The cover of my copy emphasized East of Eden as "the book that created Cathy -- The most evil woman in fiction." Now while there is of course much more to the book than one particular character, this claim nevertheless had a subliminal effect. This claim made me acutely aware of Cathy's role in the book, and consequentially it is one of the elements I am more prepared to offer analysis on.

Regardless that the claim seems similar to how every pizza shop in a city says it has the best pizza ever I still feel I must point out that no, she is not the most evil character in fiction. Even though everything she had done was horrible, she at least towards the end showed some form of regret, or at the least a realization that she was not happy with her actions. It had a sort of humanizing effect. I am sure there are better examples out there, but in regards to what I have read myself I haven't come across a character that surpasses Nurse Ratchet from Cuckoo's Nest when it comes to evil.

Other than that, the other element of the book which really struck a chord for me was Steinbeck's interpretation of the story of Cain and Abel. Cal offering the money and what I can best describe as Aron just generally engendering pride in Adam I thought was pretty great symbolism of Cain and Abel's offerings to God. Adam's reaction and explanation for why he did not want the money is what really changed my perspective. It really hit home what was explored earlier in the book, that it wasn't that Cal who was being rejected wholesale but rather the judgment was passed on the offering itself. That the means of procuring the money was more important and more valuable than the money itself.

For the most part I thought the book was good, but not great. Though when I got to the end and all loose ends were resolved that is what really convinced me of East of Eden's greatness. The characters were vibrant, relatable, and unique. I feel like through the stories the characters tell and their observations Steinbeck did something close to breaking the fourth wall. The characters themselves discussed the same stories and themes that Steinbeck was approaching as well. For example two characters might discuss between themselves say the idea of morality, and then throughout the book Steinbeck would explore that same idea within those character's story archs.

It was an incredible book, maybe not one of my absolute favorites, but definitely one I would say made a valuable impact on me.