Steinbeck claims in East of Eden that people will reflect upon whether their life was good or evil, and, above all, if they were loved or not. In Chapter 34, Steinbeck defends his claim that to live a good life and to be loved by many, one must overcome evil with good, using the devices of allusion, anecdote, and juxtaposition.
Steinbeck begins the chapter by connecting the common life to allusions of the past. The author first mentions Pearl White, a contemporary silent film actress, and how people fall into a state similar to that of her serials from simply wondering whether they would live a good life. People lose themselves in thought and wonder, just like how most of White’s films were lost to time. This would suggest that in order to find life’s purpose, one shouldn’t wait for it to come, but rather proceed with life and discover it along the way. Steinbeck continues on and alludes to the ancient Greek king, Croesus, and his encounter with the respected Solon. Croesus asks if he could be considered lucky, only to be responded to that it could not be determined as
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He talks about the lives of three men, each with their own levels of morality. The first man a life that balanced the actions of good and evil. Fittingly, he was loved and hated evenly. This suggests that it is not merely enough to simply undo each wrong with a right to achieve a good life. The second man was compared to Satan, as each of his actions were forms of evil. His death was responded to with rejoice. The third man embodied goodness alone and his death was met with remorse. These three men reveals how others would react and remember a person’s death. The first man, realizing his evil, repented and tried to fix what he had done wrong, in search of love and acceptance. Steinbeck emphasizes the necessity of goodness overpowering evil for love and acceptance to