A Personal Review of East of Eden

Andrea Buchanan

Ms. Sanchez

AP Language and Composition, Period 0

15 March 2010

Blog Topic #5: Personal Review

John Steinbeck’s novel, East of Eden, surprisingly please me. I did have apprehensions about reading this book because I was not a big fan of John Steinbeck’s writing. However, after reading this novel, I can truly say that I would read another one of his novels. His language was appropriate and easy to understand. The words and sentences flowed with such natural placement that provided a sense of understanding. The variety of figurative language devices added to the overall imagery greatly. Each character was described in a way that evoked emotion and made me feel for each one individually. The descriptive language was accurately used and was so perfectly placed that even emotions could be described through similes, not just actions. Steinbeck’s satirical tone added a sense of humor that made the six hundred and two pages of the novel enjoyable to read. I thought it was unique that the entire novel was written as a parallel of the Book of Genesis, and although it was obvious and easy to figure out the text connection, it did not act as a detracting point of the novel. I felt that using the story of Cain and Abel and the fall of Adam and Eve as the main story line throughout the novel gave it familiarity and made it relatable. The message of the importance of love and its power over the decisions of good and evil were portrayed in an understandable tone by the author. I enjoyed reading this book and am most pleased that Steinbeck’s satirical tone prevails to leave the reader with the ultimate message for how to over come the pains of good and evil: timshel, meaning thou mayest, and leaving the choice of thou mayest not.

Text Connection in East of Eden

Andrea Buchanan

Ms. Sanchez

AP Literature and Composition, Period 0

15 March 2010

Blog #4: Text Connections

The main text-to-text connection that can be found in Steinbeck’s novel is the story of Caleb and Aron paralleling the story of Cain and Abel from the Book of Genesis in the Old Testament in the Bible. The sons of Adam Trask are named after Cain and Abel, with Caleb representing Cain and Aron representing Abel. Stories of these two boys parallel the trials and tribulations of Cain and Abel. Aron attracts more attention and love, just as Abel attracts the affection of God. Caleb serves to be the older brother that is the hard worker but feels that he does not receive the same amount of love that Aron receives, similar to the plight of Cain. Their professions also provide a connection to the classic Biblical story. Aron became the hunter, mirroring Abel, while Caleb became the farmer, depicting Cain. Towards the close of the novel, Caleb faces a similar challenge that Cain faced. Caleb experiences a great feeling of jealous of Aron and although he does not want to feel the jealousy, he lets it get the better of him. To get back at Aron, Caleb exposes the truth of who their mother really is. This sends Aron over the edge and he eventually enlists in the army where he meets is fate and dies. Caleb carries around the guilt that his decisions have killed Aron, just as Cain feels guilty for killing Abel. The themes of brotherly temptation, rivalry, and desire to be accepted and love are exemplified throughout the course of Steinbeck’s novel and provide a modern adaptation of a classic tale.

Syntax of East of Eden

Andrea Buchanan

Ms. Sanchez

AP Language and Composition, Period 0

15 March 2010

Blog Topic #3: Syntax

Syntax

• “Maybe the less you have, the more you are required to boast” (4).
• “By disparagement, by starvation, by repressions, forced direction, and the stunning hammerblows of conditioning, the free, roving mind is being pursued, roped, blunted, drugged” (132).
• “Do you remember hearing that, old men? And do you remember how an easterly breeze brought odors in from Chinatown, roasting port and punk and black tobacco and yen shi? And do you remember the deep blatting stroke of the great gong in the Joss House, and how its tone hung in the air so long? Remember, too, the little houses, unpainted, unrepaired? .... Remember how the shades were always drawn with the little lines of yellow light around their edges? ...And then-remember?-the train whistle…and you could hear it sighing at the station. Remember?” (219)
• “Vice has always a new fresh young face, while virtue is venerable as nothing else in the world is” (415).

The syntax presented in Steinbeck’s writing first influences his style of writing. His style of writing contains sentences, phrases, and clauses that cause the reader to stop and think about the meaning of his words and identify what grander meaning he is alluding to. Frequent rhetorical questions help accomplish this task. A mixture of sentences with varying lengths contributes to the overall effectiveness of Steinbeck’s tone. In the shorter sentences, his tone is conveyed directly and to the point. However, in the longer sentence, the author’s tone is depicted through vivid adjectives that provide the reader with a meaningful interpretation of his childish and sarcastic tone.

Diction throughout East of Eden

Andrea Buchanan

Ms. Sanchez

AP Language and Composition, Period 0

15 March 2010

Blog Topic #2: Diction

Examples of Significant Diction

• “Then there were harebells, tiny lantern, cream white and almost sinful looking, an these were so rare and magical that a child, finding one, felt singles out and special all day long” (5).
• “In the books of some memories it was the best time that ever sloshed over the world-the old time, the gay time, sweet and simple, as though time were young and fearless” (129).
• ‘“Do you think I’m a child?” she asked. “Not anymore,” said Adam. “I’m beginning to think you’re a twisted human-or no human at all.”’ (323).
• “He painted the old house white and whitewashed he sheds” (400).
• “If the style of dress is an absurdity, it is pain and sorrow to a child not to wear that absurdity” (74).
• “As she grew older the group, the heard, which is any collection of children, began to sense what adults felt, that there was something foreign about Cathy” (74).

The tone of Steinbeck’s work preaches innocence, youth in contrast with good and evil. This is found in the simplicity of his language and the frequent usage of words that represent childhood and innocence: white, child, sweet, gay, fearless, young. Sarcastic language appears to represent the “evil” faced by the characters of the novel as well as the challenges and temptation faced by many everyday. Mocking and the light tone taken towards potentially harmful issues exemplify how children view good and bad. Steinbeck’s diction represents this contrast and portrays his tone as one colored with a childish desire.

Rhetorical Strategies in East of Eden

Andrea Buchanan

Ms. Sanchez

AP Language and Composition, Period 0

15 March 2010

Blog Topic #1: Rhetorical Strategies

Rhetorical Strategies

• Simile-“There is a blackness on this valley. I don’t know what it is, but I can feel it. Sometimes on a white blinding day I can feel it cutting off the sun and squeezing the light of it like a sponge” (146).
• Simile-“The ranch was a relative, and when he left it he plunged a knife into a darling” (293).
• Simile: “Then the warmth melted through into the cold concealed box where he stored forbidden thoughts, and the thoughts came timidly up to the surface like children who do not know whether they will be received” (313).
• Anaphora-“I remember the five-fingered ferns growing like little waterfalls...I remember the smells of the hills… I remember the sweeping lovely dance of high buzzards…I remember holding the bit of a line…I remember the smell of crushes ferns…” (281).
• Verbal Irony-“But there’s a kind of looseness on the scalp that makes me uneasy. It’s head to get used to the convenience of it” (294).
• Situational Irony-“And when she was delicately sensed the near approach of insane, punishing rage, she sat in his lap and sooth him and made him believe her for a moment in her innocence” (94).
• Metaphor-“And while I tell you, I am myself sifting my memories, the way men pan the dirt under a barroom floor for the bits of gold dust that fall between the cracks. It’s small mining-small mining. You’re too young a man to be panning memories Adam. You should be getting yourself some new ones. So that the mining will be richer when you come to age” (296).
• Personification: “The afternoon wind had dropped away and left the air raw and wounded” (314)
• Paradox-“The low voice had a precise and husky power. And she picked her words as one picks flowers in a mixed garden and took her time choosing” (315).
• Personification-“Galahad was standing in full amor pointed the way do third-graders; Atalanta’s race urged on the fourth, the Pot of Basil confused the fifth grade…the denunciation of Cataline sent the eight-graders on to high school with a sense of high civil virtue” (420).

John Steinbeck incorporates the use of rhetorical strategies that are illustrative and figurative. Rhetorical strategies such as simile, metaphor, anaphora, personification, and paradox contribute to the author’s style because they provide a vivid and understandable image for readers. The similes paint the pictures in the minds of his readers while the metaphors add comparisons to add comfort and make the literature seem identifiable. In addition, rhetorical devices like paradox and irony add to Steinbeck’s satirical tone as well as his engaging style that makes readers think about the true meaning of his words.