The Relationship Between Good And Evil In John Steinbeck's East Of Eden

How can two people be so different, yet so alike? It is possible, with Cathy and Cal at least. In East of Eden by John Steinbeck, the author presents multiple stories within one about the relationship between good and evil. The author intends to have an effect on the readers as they process the story by altering, through rhetorical strategies, the perception of the characters, more specifically Cathy Ames and Cal Trask. Steinbeck’s purpose was to demonstrate how doubles are possible in the same person, and if people are opposite, they will attract and pass on their good or evil qualities with each other. Also, the author suggests that good cannot exist without evil because there would be no spectrum of one’s personality. Caleb Trask is a risky guy, but through John Steinbeck’s use of Genesis, positive connotations, and diction surrounding his name, readers already have an image of him being a weak, pure, and too contrasting to other

John Steinbeck creates an illusion in these two characters, and because they are so alike, his writing affects the reader’s perception of Cal and Cathy. This is mainly through diction, connotations, and parallelism because they really showcase how double-sided people can be. All of the characters in East of Eden have direct and hidden personalities, so if Steinbeck didn’t include the rhetorical strategies used to create his manipulative tactics, everyone would be seen as their essentially true self. He convinces the readers that his knowledge of the characters plays to his advantage because he can just casually insert a certain type of connotational word to shift the reader’s attention from what the character is actually doing to how it contributes to them being good or evil. So is it resemblance or