Cal's External Locus Of Control In John Steinbeck

Steinbeck illustrates how Cal’s external locus of control motivates him to rely and conform to the expectations and actions of individuals he has idolized. Cal places the ultimate idolization on his father; he believes his father’s love is the greatest trophy in life. All of Cal’s actions revolve around his father’s acceptance, rather than his own desires. Cal is imprisoned by his father’s expectations and therefore cannot advocate or act for his furtherance. After a conversation between Cal and his father where both Cal and Adam open up, Steinbeck describes how happy Cal feels: “He wanted to serve his father, to give him some great gift, to perform some huge good task in honor of his father” (Steinbeck 457). Steinbeck utilizes the word “serve”