1. Warming up with Steinbeck's fires (pun intended!):
Take a look at Lee's commentary on fire (598). Put it into your own words and consider whether or not you agree with him.
Revisit the three scenes in recent reading in which a character sets something on fire:
- Sheriff Quinn's burning of explicit photos (558)
- Cal's burning of the money (565-6)
- Abra's burning of Aron's letters (578, 583)
What do these objects have in common?
Why is destruction by fire (vs. a different method of destruction) appropriate to these particular objects?
How/what do these fiery scenes contribute to the meaning of the work as a whole?
3. Enjoying our final Socratic seminar on East of Eden
4. Wrapping up: Lingering questions, big epiphanies, generous kudos
HW:
1. BY MONDAY: Complete your next Big Question Blog for East of Eden to prepare for Monday's timed writing. My recommendation: Reread the first and the last chapter of the novel and consider these questions:
1. BY MONDAY: Complete your next Big Question Blog for East of Eden to prepare for Monday's timed writing. My recommendation: Reread the first and the last chapter of the novel and consider these questions:
- What central conflict is established at the beginning?
- How is it resolved by the end, and to what extent?
2. By next FRIDAY, NOV 15: Select your paper/project poem and bring it to class for a metacognitive writing.
Thank you, Grace, for scribing our spectacular final Socratic!
ReplyDeleteWhy does Adam start crying when Cathy dies? Why is he so emotionally affected?
It is hard to lose someone regardless of the situation, especially if you had a very hard and complex relationship relationship
Part of you is trying to feel sad, but the other part is trying to revive yourself after something so difficult had happened
Felt regrets and bad things about Cathy
There is some sort of comfort inn knowing someone is alive; even if you have lost conflict with them and you have had a past with them and felt that relationship… regardless of the circumstances
This person still exists and there is still some sort of emotionally attach,ent to this person and when they die all ties are cut off and they are completely gone
Cathy was such an important part of his life… had his children and led him to his “great awakening”
Why did Cathy kill herself? For the entire book, her presence was always there throughout the book and Steinbeck has portrayed her as the immovable object… Why did she all the sudden die? And right before Steibeck finally started writing from her perspective
It was a fitting death for cathy… Evil killed evil and that represents how evil can destroy you
Talks about how Cathy was almost ready to go to New York and portray this fassage of her son that she never met and then when she met him that whole fantasy in a way was gone and she was not expecting it
In regards to Cain and Abel: How cal thinks he killed his brother even though he didn’t and the connection to Cain and Abel and how Cathy started all of it
It was ironic that in that scene Aaron beat up cal
A metaphorical death→ Aaron has had this purity throughout his life and then when cal showed him Cathy he lost that purity and destroyed him
Cathy's death: Cathy killing herself hold very constant with herself in the idea that she is untouchable… if someone killed her that would not fit with Cathy
The only person that can control evil is evil
The sheriff was coming up on Cathy and she had no where to run and she didn’t have a choice… she thought Ethel was after her
Going back to Aaron, we act like he is so holy and pure and Cal feels like a dirty individual and when Aaron is faced with evil he does not know how to fight it and he gives up by going to war and Cal takes it
You do not have to be extremely religious to be a good person→ Cal exercises the idea of thou mayest whereas Aaron gives up
What does it look like to be an actual good person? Steinbeck's question
Who in this book really represents a good person???
Look at the differences in the and see how they are portrayed
A good person: Cal because he understands the difference between good and evil. Although he doesn’t always do the right thing, he constantly thinks about if things are good or not
Cathy is represented as an evil being, but regardless everyone has their inner demons
ReplyDeletePeople can either face it or run from it
Aaron has this evil from his mother and he doesn’t know how to deal with it
Is Aarons ignorance and misinterpretation of reality make up his demons?
Is steinbeck religious or not religious?
He does have religion and he is obviously interested in religion
Steinbeck is trying to figure out what evil is after WWII
When he rights about WWI, he has no glorious views of the war
WWI is a distant thing but keeps encroaching like evil does and gets closer and closer until Aaron dies… parallels evil and taking out
A parallel of life, we have sent these characters age and they are starting to degrade
Very beginning of chapter 52, voices ideas on war
Describes how Adam has aged
Adam is the only character who is there from start to finish
Every other character dies halfway through
That supports the idea that Adam is trudging through the entire book
MAybe he has resolved what he is feeling throughout this book by saying “Tremshell” right before his death
Steinbeck has a lot of commentary of various things, it is interesting how unclear what his overall stance on all of these things
The entire book follows Cain and Abel, seems more like a satire of Cain and Abel
This book gives way into your own interpretation
Steinbeck is not religious, he is a very spiritual man, starts with this thing that people just say, “this is the way it is,” but realizes that it can be interpreted in various ways
Was Steinbeck more confused at the end of the book after exploring all of these different ideas of religion?
Yes, this was written on a timewritier and he couldn’t change what he wrote and he didn’t get a perfect answer, but he realized he was okay with not knowing
The letter to the editor, “The box is not full.”
The box is religion: A book was not written with the intent of finding the answer, just trying to understand it better
Feels like real life story because the book just keeps going on
Light house writeres: A speaker came in and said uyou don’t have to have an origional story, just a different perspective
This doesn’t feel like the end of a story, feels like it should keep goig\ng
Adam gets the very first lines spoken out loud in the book and the end
Look at the very end: 601, “He looked down at the closed eyes… his whispered word seemed to hang in the air, “Timshell.””
Similar to Smauel and the death of Una: The loss of a child broke him and when you lose a child like Adam did it changes you
The word, “Timshell” represents a key to a bunch of things
Adam is just going through the motions in the book and life just happened to him and didn’t say anything until he is on his deathbed and he says the magic word
ReplyDeleteIs timshel the magic word? Does it solve all problems
No, it is just something that Steinbeck uses to represent the concept that it demonstrates the power in the concept of itself
Why does Adam say that instead of Cals name
He was acknowledging Cal by offering him this solution of how Cal can make himself feel better
When timshell is first brought up→ it is those three sayings, one is you will do this or you will coward in fear and timshel is thou mayest and Lee is trying to get that authoritarian approval
Adam says timshel in a way to say do not let me define your character
It is forgiveness, you are good to go and you have my blessing to keep going
It is more powerful than saying Cals name
Opens up more of a future for Cal
Wasn’t him forgiving him, more of Adam saying he didn’t forgive him for leading them to death but he can eventually forgive him, Cal still has the power to be a good person without forgiveness
Adam was saying this is about Cal, not me, I can’t free you only you can do that
Cal has power
Adam has changed as a character because he used to feel like he had to do things but now he has realized that he has the choice
It is the biggest moment in the book, he is finally the father
Echos what God says to Cain
Saying Timshel is a direct response to Lee and he is in a way continuing Lee’s legacy
Samuel Hamilton still has left his influence particularly on Lee
Pg. 302 Lee speaking “And I feel that I am a man…because, Thou Mayest.”
In so much of your life you do not have control and are under attack
It is not your fault if you are attacked, it is your choice to be destroyed by these challenges
Since Cathy was born into a bad “attack” is it her fault for letting it destroy her, or does she just not know better? She thinks she is normal and she was never attacked
Do you find an easy scapegoat or something to get you out of the problem or they can choose to take it on
You can either choose good or you can choose evil
That is what Timshel comes down to: you can choose good or you can choose evil
Sam hamilton had good in him and he choose to follow it
Adam was in the middle but in the end he made the choice to be good
The Odyssey: How Aaron was trying to be Holy, the only human character was Cal because he was aware of being good or bad
Just because something is inexcusable, doesn’t mean it is unforgivable
A huge battle in life comes with forgiving yourself for mistakes