Grovenger 1
Society judges the individual by their good and bad decisions are how others see and
judge someone. It doesn’t matter what the intentions of their actions are, it is the results that
people judge them by. John Steinbeck, in his novel, East of Eden, uncovered and explored this
concept. This idea is revealed through his unique writing style and character development.
Using characterization and metaphors, John Steinbeck reveals that no matter what you believe,
choices are what truly defines who a person is rather than the intentions behind those choices.
Throughout his novel, Steinbeck uses many characters and thus has many examples of
characterization. The way he characterizes one of his main characters, Adam Trask, is revealing
as his actions are highlighted …show more content…
Grovenger 4
Ultimately John Steinbeck's East of Eden shows readers, through the use of characters,
how they are developed, and the choices they make, how a person’s character is truly revealed.
In it is a valuable lesson that gets pushed across well and is referenced many times through
examples in the story. Jeremy S. Leatham’s essay Out of Eden: Dualism, Conformity, and
Inheritance in Steinbeck’s “Big Book” acknowledges how East of Eden “Emerges here is an
adaptable mythic framework (one of many possible) which seeks to order the world in
ways that allow for a greater range of humanity and agency,” showing how it is seen as a way to
teach people, not just about the true revealment of character, but about how this story, and the
characters in it, reveal to readers what flaws are present within every human being at one point of
their life (125126). This novel can be used as way to display how important it is to not let
actions be clouded by an idea that has lingered or by some person because through the
consequences provided throughout it, it is seen that actions are the true decider of
Society judges the individual by their good and bad decisions are how others see and
judge someone. It doesn’t matter what the intentions of their actions are, it is the results that
people judge them by. John Steinbeck, in his novel, East of Eden, uncovered and explored this
concept. This idea is revealed through his unique writing style and character development.
Using characterization and metaphors, John Steinbeck reveals that no matter what you believe,
choices are what truly defines who a person is rather than the intentions behind those choices.
Throughout his novel, Steinbeck uses many characters and thus has many examples of
characterization. The way he characterizes one of his main characters, Adam Trask, is revealing
as his actions are highlighted …show more content…
Grovenger 4
Ultimately John Steinbeck's East of Eden shows readers, through the use of characters,
how they are developed, and the choices they make, how a person’s character is truly revealed.
In it is a valuable lesson that gets pushed across well and is referenced many times through
examples in the story. Jeremy S. Leatham’s essay Out of Eden: Dualism, Conformity, and
Inheritance in Steinbeck’s “Big Book” acknowledges how East of Eden “Emerges here is an
adaptable mythic framework (one of many possible) which seeks to order the world in
ways that allow for a greater range of humanity and agency,” showing how it is seen as a way to
teach people, not just about the true revealment of character, but about how this story, and the
characters in it, reveal to readers what flaws are present within every human being at one point of
their life (125126). This novel can be used as way to display how important it is to not let
actions be clouded by an idea that has lingered or by some person because through the
consequences provided throughout it, it is seen that actions are the true decider of