East Of Eden

4 Pages 1062 Words

Love is the inspiring force behind all conflicts in the book East of Eden by John Steinbeck. Every character, in one way or another, is possessed by love, to do things that aren’t always well thought out. Cyrus, Charles, Adam, Cathy, Aron, and Cal Trask are all in a continual battle for each other’s love. In certain cases this battle ends in death or close to.
Cyrus Trask established his love for his family by training his boys all their lives to prepare for war. To Cyrus, the army was the most respectable job that one could have. So he saw no conflict (even though it was an apparent one) in the fact that even though he loved his son, he was sending him off to his death. He picked the son he loved best, Adam, even though Charles Trask was clearly the natural soldier of the two brothers. In chapter 3 Steinbeck explains, "Charles was a natural athlete and the competitor’s will to win over others, which makes for success in the world”. (Steinbeck 20) “Young Charles won all contests with Adam whether they involved skill, strength, or intelligence and won them so easily that quite quickly that he had to find his competition among other children." (Steinbeck 20) When Cyrus decided that it was Adam who was to go to into the army it was made apparent that he loved Adam more
than Charles. He would only give the distinct order to go and become a soldier to his most prized son.
Charles loved his father more than Adam ever did. In fact, Adam claims to hate his father. Charles and Adam have a divided relationship when Adam gets back from the war. Charles wants nothing more than to know that his father loves him. He does everything he can, buys him nice presents, is very obedient, and takes care of the farm when both men leave. It is ironic that the one who wanted and needed love the most was the one who received it the least. This lack of love creates jealousy that comes out as violence from Charles. After Cyrus had chosen Adam, Cha...