I was trying to not be the first to post on East of Eden since I've taken a class on it but I guess I need to kick off some discussion! I also updated the chapter deadline.
Throughout East of Eden Steinbeck uses themes from biblical stories. He uses the story of Cain and Abel with the Trask brothers. Charles portrays Cain by being angry and aggressive. He is jealous of his brother Adam (Abel) because their father loves Adam more. This jealousy causes Charles to nearly kill Adam but Steinbeck has Adam escapes before Charles comes back.
I think Steinbeck makes an interesting twist on the story because once Adam goes into the army, Charles and Adam become really close through letter writing. The brother's relationship seems solid when there is distance between them. It will be interesting to see what happens when Adam is out of the army and sees Charles again.
I found it really interesting to see the contrasts in the brothers. I'm looking forward to seeing how the two interact when Adam comes out of the army.
ReplyDeleteEven after Adam returns home their relationship is somewhere between derranged and a hard place. I like that Adam doesn't really care anymore and they both admitted some hard things. But they are awesome at ignoring the "real" issues.
ReplyDeleteAwesome book choice, Katie! I can't put it down!