East of Eden, I ponder for a while and frown into the swirl not of an ordinary book, but I walk into a capricious hallway of life.

Adam Trask, his mother dead by suicide in a pond near their house, I know how that feels. The water in that pond from that on scours Adam’s accouterments cruelly into its abysmal bottom. He felt naked whenever his face is reflected on the surface of that limpid pond, but for it was obscured than ever before. Adam can never see through the veil that covered his mom’s death. Not a big deal, didn’t have much memory about her pretty face anyways. Cyrus Trask, his dad, a soldier who malingered from the war, was a tough man. His broken leg often riled him. The decrepit crutch is a clue to his cowardice, his obedient wife glued his gratuitousness against his masculinity, the jovial sky loses its blue smile thence. But he made his way into the philosophy and planning of military, he was chosen to assist the president and secretaries in the White House. He had a stupefying heritage of approximately five hundred thousand dollars. Although that wasn’t recorded as a pride within him, he was just redeeming and repenting the sins that he once thrust upon Adam to the holy God scowling at him. Alice was Adam’s stepmother, she was special in an ordinary way, doing her daily chores and taking care of Charles, Adam’s brother and him. Slowly, there was a subtle relationship built upon Adam and Alice, but as a mom, her narrow vision only incorporated her only son Charles who didn’t care as much as his mother than Adam did. She died in a murky corner shrouded by dust, and Adam was the only person that brought a broom. The gruff Charles was a brutal tyrant to Adam, but he exerted his sovereignty to serve Adam and loved him deeply. They quarreled a lot along with their life, but the huge farm that Charles inherited eventually was endowed to Adam, the only humane king died soundlessly, he was judicious but his sheer senses were unnoticed.

Samuel Hamilton, an Irish man who came to Salinas Valley in California as a magnificent craft man, blacksmith, heating contractor, and inventor. But his versatileness kept him poor with nine children. But the forge, the shoes and the machines that he invented always dance around him when he is working, the magic has worked. He was never friends with money, but friends with every neighbor and client who came to him. Sam was a tough man with a soft heart, his red mustache decorated him as a gentle giant, his fingers intercepted with crude soot which foiled him with authority and shrewdness. But Liza Hamilton, his wife was the person that not only conducted the shrewdness but she was able to use her strictness to criticize the shrewdness. Nobody ever blamed her really, because her inviting zeal and palpable discipline convinced every one of them who suspected her. And Tom, the toughest kid but his personality was the most babyish among all of the kids, I guess you can call him a precocious baby. William was the rich boy, Joe was the erudite scholar, Mollie was the beautiful girl and Dessie’s corpse became the precious soul of the family, just to mention a few of the remarkable kids. The other kids are memorable, they are too sacred to be mentioned. You just can’t refuse this glorious family with disgust except for one person.

Cathy Ames, a moral monster, she was enigmatic, her conscience never existed. Cathy wasn’t a normal human, she was like robots, very accurate and seems to obtain the power of mind-reading, nothing tortures her, except her own gnawing vanity. She established a supreme brothel, and once was a seditious whore. Cathy had once been beaten to hell, but her parents were being placed gently into the artificial fire by her. She seldom loved anybody, but a lot of people loved her and even worshipped her beyond their trembling spirit. A mom that left her two sons and shot her husband Adam is unforgivable, something unreasonable will happen, her body bargained with wealth. Cathy was castigated by God, she committed herself as Cathy Trask and left all the money to her son Aron. Her death was silent, some people even celebrated a little, but the person that she hated the most and injured the worse wetted the corner of his eye. Isn’t that sarcastic?

It was a century of racism back in the 1800s until somebody shut that lid and opened a new one. Lee was Chinese, he was born in America though, his father was one of the workers who was involved in building the Great Wall. Lee never engaged in the word “love”, but the impression that his parents had was deep. Women weren’t allowed in the process of the project, but the compulsion of clamping the family together ignited his mother in running into it and be with his father. She devoted her life due to the lassitude in the construction and gave birth to Lee, she was selfish, that’s all I have to say. Her grueling love and persistency abandoned the innocent Lee. He was a family pet to the Trask family, serving them pliantly and never complained about anything. In fact, Lee was smarter than all the humans that are on the earth breathing, he doesn’t breathe in oxygen, but in absolute wisdom. As time eclipsed by, the family pet transformed into the owner and send out bits of advice to the family, he was the actual father of Adam and his sons. During the point when he decided to leave, nobody attempted for retention, but he was the lonely dog without the cuddle of a sweet blanket. People that don’t wield their smartness properly are called a maverick, both good and bad. Sam Hamilton’s was the first and only person whom personality provoked Lee exhibited his yellow belly.

Twins are never the same. Cal was the darker one in every aspect. He wanted to be brighter to deviate the shameful appearance of his mom, but even his similarity didn’t gain any fond of both his parents. He is incredibly clever and a genial businessman with the ability to inhale all the profit that he could without any shenanigans. Aron was the boy with pale blue eyes that would drown you in the blue ocean and romp with the energetic dolphins. Abra Bacon lived as a voluptuous fairytale to the brothers. She acted like a soothing mother to Aron, since he had none, and played as a dainty princess to Cal. But then the church and the preacher became the dream of Aron and those were eminent enough to abet Aron to toss Abra aside. Aron joined the army like Adam did and martyred after Cal showed him their mother who changed her name to Kate as an omnipotent owner of a brothel. Cal wasn’t traumatized as bad as Aron, probably a little bit surprised only. If you keep swallowing absinthe then the taste of herbs will be mediocre, but munching chocolate will result in gnawing bitterness even in spinach. Abra turned to Cal and also won the countenance of Lee and Adam together, for her elegant parents were stone like and their daughter is only a sequin to them. Attractive kids get blemished psychologically a lot easier than undistinguished kids.

Adam Trask, I’ve got irresolution in me right now, is he the main character in this book? His life is soaked in extreme agony and performed as a pantomime of tragedy. Adam was forced to join the army by his father, he was being controlled like a pathetic marionette whom his family was diverted and he was tortured by Cathy cruelly. But he cherished Cathy in the very marrow of his bones. Many people around him died and their souls were reluctant to be in related with him. He could have averted the punishment by God, but only his ignorance and injustice treatment to Cal earned that despondent emblem. Adam Trask loved a lot of people, but barely anyone split their love and fed it to Adam. Even though you spray the fresh comedy on top of the reeking tragedy,  there will be one day when the comedy will rot and the irritated tragedy under will devour you.

-April L.

John Steinbeck’s East of Eden is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library.