East of Eden Cathy
In John Steinbeck’s novel, East of Eden, the deprivation of a sound conscience is a theme that is associated with Cathy Ames, and afflicts the people around her. The author uses foreshadowing to portray the future of Cathy and her multiple victims. By doing so, the author builds onto the characterization of Cathy, revealing how truly malevolent she is.
From birth, Cathy is foreshadowed to develop into something monstrous. The author claims that he “believe(s) there are monsters born in the world to human parents” (72). Even though she has not been physically presented to the reader yet, Cathy is about to be portrayed as the main evil in this novel. This prelude to Cathy’s characterization foreshadows the evil that will come with her presence. Cathy’s reign of terror begins when she burns her own house down, and “the frightened talk ran through the town that the whole Ames family had burned” (87). This action corresponds to the foreshadowing presented by the author’s description of monsters being born to human parents. By committing such an inhumane act, the reader gains the knowledge that Cathy has no conscience. Cathy’s tirade did not end there, and after giving birth to Adam, and possibly Charles’, babies and trying to leave him, “she shot at him. The heavy slug struck him in the shoulder and flattened and tore out a piece of his shoulder blade” (202). Cathy’s ability to kill the father of her children without even considering the severity of her actions shows how much of a monster Cathy truly is. The actions performed by Cathy at such an early stage in the story only foreshadows to the reader that she has not yet ended her path of destruction.
Cathy’s inner evil is revealed at birth, and, at a young age, she discovers that she holds powers that can be used to manipulate others. From birth Cathy is foreshadowed to be pure evil, and she “learned when she was very young that sexuality with all its attendant yearnings and pains, jealousies and taboos, is the most
From birth, Cathy is foreshadowed to develop into something monstrous. The author claims that he “believe(s) there are monsters born in the world to human parents” (72). Even though she has not been physically presented to the reader yet, Cathy is about to be portrayed as the main evil in this novel. This prelude to Cathy’s characterization foreshadows the evil that will come with her presence. Cathy’s reign of terror begins when she burns her own house down, and “the frightened talk ran through the town that the whole Ames family had burned” (87). This action corresponds to the foreshadowing presented by the author’s description of monsters being born to human parents. By committing such an inhumane act, the reader gains the knowledge that Cathy has no conscience. Cathy’s tirade did not end there, and after giving birth to Adam, and possibly Charles’, babies and trying to leave him, “she shot at him. The heavy slug struck him in the shoulder and flattened and tore out a piece of his shoulder blade” (202). Cathy’s ability to kill the father of her children without even considering the severity of her actions shows how much of a monster Cathy truly is. The actions performed by Cathy at such an early stage in the story only foreshadows to the reader that she has not yet ended her path of destruction.
Cathy’s inner evil is revealed at birth, and, at a young age, she discovers that she holds powers that can be used to manipulate others. From birth Cathy is foreshadowed to be pure evil, and she “learned when she was very young that sexuality with all its attendant yearnings and pains, jealousies and taboos, is the most