East of Eden by John Steinbeck REVIEW 

I hated that book.

Its like 2 books. I recommend THE RED PONY or THE PEARL. Grapes of Wrath my fav.

I know it’s been a year but have you read it yet? East of Eden is fantastic and a great place to start with Steinbeck. Otherwise I would start with of Mice and Men (my personal favorite)

The Iliad.

A fair judgment I think!

Misogynistic? If anything it was feministic, did we even read the same book? Characters like Liza, Olive and Dessie, are some examples of what the author meant when it came to 'timshel' the choice these women took over morally void people like Cathy. And Lee's mother? I mean you're just blindly hating on something you never bothered to take in completely. All these people had the choice, to either seek good or continue their evil paths.

@@TylerDurden-gl4qn What a funny argument, someone who doesn’t like a book you do must be a “hater.” Grow up. What Steinbeck finds admirable in a woman is being devoid of any feminine/sexual traits - like Liza. The necessary prerequisite is, of course, that she still performs all female duties: bearing and raising children, taking care of the household, obeying her husband. That’s a vision of Steinbeck’s perfect woman - someone who doesn’t threaten male power, but is responsible for literally everything. On the other hand, Cathy is described as devil incarnate because she’s traditionally feminine and when much older men in direct power over her start lusting after her, she sometimes weaponizes her sexuality to get what she herself wants. All these men should have nothing to do with a much younger girl (in the beginning, a minor) who relies on their favorable attitude for school grades/money/shelter/life, but Steinbeck is convinced that they are not perpetrators, but victims of Cathy’s evil witchcraft. Even the man who almost kills her after finding out she doesn’t truly love him (oh horror!) is portrayed as a confused person, driven not by his own vices but Cathy’s corrupting nature. What is it? Cathy seduces to get gifts when she’s a teenager, to save money and start a better life when she’s 18, to get medical help and stay alive when she’s lying almost dead, and sometimes to have fun because she enjoys sex. This shift in power dynamics is what ticks Steinbeck, the idea that a woman might have some power over a man and that she might be staying with him to serve her own needs. And that’s what a devil looks like to Steinbeck, a woman who has her own motives and doesn’t blindly follow a man’s orders.

@@SailorMoon-in-Cancer I am so sorry, your interpretation of the events is way off the moral equilibrium, if you really did think that the female characters lacked agency you must read it again, this time in whole. I am not even going to bother rationalising my argument to you as your opinions scream with insensitivity, and you should probably seek therapy/help yourself if that's your worldview. The whole book must've blown over your head. There *is* no perfect woman or perfect human being in East of Eden, or the real world for that matter. The whole point is that you don't have to be perfect but you *can* be good, as remarked by Lee to Abra reflecting upon Cal Trask. You can choose to be good like Cal despite him having both good and dark in him, as he says it to Cathy's face. All the women apart from, I think Cyrus' wife who appears meek but is her own woman when she is alone, are endowed with agency and are strong and independent. It is their actions that matters at the end of the day, and Cathy's is mostly her own needs, she lures the men, corrupt and the worst men, (Cathy uses people, not just men, as we see in the whorehouse, she uses sex to get her way) which even despite portraying her as the devil, we get a glimpse of her inner child during her end with the 'Alice in Wonderland' reference. I am not criticising you for disliking the book, your arguments are the problem, they aren't reasonable and misplaced. If you did read, you would know that there *is* no 'male power' throughout, the men provide their spouses equal footing on all accounts, sometimes letting decisions be taken by them if the woman's is more sensible. On the whole, I just feel sorry for you that you're blinded your staunch morally devoid opinions.

@@TylerDurden-gl4qn How fragile you must be that someone’s dislike of a book drives you to throw personal insults at them and stomp your foot like a toddler, insisting that only you must be right. Whatever makes you feel safe and superior, I guess *yawn*

@@SailorMoon-in-Cancer I shall refrain from feeding the troll any longer. Please seek help, thank you.