(After my previous series of Litchatte.com essays on Steinbeck’s East of Eden, I have re-written my first posting on this book here, and re-focused it here as a book review).
I am a big fan of the Classics, and John Steinbeck’s 1952 novel, East of Eden is one of my favorites! This book is made more understandable because the author also kept and later published a Journal to document the planning of his story. By exploring these two works, readers may get a glimpse of what the Pulitzer and Nobel Prize-winning author believed to be universally true and wise. I have just completed a Master Class on East of Eden through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Richmond. Previously there, I have taught courses on Steinbeck’s, Of Mice 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.
Even though Steinbeck 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.
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 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, 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 admits that the storytelling needs of the novel overtook his need to produce a family biography. He wrote that he virtually lost control of the direction of the story as the characters almost started speaking for themselves. By the second part, the Hamilton family essentially took a back-seat 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.
After twelve chapters, Steinbeck pauses the plot 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.”
He further 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 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 scholarly Biblical 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 symbolizes “the human soul.” Lee understood that universal teaching of this story may be best summed up by the Hebrew word, “Timshel.” He explains that 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, East of Eden” Lee understood that this meant that even modern-day humans also had the choice to decide if they would do good or not do good. Steinbeck tests the idea of Timshel through various characters and situations he created in his greatest masterpiece. 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. Therefore, I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes to read literature that weighs the wisdom of Biblical teachings in current social situations. For readers unfamiliar with Steinbeck, I would recommend Of Mice and Men or The Grapes of Wrath first. Serious literature aficionados must read East of Eden to claim that you understand Steinbeck’s most profound wisdom.
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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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