The Importance Of Half Empty In John Steinbeck's East Of Eden

As a child one learns the proverbial lesson of the question “Is the glass half empty or half full?”. The question is generally associated with pessimism and optimism, and the only acceptable answers are half empty or half full. Yet, when one grows up he or she learns that the glass, just like life, can never be looked at as bluntly half full or half empty; it has to be somewhere in between. Those who do not learn this lesson are destined to live a life of both disappoint and malevolence. John Steinbeck portrays this sense of in between as the Hebrew word, timshel. The majority of characters in East of Eden believe in destiny, believe in the so called ‘acceptable’ answers, believe in no other notion than evil and good. They are trapped in an

These people tend to see life solely as empty or vacant, that there is no light in it. One of these characters is Cathy. Cathy is continually haunted by evil and seeks to do harm to others, “Her method was to keep him continually off balance. She saw with satisfaction his nerves begin to go, his hands take to quivering, his loss of weight, and the wild glazed look in his eyes” (Steinbeck 94). Cathy does not believe in choice that timshel creates; she believes there is only evil in the world, so therefore she commits only evil. Her name also begins with a “C” and is tied to the biblical story of Cain and Abel throughout the book, and presents the idea of a lack of free will. Yuji Kami describes this characteristic about Cathy, "Meanwhile, Cathy/Kate is presented as a teleologist (concerned with absolute fact), in that she fails to see the goodness in people based on her belief that all mankind is inherently evil" (Kami). This characteristic causes Cathy to not only hurt others, but herself as well. In a study conducted to test how the belief in free will changed oneself, those who were biased towards fate were more likely to not care about the morality of their actions, "Neuroscience has revealed that at least one way skepticism about free will erodes ethical behavior is by weakening willpower" (Shariff and Kathleen 76). The

As a child, Cal was always a social outcast. From his naming, Cal has always carried a stain his back, due to the weight it bears: “Have you found a way to rip the backbone out of your name?” (Steinbeck 299). His name and the significance it plays, are prevalent problems throughout East of Eden. His preset path was to live a life of evil like his mother and countless other Cain connected characters. This path is expected from others, causing people to be cautious around him: “His mouth twitched. 'Cal, don't tell me you're a gardener?' Lee's head snapped around and he inspected Samuel. 'Don't do that,' Lee said nervously "(Steinbeck 299). Throughout his life he struggles with not being evil and doing the right thing. Yet unlike other Cain characters, he acknowledges that what he’s doing is wrong and wants to change: “I want to make it up to him because I am not good,” (Steinbeck 477). Cal confronts his mother, in hopes in understanding the path that is laid out in front of him and see of worries are of worth: “I was afraid I had you in me,” (Steinbeck 462). However, Cal realizes that he is not destined to be like his mother, and instead has the ability to choose: “No, I haven’t. I’m my own. I don’t have to be you,” (Steinbeck 462). This new found knowledge leads Cal to live in freedom, free from the worry of fate.