What do you have to say about Cathy, in terms of her representation of women in the text?
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This blog is for Harbor High Students enrolled in American Literature Honors. It is a place to share ideas and resources
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About Me
- Rene Ohana
- Ms. Ohana is an English teacher at Harbor High. She enjoys reading, writing, gardening, and baking. Her students are an energetic and creative group. She can hardly wait to hear all of their great ideas about literature.
My favorite character is Lee because he shows that confidence is not always something one is born with, but can be adquired throughout life. At first he wasn't sure about speaking in proper english but once he talked to Samuel and both reflected upon the subjet Lee found it to be absurd not to speak properly. Lee is also not afraid to tell someone the truth if he knows it is going to help them. However, he knows when to speak up and when to keep quiet. His hunger for knowledge is also admirable especially with the racial challenge that he faced in that time period. Cathy portrays a women that wants to be in charge and doesn't want to be stepped on. However, her fight for strength goes to extreame lengths and she begins to lower herself in the eyes of people.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the second question:
ReplyDeleteOne thing that really stood out to me when reading East of Eden was its representation of women in the text. First of all there was only one real main female character in the story and that was Cathy who was a representation of evil in the book. The other two women characters in the story Abra and Liza are only important to the story because of their association with "important" men in the book. There are over 10 main men characters and only 3 women characters. When a story such as East of Eden makes such a powerful statement about humanity and then fails to include over fifty percent of the population in its main characters it kind of makes it hard to take the themes seriously.
My least favorite character is Aron because he seems oblivious to the problems around him and it looks like he only cares about keeping his world perfect, he doesn't care what other people think about him, thus ignoring all the attention his dad gives him, taking it for granted
ReplyDeleteMy least favorite character was Adam. All throughout the book, he unwillingly harms the people around him. In the beginning, he is oblivious to how much Charles loves their father and doesn't do anything about it. I think he should have at least talked to Cyrus about it. What really bothers me though, is that he basically becomes his father, who he always disliked. He doesn't learn from his father's mistakes at all; when he becomes a father to Cal and Aron, he favors Aron even though he knew exactly how it would turn out. Its hard to imagine that someone could be that ignorant about their own past. He was also a horrible father, and I think that if he had been better that Cal and Aron wouldn't have struggled so much. If Lee hadn't been there, Cal might have become just like Cathy because his father didn't really care about him. I know that Adam was devastated after Kate left, but that isn't an excuse to abandon the family you have left.
ReplyDeleteFor the second question, I was also a little surprised that women were portrayed so negatively. I wasn't really sure if it was because Steinbeck meant it to be that way, or if he was just sticking to his biblical story and he was using Cathy as Eve. Also, I wasn't sure if he was really being sexist because of Abra. Yes, she was there because she was connected to Aron, but I feel like if Steinbeck was trying to portray women negatively, she wouldn't have gone to Cal. I think that Abra and Liza might have been meant to offset Cathy's evil, but I'm not really sure.
My favorite character is Samuel Hamilton because he knows that there is both good and evil in the world and he accepts that. He has to deal with the bad things in his life, such as his dry farm, which makes him a very poor man. But, he overlooks the bad and tries to see the good, such as his big, loving family. He is one of the only characters in the novel that can see both good and evil clearly.
ReplyDeleteIn the text Cathy's representation of women is that all are manipulative, innocent looking, and strange to everyone around them. She makes all women seem evil. Although, within the pages of East of Eden there is a time where the author appears to take back what he said about Cathy being evil, saying that there is a chance that we beloved her to be because of the actions she does and the fact the reasons behind them are unknown. After this was stated in the book I remembered it and tried to decide if it was true, after a while I believed it to most likely be false, but once Cathy had killed herself and the book provided the reasoning behind it I began to truly wonder if she was evil, or just misunderstood.
ReplyDeleteI don't really have a "favorite" character, but I find many admirable qualities in Cal. I understand that he is supposed to be a surrogate for Cain in the story, and he indirectly causes his brother's death, but I think his effort to overcome his malevolent disposition is praiseworthy. I also like the fact that he has an advantage over evil on account of his understanding of it, allowing him to endure the harsh realities of the world.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to Cathy's representation of women, I have a hard time believing that she is supposed to be the symbol of womankind in the text. When you consider the other women in the text, like Abra, Liza, and Olive Hamilton, I think it's very clear that Steinbeck isn't asserting that all women are evil. I consider these women considerably independent as well; Olive is described as a free spirit, Liza is known for controlling her household, and Abra grows into an individual who holds her own opinions and chooses her own way.
I don't think Cathy being a woman is an intentional derogatory comment towards women. She is simply symbolic of the world's evils in the novel. If Cathy represents anything about womankind in the novel, it is that in order to be economically independent, she had to resort to drastic means because of the limited opportunities available to her as a female in the 20th century. When Cathy is first being introduced, one of her most profound qualities is that at an early age, she completely rejected social norms. This rejection of social norms paved the way towards her future crimes, but this very rejection was almost a necessity in order to advance in society.
Take note that though Cathy accomplishes financial success, she still only manages this through manipulation of the system and getting involved with prostitution. If anything, this is a political statement about the economic and social patriarchy deeply rooted in America at the time.
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ReplyDeleteMy favorite character was Lee. He had a certain way of speaking that seemed calming and he seemed to be Steinbecks way to tell us his own thoughts word for word. I felt like without Lee there would be something missing. Everytime there was something worng in the book Lee always seemed to make it better and do or say the right thing. I trusted him.
ReplyDeleteI In the book Cathy's representation of women seemes very narrow and wrong. To me, Cathy is not exacly what we call a human being considering the fact that all thorughout the book she acts and is even decribed as being an animal. To me she is more of a symbol of evil because that is all that she seemes to portay through her actions in the book.
My favorite character in the book was Samuel Hamilton, because he is always understanding and a philosopher that realizes that there is both good and evil in the world. He also realizes that he does not have the best land among other things but he always is able to see a bright side to things which makes him popular and well liked.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of Cathy's representation of women in the text she embodies evil and brings out the worst in people. While you have Cathy bringing a negative representation of women to the book as a magnified personality that is manipulative, lying, and murdering figure, you also have Liza and Abra as strong willed, independent women to bring the representation of women up
Yeah, the Samantha comment there was also Sam Z's.
ReplyDeleteI really need to stop forgetting to say that in the post.
Olive Hamilton was my favorite character in East of Eden, as she poses a nice contrast to Cathy. If Cathy was the only woman in the novel, we would get a very limited view and it would lead us to believe that all women are as evil as she. Olive's kind, loving persona and attention to her family is completely opposite of Cathy, but shows us that not all women are evil.
ReplyDeleteI think that my favorite character is Cal and my lest favorite is Aron. When i was first introduced to them, i had an opposite opinion because i liked Aron more. However, after the reading, Cal is my favorite character because he is the most down to earth out of all the characters. He knows his faults, he knows what he is good at, and he is struggling to overcome problems teenagers face on a day-to-day basis such as being made fun of for his family and being compared to his mother. Aron is my least favorite because his view of the world is the farthest from reality. He sees people only as he wants to see them, such as Abra and his vision of her perfection. He also focuses his whole life around religion instead of balancing his new found interest with the rest of his life.
ReplyDeleteCathy is not an adequate representation of women because her character takes one manipulative side of the human personality, and fills up her entire being with it which makes women seem like a cruel and negative symbol throughout the book.
My favorite character in East of Eden was definitely Cathy. Although I understand she is supposed to be the antagonist of the story, that is the reason I find her the most interesting. I find it fascinating that, unlike Cal who struggles constantly with the dark side of himself, Cathy is never given the least chance to have a single redeeming quality. From the very moment of her birth, she is set aside to be ghastly. The very fact that she is entirely and completely horrible to everyone is why she is my favorite. For me, a "favorite" character is not one which is most virtuous, or the most likable. t is a character which is interesting, and villains, and their motives, are the most interesting. Why does she become a whore and then the owner of a brothel? How does it further her ends? Why does she choose to shoot Adam in the shoulder rather than the heart? Unfortunately, few of these questions are explored, since Cathy is decided once and for all to be evil, and there apparently is no more need for discussion.
ReplyDelete-Anais