrounded the boy’s mother. As much as Adam tried to avoid the subject it always seemed to resurface. Finally the secrets were broken and everything was thrown out into the open when Cal discovered who his mother really was through the wayward words of a drunkard. But to Cal the finding of his mother was more of conformation than it was shock. Cal hid this new found knowledge in his heart not daring to release it to his delicate brother or his father in fear of breaking his family apart it was only when Lee confronted him that he spilled all that he knew. These are some of the highlights of the great adversity that the Trasks were forced to face during these chapters.
ReplyDeleteDuring these chapters Cathy is faced with the fact that’s she is not invincible and that she can be beaten. Arthritis is the disease that brings Cathy down from immortal Mount Olympus. With the appearance of the disease we see that Cathy has become uncomfortable with her once beautiful body, not only her wrinkled hands but also her overly plump gut and the collective fat dispersed throughout her whole figure. The pain of feeling and seeing her body break down is a new thing to Cathy and it strikes a hard note in her soul that she cannot get rid of. Another conflict that was brought to Cathy’s attention was the threat of being exposed as the murderer and thief she really was by Ethel who used to work for Cathy and who discovered the container of medicine in which Cathy use to kill Faye this scares her and she begins to hide within herself because she is scared of what the light of day might expose on her. The combination of her insecurity and her fear of Ethel begins Cathy down a downward slope from which there is no return.
Steinbeck’s major theme of man’s loneliness, failure, and guilt is greatly expressed through the character of Tom Hamilton. After his father’s death Tom is at a complete and absolute loss, he doesn’t know what to do with his life or where to go so he stays at the only place he is familiar with, the old ranch. For years he lives on the ranch alone with the occasional stroll into town to satisfy his sexual needs at the brothel. He spends his nights roaming about the country side with no apparent purpose and his days are filled with meaningless chores and his constant writing of poetry. Tom is totally consumed by the dark loneliness that surrounds him to the point where he will follow any spark of light and happiness he can find. Finally he finds his spark in the night, which is his beloved sister Dessie who comes bearing promises of happiness and fulfillment. Tom is distraught with the feeling of failure after he accidently killed his sister Dessie with a mixture of salts. He cannot function properly and feels that he can no longer continue living with the immense feelings of guilt and failure that surround him and so like many others he takes the only way out of his situation that he knows of, and sadly that way is suicide. The other major theme shown in these chapters is the theme of how men will search madly to find truth to make since of the hardships that they face. Steinbeck uses many characters to communicate this theme but one that really stuck out to me was the character Cathy. In her own mind Cathy was invincible to time and its evil ways that it has on men, it was only until later in her life she discovered that not even her beautiful body or clever mind could save her from the ruthlessness of time. Cathy struggled to find the truth to why things were not going her way for example in the case with Ethel , Cathy made mad attempts to try and search inside herself for what was going on with her life and why she did not seem to be in control anymore. She became a recluse and would never show herself in public due to the false truth that if she did not go out than her hardships would leave her. Contrary to her believe it was easier for her hardships to enter her head because the only thing her mind searched for was the truth in why hardships were befalling her, and she could think of nothing else but her sufferings and ultimately this destroyed the mighty fortress that was Cathy Trask.
ReplyDeleteI love this line, Moose,"instead of being lonely alone they came together to be lonely with each other." You have a way with words. I am reading Steinbeck's biography, written by one of his sons. I thought maybe Dessie had stomach ulcers, but John Steinbeck IV confesses that Dessie's apendix exploded. Yuck.
ReplyDeleteIn these chapters many conflicts transpire. First, the Hamilton family is faced with an immense amount of loss and can never seem to catch break. The first Hamilton to pass was Una which struck Samuel Hamilton the hardest. This occurrence changed him dramatically and permanently. Samuel became a different man, with a new outlook on life and he now carried an understanding that his time was short. Samuel Hamilton died shortly after and his death struck everyone he knew. After this all of the Hamilton’s were never the same. As time passed life still seemed to knock the Hamilton family down without a single break. Tom who was always a bit of a loner reached his lowest of lows. He became a very lonely man with much guilt and was constantly unhappy with his circumstances. Things got even worse for Tom after the death of his sister Dessie who too went through a hard time over the years. Dessie Hamilton was a talented dressmaker with a certain glow about her that everyone was drawn to. Her lovely incandescence slowly began to fade after a loss of love she was never open to discuss and the effects of the deaths in her family added to her troubles. Tom and Dessie decided to live together on the family ranch with hopes of finding some form of happiness together. To their dismay they never got to experience that happiness they longed for. After the accidental death of Dessie due to Tom trying to help her stomach pains all hope was lost for the Hamilton family. Tom was without a doubt a man of extreme guilt and carried the burden of his sister’s death for the rest of his life.
ReplyDeleteAnother family to face trials and tribulations in these chapters was the Trask family. Adam Trask was affected by the death of Samuel Hamilton in many ways. After his death, Adam finally built the courage to face the one person whom had kept him a prisoner in his mind for years. Adam faced Cathy and was relieved to find that she had nothing he wanted anymore. He finally saw the monster that lied within this once beautiful face and found great comfort in the fact that she was a terrible human (if that’s what you want to call her). Though it brought great joy to Adam to finally be set free from the prison chains Cathy had locked him in for so long his happiness would not last much longer. Adam found that his brother, Charles, had passed away and had left one hundred thousand dollars for Adam and his wife. Adam again had to face Cathy to discuss the money which was not something he wanted to have to do. Another devastating occurrence in the Trask family was Adam’s idea of shipping iced lettuce. He lost nearly his whole fortune doing this and brought humility to his family name. Cal and Aron were affected by this, though Aron seemed to have taken the ridicule the hardest. Aron had dreams of going to college and becoming a minister, but was scared that this dream would not come true due to his father’s mistakes. Cal was very different from his brother, physically, mentally, and emotionally. In my opinion, Cal almost seems like a father to Aron in ways. It is obvious that neither of the twins ever had that close of a relationship with their father. Cal tries to protect Aron in numerous occasions, one being the truth about their mother. Cal was introduced to the truth about his mother and followed her for quite some time before he finally met her. While the chat Cathy tries to manipulate her own flesh and blood, but fails when Cal realizes he doesn’t have to live in the shadow of his horrific mother; that he can be his own. There is also a big confrontation present near the end of these chapters between Lee and Cal.
ReplyDeleteThe struggles that start to emerge for Cathy are one’s which take a toll on her persona that she can never be defeated. Ethel, a former prostitute of Faye’s, tries to blackmail Cathy for 100 dollars a month because she knew that Cathy had been the cause of Faye’s death. Cathy agrees, but is still nervous about the possibility that Ethel would spill. Cathy saved herself from this circumstance by getting Ethel ran out of the county for theft, though the idea that Cathy can possibly lose a battle haunts her. Cathy’s meeting with her son Cal also had a big effect on her. She fails in trying to convince him that they are just alike and Cal calls her out claiming the light doesn’t hurt her eyes; that she is afraid. Cathy is scared by these simple truths and is swept over with a fear of Charles Trask after her time with Cal that she cannot explain. At this point Cathy is starting to become paranoid and is slowly coming to the realization that she is not as strong as she thought she’d always been; Cathy is not indestructible.
ReplyDeleteThe theme of guilt is most clearly visible in Tom. When Dessie died due to Tom’s misfortune, Tom died right with her. After this unfortunate death Tom’s life had completely lost all purpose and any sense of hope that lingered before had now vanquished. The guilt that now enveloped him was the only thing that was left of him; no dreams, no ambition, not even the slightest chance of being able to embrace happiness again. The theme of failure is shown through Adam after his failed attempt with the iced lettuce. This unfortunate circumstance affected his family tremendously and they never fully recuperated from his lack of success. I think the themes of guilt and failure go hand in hand. They both have detrimental effects on the lives of the individuals they overtake, and never seem to leave room for a happy ending. Loneliness affects a lot of the characters in this novel. Like I’ve stated previously mainly all of the characters have experienced some form of loneliness and I think every human does at some point in their lives. Maybe even there is always an ounce of loneliness that lingers within us all.
Yes! And I think that Steinbeck expects us to be able to relate to that loneliness to a certain degree, which gives this work a universal appeal.
ReplyDeleteIn these chapters the Hamiltons, Trasks, and Cathy all have conflicts and struggles. For the Hamilton's they struggle with death. When Tom's father dies Dessie comes to live with him and they both plan on raising money and to make a living. But soon Dessie suffered with extreme stomach pain and died. Tom then struggled with blame for his sister's death and because of that he couldn't live any longer and commited suicide. The Trask family suffers from good and evil. Adam finally becomes stronger now since he has let go of Cathy but he ends up trying to start a business by sending produce in ice carts by train. His business did not go so well and he ended up losing a lot of money. Aron and Cal struggled with this because all the kids in school knew about their father's failure and picked on them whenever they got the chance to. Cal also struggled with being good like his brother Aron. However much he tried to be good he always became tempted again and even visited the prostitutes. Cathy on the other hand struggled with fear. She has changed since the beginning of the story. Her past has been catching up to her in these chapters. First Ethel comes for a visit and knows about the poison and she feared she would tell everyone but soon solves the problem. She was also afraid of the light which shows that she truly is a dark and evil person to Cal. Themes of man's lonliness shows up in Lee. He has been around the Trask family for so long that it seems impossible for him to be anywhere else and when he tried to go and open up his business as a bookstore he didn't last very long because of lonliness. I think guilt dominated Tom the most because of his sister's death. It was a moment of panick and he didn't want his sister to die and he had only tried to help but instead caused her to die. I think he took it too hard on himself because the fact he commited suicide. He felt that he had nothing left and that he was a failure in life. Adam was dominated with failure from his unsuccesful business as well as Cal. Cal failed in choosing good over evil and it was a struggle for him throughout the story as well. In Cal we see success emerging from him by trying to regain all the money his father lost on his business. If he couldn't be as smart and good like Aron he decided to try to be on Adams good side by giving him money, as if money can buy love. We also see the truth coming out of Abra. She feels as if she won't be good enough for Aron and admits that she has been sinful.
ReplyDeleteHEY!
ReplyDeleteI finally got a chance to check the blog. Good job discussing the struggles. In your opinion, who struggles the most?
HALL
In my opinion I think Adam struggles the most because even though he doesn't struggle with wealth like the Hamilton's do, he struggles emotionally.
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