Searching for Steinbeck’s Beliefs in His Books
In the next series of Litchattte Blogs, I will be considering John Steinbeck’s 1952 novel, East of Eden and the accompanying Journal he wrote to document the planning of his story. By conducting an in-depth study of these two works, I will attempt to determine what Steinbeck believed to be universally true and wise. I have just completed a Master Class on East of Eden through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute of the University of Richmond. Previously, at the same place, I have taught courses on Steinbeck’s, Of Ice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath, and Travels with Charley. Due to student requests, I will be teaching Tortilla Flat and Cannery Row in the fall of 2019.
What Steinbeck Thought About East of Eden
Did you know that Steinbeck considered East of Eden book as his favorite book?
Even though he had written several acclaimed books before East of Eden, he called it his “first book.” He reported that he used every technique he knew to write this book and wanted it to be a lasting statement that expressed his core beliefs about truth and universal wisdom.
Steinbeck Considers His Core Beliefs and Brings Them to Life
After Steinbeck reflected deeply on his beliefs, he sought to produce the settings, characters, and dialogue that expressed what he stood for and against. He noted that he started writing the book as a documentation of his family ancestry, which he hoped would, one day be available to his, then, young sons. With those anecdotes, which he admits he embellished for good-story-telling (see my earlier Litchatte.com column), he traces his family genealogy three generations back, He begins with his maternal grandfather, Samuel, his Bible-believing wife, Liza, and their nine offspring, including Olive Hamilton— who is Steinbeck’s actual mother. Young John Steinbeck even writes himself into the first part of the novel, with informative and humorous anecdotes that he was either involved with or witnessed. As the book planning and writing progressed, Steinbeck states the storytelling needs of the novel overtook his need to produce a family biography. He remarks that he virtually lost control of the direction of the story as the characters almost started speaking for themselves. By the second part of the book, the Hamilton family essentially took a back-seat in the story to the Trasks, who Steinbeck needed to create to express his main themes. However, we can understand several of Steinbeck’s beliefs by looking at the many storylines of both families.
Steinbeck Explains What He is For and Against
After twelve chapters, Steinbeck pauses to reflect on his values: “At such times it seems natural to me to ask these questions. What do I believe in? What must I fight for and what must I fight against?” He explains:
“I believe that the free, exploring mind is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes. And I must fight against any idea, religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual.”
- Only One Story: The Human Struggle Over Good and Evil
He elaborates that he believes that “There is only one story: the human struggle over good and evil.” The author illustrates this idea throughout the book in various situations, settings, and characters. But most importantly, he expresses his most profound beliefs through Lee, the Chinese philosopher-servant of Adam Trask, Lee explains that he understands that God gives humans the freedom to make choices. This free will, he asserts, is “what distinctly separates humans from beasts.” The universal wisdom that Steinbeck offers here, via his Chinese philosopher, is that humans may be influenced by their ancestry, but they are not controlled by it. Lee and a group of Chinese scholars had studied the Hebrew language and Bible teachings for three years before coming up with this interpretation of the Cain and Abel story. They concluded that it was the best-known story in the world and that ” it is the symbol story of the human soul.” Lee and the scholars understood that universal teaching of this story may be summed up by the Hebrew Biblical word, “Timshel.” Lee explains that the scholars found that “Timshel” could be translated as “Thou mayest” do good. This meant that God proclaimed Cain still had the choice to decide whether to do good or not, even after he stoned his brother to death and was exiled to Nod, “in the East of Eden. Lee proclaimed that this meant that even modern-day humans also had the choice to decide if they would do good or not do good. Thus, “Timshel” is the primary theme of East of Eden and the emphasis that Steinbeck places on this idea suggests that it is a universal truth that Steinbeck believes transcends all cultures and generations.
East of Eden Timeline and Its Two Main Families
The panoramic timeline of East of Eden extends from the Civil War through to World War I. The story focuses on two family lines over three generations of the Hamilton’s and Trask’s. The Hamilton’s helped settle the Central Coast region of California, The Trask’s settled in Connecticut until Adam and his mysterious wife, Kathy, splinter off and move to California, where they interact much with the Hamilton’s. The unscrupulous Trask patriarch, Cyrus, uses two un-remarkable wives to conceive of two sons: Charles and Adam. These two sons serve as symbols of Steinbeck’s first modern re-telling of the Cain and Abel story. After coming of age and enduring extensive trials and struggles, Adam takes his share of the family inheritance and his mysterious newly found wife, Catherine, and moves to the Central Coast Region of California, with the express purpose of creating a new “Garden of Eden.” The subsequent story primarily depicts what “spoiled” Adam’s dreams through a combination of writing styles that include historical fiction, biblical parables of the Genesis stories, and mythology.
Upcoming East of Eden Columns: A Request for Feedback
In my next blog, I will consider Adam’s point of view, as he struggles with circumstances beyond his control and attempts to deal with many stressful trials of his character and faith. Examining those pressures and considering how Adam reacted to them can be a valuable aid in helping to reveal Steinbeck’s beliefs. The stories he crafted around Adam also illustrate that the lines between good and evil are not always clearly marked. Steinbeck wrote that Adam was the first Trask character he created. The author wrote that Adam almost began to “speak for himself,” after he created his parameters. He is also the only character we can follow from near the beginning of East of Eden through to the very last line- when sighs”Timshel.”
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Dr. Murray Ellison received a Master’s in Education from Temple University (1973), a Master’s Degree of Arts in English Literature from Virginia Commonwealth University (2015), and a Doctorate in Education at Virginia Tech (1988). He is married and has three adult daughters and a new grand-daughter! He ‘retired’ as the Virginia Director of Community Corrections for the Department of Correctional Education in 2009. Included in his ‘after-retirement activities,’ he is the founder and chief editor of this literary blog, and he is an editor for the International Correctional Education Journal. He is the Co-Editor of the 2016 book of poetry, Mystic Verses, by Acharya Shambhushivananda, and is an Editor for The First Mennonite Church of Richmond’s Newsletter. He serves as a board member and volunteer tour guide for the Edgar Allan Poe Museum in Richmond Virginia. Mainly, however, for the last several years, he has taught literature classes for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Richmond. Effective August 2018, he started teaching English Writing & Research Classes at the Richard Bland College of William & Mary University. Finally, in his ‘spare time,’ he tutors two school youth, does occasional professional editing and coördinates both The Midlothian, Virginia, Classic Book Club and the VCU Working Titles Book Club. Contact Murray at ellisonms2@vcu.edu, or leave a note at the bottom of the post.
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