East of Eden
Discussion schedule
Week of Sept. 1 Part 1 (124 pages)
Week of Sept. 7 Part 2 (143 pages)
Week of Sept. 14 Part 3 (134 pages)
Week of Sept. 21 Part 4 (first 100 pages of this section)
Week of Sept. 28 Part 4 to the end and movie with James Dean

The Story of Cain and Abel
Genesis 4: 1–16

From The Message, The Bible in Contemporary Language by Eugene H. Peterson

Adam slept with Eve his wife. She conceived and had Cain. She said, "I've gotten a man, with God's help!"

Then she had another baby, Abel. Abel was a herdsman and Cain a farmer.

Time passed. Cain brought an offering to God from the produce of his farm. Abel also brought an offering, but from the firstborn animals of his herd, choice cuts of meat. God liked Abel and his offering, but Cain and his offering didn't get his approval. Cain lost his temper and went into a sulk.

God spoke to Cain: "Why this tantrum? Why the sulking? If you do well, won't you be accepted? And if you don't do well, sin is lying in wait for you, ready to pounce; it's out to get you, you've got to master it."

Cain had words with his brother. They were out in the field; Cain came at Abel his brother and killed him.

God said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?"

He said, "How should I know? Am I his babysitter?"

God said, "What have you done! The voice of your brother's blood is calling to me from the ground. From now on you'll get nothing but curses from this ground; you'll be driven from this ground that has opened its arms to receive the blood of your murdered brother. You'll farm this ground, but it will no longer give you its best. You'll be a homeless wanderer on Earth."

Cain said to God, "My punishment is too much. I can't take it! You've thrown me off the land and I can never again face you. I'm a homeless wanderer on Earth and whoever finds me will kill me."

God told him, "No. Anyone who kills Cain will pay for it seven times over." God put a mark on Cain to protect him so that no one who met him would kill him.

Cain left the presence of God and lived in No-Man's -Land, east of Eden.

Another translation:

"The man has intercourse with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, 'I have acquired a man with the help of Yahweh,' she said. She gave birth to a second child, Abel, the brother of Cain. Now Abel became a shepherd and kept flocks, while Cain tilled the soil. Time passed and Cain brought some of the produce of the soil as an offering for Yahweh, while Abel for his part brought the first-born of his flock and some of their fat as well. Yahweh looked with favor on Abel and his offering. But he did not look with favor on Cain and his offering, and Cain was very cross and downcast. Yahweh asked Cain, 'Why are you angry and downcast? If you are doing right, surely you ought to hold your head high! But if you are not doing right, Sin is crouching at the door hungry to get you. You can still master him.' Cain said to his brother Abel, 'Let us go out'; and while they were in the open country, Cain set on his brother Abel and killed him.

"Yahweh asked Cain, 'Where is your brother Abel?' 'I do not know,' he replied. 'Am I my brother's guardian?' 'What have you done?' Yahweh asked. 'Listen! Your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground. Now be cursed and banned from the ground that has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood at your hands. When you till the ground it will no longer yield its strength to you. A restless wanderer you will be on earth.' Cain then said to Yahweh, 'My punishment is greater than I can bear. Look, today you drive me from the surface of the earth, I must hide from you, and be a restless wanderer on the earth. Why, whoever comes across me will kill me!' 'Very well then,' Yahweh replied, 'Whoever kills Cain will suffer a sevenfold vengeance.' So Yahweh put a mark on Cain, so that no one coming across him would kill him. Cain left Yahweh's presence and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden."

From The New Jerusalem Bible

quote:

quote:
I have the book. Zorro, I was going to ask you if you would like for me to post the verses you posted from Genesis that I have in The Message which is a contemporary language bible which paraphrases the scripture in more modern terms. I use this bible to supplement my New International Version.

Other Resources
East of Eden
The Story of Cain and Abel

To Steinbeck, there was only "one story in the world" (Ch. 34), the story of good and evil. East of Eden is his allegory of that story, and as its title suggests, he believed that story went all the way back to the beginning of mankind.

Before reading East of Eden, it is good to be acquainted with the story of Cain and Abel from which Steinbeck got the title and many key ideas. Here is the complete text to Genesis Chapter 4 of the New King James version of the Bible.

1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. 2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. 4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. 6 And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. 9 And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? 10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. 11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; 12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. 13 And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. 15 And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. 16 And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.

17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch. 18 And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech. 19 And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. 20 And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. 21 And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. 22 And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.

23 And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt. 24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.

25 And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. 26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.

Discussion

In summary, Cain killed his brother Abel because he was jealous that Abel's offering won favor and his own did not. Cain denied that he killed him, and so he was banished and destined to wander forever. He was marked to be recognizable, too. Cain's descendants also were evil and did not recognize the Lord.

The story comes after the story of Adam and Eve, which is often interpreted as the moment mankind changed from innocent into a mixture of good and evil. In Adam and Eve's story, God banishes humankind from the Garden of Eden, the sinless place, forever because of a sin they committed.

In the Cain and Abel story, God for the first time talks about sin and evil. He says to Cain, "Thou shalt rule over [evil]" (Verse 7). But is that a statement or a command? Is it true for all of us?

To Steinbeck, these were life's most important questions. Are we all innately evil as Adam and Eve's story is often interpreted? Or are we in control of our evil sides?

I think it is interesting to have several versions of these verses to compare. The interpretation of certain words and meanings of the words from the Bible will play an important roll in the EofE story. We will make note of the differences as we read to book.



Posted Aug 21, 7:38 PM Hide Post
From OPRAH Book Club

John Ernst Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck
Photo: Sonya Noskowiak,
courtesy Arthur Noskowiak
(1902–1968)

What makes John Steinbeck so fascinating? His quirky personality? His unique world view? His powerful understanding of the American spirit? The broad range of his work in fiction, nonfiction, drama and film? Discover the man behind the book Oprah says might be the best novel she's ever read!

A shy man. A class act. A visionary. An experimental writer. A socially engaged citizen. A "shameless magpie," as he described his habit of picking up on the sounds of people's speech, fragments of their stories. Although opinions vary on how to describe the man, John Steinbeck is one of America's most beloved and honored writers. Described as "the bard of the people" in a Centennial celebration of his birth that lasted a full year, he gave a voice to the downtrodden and dispossessed in America. His compassionate portraits of the human condition sell more than 700,000 copies every year, and many of his works are cherished by every generation that discovers them. As popular today as he was during his lifetime, nearly all of his works are still in print.

An Affair in the Salinas Valley
During summers as a boy, Steinbeck worked as a hired hand on local ranches. Born February 27, 1902 in Salinas California, he took in the sights, sounds and smells of the valley he called home and they made their mark on him. His first stories were written as a teenager in the house where he was born. Thus began John Steinbeck's love affair with the valley of his birth: an affair that would take him from a struggling writer to a Pulitzer Prize-winning author celebrated around the world. Steinbeck spent his youth soaking up the rich agricultural valley that would become the setting of many of his novels and stories.

But Steinbeck's relationship with the town of Salinas was a turbulent one. The farming community provides the background for several of his stories, including East of Eden, but Steinbeck's writing also alienated the writer from the very people he portrayed so honestly. Following the publication of The Grapes of Wrath in 1939, the people of Salinas valley railed against Steinbeck for what they considered to be a scathing image of their way of life. In writing East of Eden more than a decade later, Steinbeck set out to pay tribute to Salinas. His goal was to leave a record of the beauty of his homeland, and the truth of his heritage, for his sons—John IV and Thomas—and generations to come.Making Ends Meet While Living a Dream
Steinbeck decided at the age of 14 that he wanted to be a writer. His mother, Olive, a former teacher, fostered his love of reading and writing, but eventually lamented his decision to make it a profession. Following graduation from Salinas High School in 1919, Steinbeck attended Stanford University sporadically until 1925, enrolling in creative writing classes but ultimately dropped out without a degree. For the next four years, he concentrated on writing, living first in New York City and eventually returning to California. In the beginning, he had a hard time making a go of it. He struggled to find a publisher, and even after the publication of his first three novels (starting with Cup of Gold in 1929), he was still virtually unknown.

Until he became a successful writer (with his first monetary and critical success, Tortilla Flat, published in 1935) he earned a living as a carpenter, ranch hand, factory laborer, sales clerk, caretaker and reporter, and was also given financial assistance by his father in the hope that he would develop his craft. He did. Unfortunately, just before his fame broke, Steinbeck suffered the loss of both parents.

From Best-sellers to Blockbusters
Steinbeck's most famous novel, The Grapes of Wrath (1939), is a landmark of twentieth-century American literature; it tells the story of Oklahoma migrant workers and California growers in the darkest days of the California depression. The novel won the Pulitzer Prize in 1940 and catapulted Steinbeck into his generation's literary elite. His thirty-four works of fiction and non-fiction (most written during a very prolific period from 1935–1965) are varied in subject and convey his enthusiasm and curiosity about the world. They are honest. They are real.

Other notable works include Tortilla Flat, Of Mice and Men, Sea of Cortez, Cannery Row, The Pearl and East of Eden. He considered the last his epic—the novel he was born to write. After it was finished, he wrote the majority of his non-fiction, penning the travelogue Travels with Charley, an adaptation of the classic Arthurian legend Morte d'Arthur and a book of essays titled America and Americans.

Steinbeck was also very prolific in film. Unlike many writers, he became deeply involved in several adaptations of his works, forging life-long friendship with such directors as Elia Kazan, writing a few scripts himself, and spending time helping to rewrite storylines. Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath, Tortilla Flat, The Pearl, The Red Pony and East of Eden were all successfully adapted for the screen and brought him further fame and fortune.

The Life and Times of John Steinbeck
1902: Born February 27 in the Salinas family home.

1919–25: Graduates from Salinas High School. Attends classes at Stanford University over the course of six years, leaves without taking a degree. During this period, Steinbeck drops out for months at a time and is employed as a sales clerk, farm laborer, rancher and factory worker.

1925: Moves to New York City; working odd jobs to support himself while writing. Meets with a great deal of rejection or indifference to his work. Returns to California after he is unsuccessful getting any of his writing published.

1929: Publishes his first novel, a swashbuckler titled Cup of Gold, to a weak reception.

1930: Marries his first wife, Carol Henning, on January 14 and moves first to Los Angeles and then to the family home in Pacific Grove. His father supports the struggling couple. Meets Edward Ricketts, who becomes a lifelong friend.

1934: His mother dies in the Salinas home before he reaches any critical success as an author. A short story set in Monterey County titled "The Murder" wins the O. Henry Prize.

1935: His father dies just months before he reaches fame with the first of his Monterey novels, Tortilla Flat, which is published to instant success. With the death of his parents, he loses a strong tie to the Salinas Valley.

1936: In Dubious Battle, a novel about a strike in California, is published.

1937: Of Mice and Men is published as a novel and produced as a play; both are wildly successful with critics and audiences. The book goes on to become the second-most-banned book in America. Steinbeck is awarded the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Of Mice and Men.

1939:The Grapes of Wrath, still considered his greatest critical success, is published. The novel inspires nationwide attention on the living conditions and exploitation of farm workers and sparks a great deal of controversy in California, Oklahoma and around the country.

1940: In the Spring, Steinbeck receives the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for The Grapes of Wrath.

1941: Teams with good friend and biologist Edward Ricketts to publish a non-fiction work mapping his environmental vision, titled Sea of Cortez.

1941: Carol Henning and John Steinbeck are separated.

1943: Marries Gwyndolyn Conger, who gives birth to his two sons in the next few years. During World War II, Steinbeck works as a war correspondent for The New York Herald Tribune.

1944: Steinbeck buys a house in Monterey but because of scandal following The Grapes of Wrath, his hometown rejects him; no one would rent him an office for writing. He is harassed when trying to get fuel and wood from a local wartime rations board. Feeling spurned, he moves his family to New York.

1947: Takes a tour of Russia with acclaimed photographer Frank Capa. Publishes the much-heralded novella The Pearl.

1948: Early in the year, he examines the files of old newspapers to research East of Eden. Divorces Gwyndolyn Conger. Moves from New York to Pacific Grove, wherehe is elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

1950: Marries third wife Elaine Anderson Scott; they will remain married for the rest of his life.

1952: East of Eden, his major work about the history of the Salinas Valley, is published. The film Viva Zapata!, directed by Elia Kazan, is released.

1955: Purchases a summer home in Sag Harbor, Long Island. Holiday magazine runs a series about author hometowns: Steinbeck writes an article, "Always Something to do in Salinas."

1960: Fashions a special truck with a cabin on the back to facilitate a 10,000-mile journey through America with his poodle "Charley" to write the amusing and reflective "Travels with Charley." Takes his last view of the Salinas Valley on the trip.

1962: Steinbeck accepts the Nobel Prize in Stockholm. He writes to a college friend, "This prize business is only different from the Lettuce Queen of Salinas in degree."

1963: Becomes an honorary consultant in American Literature to the Library of Congress.

1964: Is presented the United States Medal of Freedom by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

1966: A book of reflections on contemporary America, America and Americans, is published. Becomes a member of the National Arts Council.

1968: Dies of arteriosclerosis on December 20 in New York City.

1969: On March 4, his ashes are buried in the Garden of Memories cemetery in his family plot. A journal he kept during the composition of East of Eden is published posthumously.

1975: Steinbeck: A Life in Letters, selected correspondence edited by Elaine Steinbeck and Robert Wallsten, is published.

1984: A major biography by Jackson J. Benson, The True Adventures of John Steinbeck hits the stands.

1989: The journal Steinbeck kept during the writing of The Grapes of Wrath is published on the novel's fiftieth anniversary.

2002: Organized by the Mercantile Library in New York City and the Center for Stienbeck Studies at San Jose State University, more than a dozen organizations team up to host a year's worth of worldwide humanities events to commemorate Steinbeck's life and works. Honorary chairs include Steinbeck's son, writer Edward Albee and singer Bruce Springsteen. First collection of Steinbeck's nonfiction is published, America and Americans and Selected Non-fiction.

Sources:

* www.sjsu.edu/steinbeck/
*
www.steinbeck.org


The Martha Heasley Cox
Center for Steinbeck Studies



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:: Home \ Works \ Fiction Books \ East of Eden \ Book Club Questions

Book Club Questions for East of Eden

1. 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?

2. 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?

3. 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.

4. 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.





5. 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 recognize 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."

6. 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.

7. 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?

8. 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?

9. 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...")

10. 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.

11. Why is Cathy suspicious of Lee, of Samuel and of his wife? Explain.

12. What are Lee's roles in the novel? Why does Steinbeck include the story about his mother?

13. 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.

14. What is the significance of Kate's story? Why does Steinbeck tell her history in such depth?

15. 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?

16. 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?



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1. Steinbeck has a character refer to Americans as a "breed," and near the end of the book Lee says to a conflicted Cal that "We are all descended from the restless, the nervous, the criminals, the arguers and brawlers, but also the brave and independent and generous. If our ancestors had not been that, they would have stayed in their home plots in the other world and starved over the squeezed-out soil." What makes this a quintessentially American book? Can you identify archetypically American qualities-perhaps some of those listed above-in the characters?

2. Sam Hamilton-called a "shining man"-and his children are an immigrant family in the classic American model. What comes with Sam and his wife Liza from the "old country"? How does living in America change them and their children? What opportunities does America provide for the clan, and what challenges?

3. Adam Trask struggles to overcome the actions of others-his father, brother, and wife-and make his own life. What is the lesson that he learns that frees him from Kate and allows him to love his sons? He says to Cal near the end that "if you want to give me a present-give me a good life. That would be something I could value." Does Adam have a good life? What hinders him? Would you characterize his life as successful in the end?

4. Lee is one of the most remarkable characters in American literature, a philosopher trapped by the racial expectations of his time. He is the essence of compassion, erudition, and calm, serving the Trasks while retaining a complex interior and emotional life. Do you understand why he speaks in pidgin, as he explains it to Sam Hamilton? How does his character change-in dress, speech, and action-over the course of the book? And why do you think Lee stays with the Trasks, instead of living on his own in San Francisco and pursuing his dream?

5. Women in the novel are not always as fully realized as the main male characters. The great exception is Adam Trask's wife, Cathy, later Kate the brothel owner. Clearly Kate's evil is meant to be of biblical proportions. Can you understand what motivates her? Is she truly evil or does Steinbeck allow some traces of humanity in his characterization of her? What does her final act, for Aron Trask, indicate about her (well-hidden) emotions?

6. Sibling rivalry is a crushing reoccurrence in East of Eden. First Adam and his brother Charles, then Adam's sons Cal and Aron, act out a drama of jealousy and competition that seems fated: Lee calls the story of Cain and Abel the "symbol story of the human soul." Why do you think this is so, or do you disagree? Have you ever experienced or witnessed such a rivalry? Do all of the siblings in the book act out this drama or do some escape it? If so, how? If all of the "C" characters seem initially to embody evil and all the "A" characters good-in this novel that charts the course of good and evil in human experience-is it true that good and evil are truly separate? Are the C characters also good, the A characters capable of evil?

7. Abra, at first simply an object of sexual competition to Cal and Aron, becomes a more complex character in her relationships with the brothers but also with Lee and her own family. She rebels against Aron's insistence that she be a one-dimensional symbol of pure femininity. What is it that she's really looking for? Compare her to some of the other women in the book (Kate, Liza, Adam's stepmother) and try to identify some of the qualities that set her apart. Do you think she might embody the kind of "modern" woman that emerged in postwar America?

8. Some of Steinbeck's ethnic and racial characterizations are loaded with stereotype. Yet he also makes extremely prescient comments about the role that many races played in the building of America, and he takes the time to give dignity to all types of persons. Lee is one example of a character that constantly subverts expectations. Can you think of other scenes or characters that might have challenged conventional notions in Steinbeck's time? In ours? How unusual do you think it might have been to write about America as a multicultural haven in the 1950s? And do you agree that that is what Steinbeck does, or do you think he reveals a darker side to American diversity?

9. What constitutes true wealth in the book? The Hamiltons and the Trasks are most explicitly differentiated by their relationship to money: though Sam Hamilton works hard he accumulates little, while Adam Trask moons and mourns and lives off the money acquired by his father. Think of different times that money is sought after or rejected by characters (such as Will Hamilton and Cal Trask) and the role that it plays to help and hinder them in realizing their dreams. Does the quest for money ever obscure deeper desires?

10. During the naming of the twins, Lee, Sam, and Adam have a long conversation about a sentence from Genesis, disagreeing over whether God has said an act is ordered or predetermined. Lee continues to think about this conversation and enlists the help of a group of Chinese philosophers to come to a conclusion: that God has given humans choice by saying that they may (the Hebrew word for "may," timshel, becomes a key trope in the novel), that people can choose for themselves. What is Steinbeck trying to say about guilt and forgiveness? About family inheritance versus free will? Think of instances where this distinction is important in the novel, and in your own life.

11. The end of the novel and the future of the Trasks seems to rest with Cal, the son least liked and least understood by his father and the town. What does Cal come to understand about his relationship to his past and to each member of his family? The last scene between Adam and Cal is momentous; what exactly happens between them, and how hopeful a note is this profound ending? Why is Lee trying to force Cal to overturn the assumption that lives are "all inherited"? What do you think Cal's future will be?

12. East of Eden is a combination novel/memoir; Steinbeck writes himself in as a minor character in the book, a member of the Hamilton family. What do you think he gained by morphing genres in this fashion? What distinguishes this from a typical autobiography? What do you think Steinbeck's extremely personal relationship to the material contributes to the novel?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Zorro,

Looks perfect Zorro! Thanks for the schedule.

Lori

I read this book when Oprah announced it way back when, and I loved it.

Thanks, Zorro. This is perfect!

quote:

movie with James Dean

There is a movie with James Dean? The original 'bad boy'? Should I cheat and watch the movie first and skip the book? I'm sure that Mrs. Z would see right through that. I better not.

Pam, I have to tell you that is what Mrs. Z did! Don't do it! It doesn't work so well. The characters that you imagine are better than the characters in the movie. The movie only covers part of Part IV and has left out parts and characters that are important to the story. I recommend that you read the book first. Then your assignment will be to critique the movie for us!

(you could read the sparknotes) (or the Oprah summaries) you sneak.

Mrs. Z

quote:

you could read the sparknotes) (or the Oprah summaries) you sneak.

I will wait for the complete discussion here, I will not be sneaking around. I really am looking forward to this read.

I think that Barb and I are in the same boat with reading the "classics". They seem to be overwhelming to me. I still don't understand what makes a classic a classic.

my answer to that is anything they make you read at school and say its a requirement. For example: Mice of Men.

Dee

quote:

I still don't understand what makes a classic a classic.

Found this on wikipedia

he phrase 'classic book' or 'classic literature' has taken on new meaning - many view any pre-1900 book still in print as a classic, or titles that is hundred years or older and still in print, and many books are classed as modern classics because of their contemporary significance or perceived future significance.


That still leaves us with the same question though....WHO decides this? What is considered significant to one may seems like dribble to another. lol I'm with you on Of Mice and Men Dee~hated that book~left me feeling so hopeless and sad. yuck



Lori

I think that high school and even college kids do not have enough life experience to appreciate many of the 'classics'. Steinbeck especially seems to be more meaningful to older readers.

I will be willing to push the discussion East of Eden on into next year so that there is only one book - Into the Wild - for September. And m says that East of Eden is too long for one month. How many weeks do you all think we should take for the discussion?

What do you all say about that?

I agree Zorro and that is exactly what I told Nicki (she just turned 19) they haven't had enough good and bad times, trials and tribulations to be able to see the depth of a story like East of Eden.

I'm okay with whatever you decide as far as the schedule goes. I've read it already! lol I'm not sure about how many weeks though. Before I read it I would have said stretch it out longer but the way the book is set up...it's kinda like stories inside of stories and might be difficult to break it up into more than four parts without losing the meaning.


Lori

quote:

I'm not sure about how many weeks though. Before I read it I would have said stretch it out longer but the way the book is set up...it's kinda like stories inside of stories and might be difficult to break it up into more than four parts without losing the meaning.

I definitely agree with you - "it would be difficult to break it up into more than four parts". So here is an example of what I was thinking: Let's say we read it next year starting in June cause that is the next open month.
June 1-14 (two weeks) Part I
June 15-29 (two weeks) Part II
June 30-July 13 (two weeks)Part III
July 14- 28 (two weeks) Part IV

I would not have trouble with reading EofE in four weeks, but m said yesterday that it was too long for one month discussion.

I was trying to be more cooperative and accommodating. I am one of the only ones that wants to read two books per month!

LOL Zorro

No you aren't I read more than one a month...sometimes quite a bit more depending on my schedule and how crazy family life is. I have to read at night before bed or i can't get to sleep well

I am for whatever the group goes for..I really am easy...well not that way but you know what I mean.

Lori

What happened to Sept? I thought we were reading East of Eden then. I think most of us are reading more than one book a month. I have the book. Zorro, I was going to ask you if you would like for me to post the verses you posted from Genesis that I have in The Message which is a contemporary language bible which paraphrases the scripture in more modern terms. I use this bible to supplement my New International Version. Ramona