East of Eden

EAST OF EDEN

By

John Steinbeck

T 1

East of Eden

Title: East of Eden Author : John Steinbeck

Publishers:

Tingle Books Hapur-245101 (U.P.)

Edition : First

ISBN : © John Steinbeck All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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East of Eden

About the Author John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California, in 1902. The town is a few miles from the Pacific Coast and near the fertile Salinas Valley—an area that was to be the background of much of his fiction. He studied marine biology at Stanford University but left without taking a degree and, after a series of laboring jobs, began to write. An attempt at a free- lance literary career in New York City failed, and he returned to California, continuing to write in a lonely cottage. Popular success came to him only in 1935 with Tortilla Flat. That book’s promise was confirmed by succeeding works—In Dubious Battle, Of Mice and Men, and especially The Grapes of Wrath, a novel so powerful that it remains among the archetypes of American culture. Often set in California, Steinbeck’s later books include Cannery Row, The Wayward Bus, East of Eden, The Short Reign of Pippin IV, and Travels with Charley. He died in 1968, having won a Nobel Prize in 1962. In announcing the award, the Swedish Academy declared: “He had no mind to be an unoffending comforter and entertainer. Instead, the topics he chose were serious and denunciatory, for instance the bitter strikes on California’s fruit and cotton plantations. ... His literary power steadily gained impetus. The little masterpiece Of Mice and Men was followed by those incomparable short stories which he collected together in the volume The Long Valley. The way had now been paved for the great work the epic chronicle The Grapes of Wrath.” John Steinbeck is perhaps the quintessential California novelist. Born in Salinas, California, in 1902, he went on to create a body of work that is closely connected to the land, people, and history of his home state. As a young man, Steinbeck worked as a hired hand on farms and ranches throughout the Salinas Valley, forming lasting impressions of the land and its people that would influence virtually all of his later work. Meanwhile, his father, a local 3

East of Eden

government official, and his mother, a former schoolteacher, encouraged his burgeoning interest in writing. After finishing high school, Steinbeck started at Stanford University in Palo Alto but left before finishing his degree in order to pursue work as a reporter in New York City. He returned to California the following year, supporting his writing endeavors with a steady income from manual labor. The first three novels Steinbeck published—Cup of Gold (1929), The Pastures of Heaven (1932), and To a God Unknown (1933)— were critical and commercial failures. He persisted in his writing, however, and attracted more positive notices with Tortilla Flat (1935), a collection of stories about the ethnic working poor in California. Of Mice and Men (1937) brought him increased acclaim, and then The Grapes of Wrath (1939) earned him widespread fame and the Pulitzer Prize. The story of a family of migrant farmers making the difficult journey from Oklahoma to California during the Great Depression, The Grapes of Wrath was hailed as an instant classic and a landmark of socially conscious American fiction. Steinbeck’s novels are acclaimed for their combination of realistic naturalism and moral optimism—two qualities not commonly found together. Steinbeck portrayed the pain, poverty, and wickedness of the world with unsparing detail while at the same time maintained a belief in the “perfectibility of man.” This optimism pervades Steinbeck’s fiction, leavening even his gloomiest accounts of the Great Depression with a powerful sense of hope. The sweeping California epic East of Eden (1952) is considered Steinbeck’s most ambitious work and the masterpiece of his later artistic career. Indeed, although The Grapes of Wrath is more famous and widely read, Steinbeck himself regarded East of Eden as his greatest novel. He wrote that he believed he had imbued East of Eden with everything he knew about writing and everything he knew about good and evil in the human condition. 4

East of Eden

Though its story is not autobiographical, East of Eden does delve into the world of Steinbeck’s childhood, incorporating his memories of the Salinas Valley in the early years of the twentieth century, his memories of the war era, and his memories of his relatives, many of whom are secondary characters in the novel. (Samuel Hamilton was indeed Steinbeck’s grandfather, Olive Hamilton was Steinbeck’s mother, and Aron Trask’s gloomy experience at Stanford University is to some degree based on Steinbeck’s own unsatisfying years there.) East of Eden, which was a bestseller upon its publication, cemented Steinbeck’s position as one of the most read and beloved American writers of his time. The novel was not, however, a great critical success, as a number of reviewers believed that Steinbeck’s epic portrait of the human struggle between good and evil was painted so broadly that it detracted from the detail and believability of his portrayals of individual characters. Despite these mixed critical reviews, Steinbeck continued to write and produced several more works, notably the popular nonfiction piece Travels with Charley (1962). For his contributions to twentieth-century fiction, Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962. He died in New York City in 1968 and was buried in his hometown of Salinas.

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East of Eden

East of Eden - Characters This book has a dense cast of characters that may be confusing at the start. Let's go ahead and take care of any confusion with a short character introduction you can refer back to if necessary. 

     

The Hamiltons: a poor but upstanding family in the Salinas Valley, led by Samuel and Liza, who support and help the Trask family Adam Trask: the protagonist of the story who moves from the East Coast to California with his wife to begin a family Charles Trask: Adam's brother who remains in Connecticut Cathy Ames: Adam's wife; later she changes her name to Kate Aron and Caleb (Cal) Trask: twin children of Cathy Ames; their paternity is unclear Lee: cook and helper hired by Adam Trask Abra: neighbor girl who first falls in love with Aron, then Caleb

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East of Eden

PASCAL COVICI Dear Pat, You came upon me carving some kind of little figure out of wood and you said, “Why don’t you make something for me?” I asked you what you wanted, and you said, “A box.” “What for?” “To put things in.” “What things?” “Whatever you have,” you said. Well, here’s your box. Nearly everything I have is in it, and it is not full. Pain and excitement are in it, and feeling good or bad and evil thoughts and good thoughts—the pleasure of design and some despair and the indescribable joy of creation. And on top of these are all the gratitude and love I have for you. And still the box is not full. JOHN

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East of Eden

Contents PART ONE .........................................................................................16 Chapter 1 .........................................................................................17 1 ..................................................................................................17 2 ..................................................................................................20 Chapter 2 .........................................................................................23 1 ..................................................................................................23 2 ..................................................................................................27 Chapter 3 .........................................................................................29 1 ..................................................................................................29 2 ..................................................................................................35 3 ..................................................................................................39 4 ..................................................................................................45 Chapter 4 .........................................................................................53 1 ..................................................................................................53 2 ..................................................................................................54 Chapter 5 .........................................................................................58 Chapter 6 .........................................................................................66 1 ..................................................................................................66 2 ..................................................................................................69 3 ..................................................................................................75 Chapter 7 .........................................................................................78 1 ..................................................................................................78 2 ..................................................................................................83 3 ..................................................................................................85 8

East of Eden

Chapter 8 .........................................................................................97 1 ..................................................................................................97 2 ................................................................................................ 101 3 ................................................................................................ 105 4 ................................................................................................ 108 5 ................................................................................................ 111 6 ................................................................................................ 114 Chapter 9 ....................................................................................... 118 1 ................................................................................................ 118 2 ................................................................................................ 121 3 ................................................................................................ 125 Chapter 10 ..................................................................................... 129 1 ................................................................................................ 129 2 ................................................................................................ 131 3 ................................................................................................ 135 Chapter 11 ..................................................................................... 139 1 ................................................................................................ 139 2 ................................................................................................ 141 3 ................................................................................................ 146 4 ................................................................................................ 148 5 ................................................................................................ 152 6 ................................................................................................ 154 PART TWO....................................................................................... 157 Chapter 12 ..................................................................................... 158 Chapter 13 ..................................................................................... 160 1 ................................................................................................ 160 2 ................................................................................................ 161 3 ................................................................................................ 168 Chapter 14 ..................................................................................... 180 9

East of Eden

1 ................................................................................................ 180 2 ................................................................................................ 184 Chapter 15 ..................................................................................... 190 1 ................................................................................................ 190 2 ................................................................................................ 196 3 ................................................................................................ 203 4 ................................................................................................ 209 5 ................................................................................................ 214 Chapter 16 ..................................................................................... 216 1 ................................................................................................ 216 2 ................................................................................................ 220 Chapter 17 ..................................................................................... 226 1 ................................................................................................ 226 2 ................................................................................................ 227 3 ................................................................................................ 233 4 ................................................................................................ 243 5 ................................................................................................ 245 Chapter 18 ..................................................................................... 248 1 ................................................................................................ 248 2 ................................................................................................ 256 3 ................................................................................................ 261 Chapter 19 ..................................................................................... 263 1 ................................................................................................ 263 2 ................................................................................................ 267 3 ................................................................................................ 270 4 ................................................................................................ 273 Chapter 20 ..................................................................................... 275 1 ................................................................................................ 275 2 ................................................................................................ 277 10

East of Eden

3 ................................................................................................ 285 Chapter 21 ..................................................................................... 289 1 ................................................................................................ 289 2 ................................................................................................ 291 3 ................................................................................................ 294 4 ................................................................................................ 297 Chapter 22 ..................................................................................... 303 1 ................................................................................................ 303 2 ................................................................................................ 306 3 ................................................................................................ 308 4 ................................................................................................ 318 PART THREE ................................................................................... 328 Chapter 23 ..................................................................................... 329 1 ................................................................................................ 329 2 ................................................................................................ 339 3 ................................................................................................ 343 Chapter 24 ..................................................................................... 348 1 ................................................................................................ 348 2 ................................................................................................ 355 3 ................................................................................................ 362 Chapter 25 ..................................................................................... 369 1 ................................................................................................ 369 2 ................................................................................................ 370 3 ................................................................................................ 374 Chapter 26 ..................................................................................... 388 1 ................................................................................................ 388 2 ................................................................................................ 391 Chapter 27 ..................................................................................... 397 1 ................................................................................................ 397 11

East of Eden

2 ................................................................................................ 403 3 ................................................................................................ 406 4 ................................................................................................ 409 Chapter 28 ..................................................................................... 418 1 ................................................................................................ 418 2 ................................................................................................ 421 3 ................................................................................................ 427 Chapter 29 ..................................................................................... 430 1 ................................................................................................ 430 2 ................................................................................................ 432 Chapter 30 ..................................................................................... 438 1 ................................................................................................ 438 2 ................................................................................................ 443 3 ................................................................................................ 448 Chapter 31 ..................................................................................... 451 1 ................................................................................................ 451 2 ................................................................................................ 456 Chapter 32 ..................................................................................... 461 1 ................................................................................................ 461 2 ................................................................................................ 464 Chapter 33 ..................................................................................... 473 1 ................................................................................................ 473 2 ................................................................................................ 477 3 ................................................................................................ 480 PART FOUR ..................................................................................... 485 Chapter 34 ..................................................................................... 486 Chapter 35 ..................................................................................... 489 1 ................................................................................................ 489 2 ................................................................................................ 491 12

East of Eden

Chapter 36 ..................................................................................... 494 1 ................................................................................................ 494 2 ................................................................................................ 496 3 ................................................................................................ 502 Chapter 37 ..................................................................................... 506 1 ................................................................................................ 506 2 ................................................................................................ 513 3 ................................................................................................ 515 Chapter 38 ..................................................................................... 520 1 ................................................................................................ 520 2 ................................................................................................ 521 3 ................................................................................................ 523 4 ................................................................................................ 526 Chapter 39 ..................................................................................... 529 1 ................................................................................................ 529 2 ................................................................................................ 537 Chapter 40 ..................................................................................... 546 1 ................................................................................................ 546 2 ................................................................................................ 546 3 ................................................................................................ 551 Chapter 41 ..................................................................................... 555 1 ................................................................................................ 555 2 ................................................................................................ 555 3 ................................................................................................ 557 Chapter 42 ..................................................................................... 564 Chapter 43 ..................................................................................... 567 1 ................................................................................................ 567 2 ................................................................................................ 569 3 ................................................................................................ 571 13

East of Eden

Chapter 44 ..................................................................................... 575 1 ................................................................................................ 575 2 ................................................................................................ 581 Chapter 45 ..................................................................................... 583 1 ................................................................................................ 583 2 ................................................................................................ 584 3 ................................................................................................ 590 4 ................................................................................................ 594 PART FIVE ....................................................................................... 601 Chapter 46 ..................................................................................... 602 Chapter 47 ..................................................................................... 607 1 ................................................................................................ 607 2 ................................................................................................ 609 3 ................................................................................................ 610 Chapter 48 ..................................................................................... 613 1 ................................................................................................ 613 2 ................................................................................................ 617 3 ................................................................................................ 618 Chapter 49 ..................................................................................... 621 1 ................................................................................................ 621 2 ................................................................................................ 624 3 ................................................................................................ 630 4 ................................................................................................ 636 5 ................................................................................................ 637 Chapter 50 ..................................................................................... 639 1 ................................................................................................ 639 2 ................................................................................................ 646 Chapter 51 ..................................................................................... 651 1 ................................................................................................ 651 14

East of Eden

2 ................................................................................................ 660 Chapter 52 ..................................................................................... 667 1 ................................................................................................ 667 2 ................................................................................................ 668 3 ................................................................................................ 670 4 ................................................................................................ 674 Chapter 53 ..................................................................................... 677 1 ................................................................................................ 677 2 ................................................................................................ 677 3 ................................................................................................ 679 4 ................................................................................................ 682 Chapter 54 ..................................................................................... 685 1 ................................................................................................ 685 2 ................................................................................................ 686 3 ................................................................................................ 687 4 ................................................................................................ 688 5 ................................................................................................ 690 Chapter 55 ..................................................................................... 692 1 ................................................................................................ 692 2 ................................................................................................ 696 3 ................................................................................................ 698

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CLASSIC

INR 550

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