Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- Is East of Eden an allegory, or simply a re-telling? Can something really be an allegory if the characters in the allegory know that they are being allegorized?
- Why do you think we see two generations of Cains and Abels instead of just one?
- Cathy is our biblical Eve figure, but in what ways does she challenge the traditional views of Eve? Are her motives all bad?
- Where the heck do the Hamiltons fit into all this Genesis stuff?
- Why do you think Steinbeck has his younger self and his real-life relatives appear in this story?
- Does East of Eden have a happy ending? Why or why not?
- How does the Judeo-Christian symbolism in East of Eden compare to the Judeo-Christian symbolism in The Grapes of Wrath? How does Steinbeck use religious symbolism differently in these novels?
- Why do you think America and its history are so prevalent in this book (through ideas like the migration West, the Indian campaigns, Chinese-American immigration, World War I, etc.)?