Editing East of Eden (novel) (section)

==Plot==

The story is primarily set in the [[Salinas Valley|Salinas Valley, California]], between the beginning of the twentieth century and the end of World War I. The first fourteen chapters, set in [[Connecticut]] and [[Massachusetts]], go as far back as the [[American Civil War]] and serve as backstory for Adam Trask, his brother Charles, their father Cyrus, and [[Cathy Ames]].

In the beginning of ''East of Eden'', before introducing his characters, Steinbeck carefully establishes the setting with a description of the Salinas Valley in [[Central California]].

===Synopsis===
Adam Trask – newly wed with newly inherited wealth from his late father – arrives in California and settles with his pregnant wife [[Cathy Ames]] in the Salinas Valley. Without Adam's knowledge, Cathy had tried to [[Unsafe abortion|abort the pregnancy with a knitting needle]]. In their new home, she warns Adam that she had not wanted to move to California and plans to leave as soon as she can. Adam dismisses her, saying "Nonsense!"

Cathy gives birth to twin boys, shoots Adam in the shoulder after convincing him to unlock the bedroom door, and flees. Adam survives and falls into a deep depression. His [[Chinese-American]] servant, Lee, and his neighbor, the inventive Irish immigrant Samuel Hamilton, rouse Adam out of it enough for him to name his sons [[Aaron]] and [[Caleb]], after biblical characters.

Lee becomes a good friend and adopted family member and has long philosophical talks with Adam and Samuel, particularly about the story of [[Cain and Abel]]. Maintaining that it has been imperfectly translated in [[English-language bibles]], Lee tells how his relatives in San Francisco, a group of Chinese scholars, spent two years studying [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] so that they might discover the moral of the Cain and Abel story. Their discovery that the [[Hebrew]] word ''timshel'' means "thou mayest", which becomes an important symbol in the novel of a person's [[Free will|power to choose]] their<!-- See [[singular they]] --> paths, meaning that human beings are neither compelled to pursue sainthood nor doomed to sin.

Meanwhile, Cathy becomes a prostitute at the most respectable [[brothel]] in the city of [[Salinas, California|Salinas]]. She renames herself "Kate Albey", ingratiates herself with the [[madam (prostitution)|madam]], murders her, and inherits the business. She makes her new brothel infamous as a den of [[sexual sadism]] and a source of [[blackmail]] on the rich and powerful of Salinas Valley.

Adam's sons, Caleb ("Cal") and Aaron ("Aron") – echoing Cain and Abel – grow up oblivious of their mother's situation. They are opposites: Aron is virtuous and dutiful, Cal wild and rebellious. At an early age, Aron meets a girl, Abra Bacon, from a well-to-do family, and the two fall in love. Although there are rumors around town that Cal and Aron's mother is not dead but is actually still in Salinas, the boys do not yet know that she is Kate.

Inspired by Samuel's inventiveness, Adam starts an ill-fated business venture and loses almost all of the family fortune. The boys, particularly Aron, are horrified that their father is now the town's laughingstock and are mocked by their peers for his failure.

As the boys reach the end of their school days, Cal decides to pursue a career in farming, and Aron goes to college to become an [[Episcopal priest]]. Cal, restless and tortured by guilt about his very human failings, shuns everyone around him and takes to wandering around town late at night. During one of these ramblings, he discovers that his mother is alive and the madam of a brothel. He goes to see her, and she spitefully tells him they are just alike. Cal replies that she is simply afraid and leaves.
[[File:Salinas_River_Map.jpg|thumb|Map of the [[Salinas Valley]]. The city of [[Salinas, California|Salinas]] is at the north end.]]
Cal goes into business with Samuel's son Will, who is now a successful automobile dealer. Cal's plan is to earn his father's approval and his money back by capitalizing on [[World War I]] and selling beans grown in the Salinas Valley to nations in Europe for a considerable profit. He succeeds beyond his wildest expectations and wraps up a gift of $15,000 in cash which he plans to give to Adam at [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving]].

Aron returns from [[Stanford University]] for the holiday. There is tension in the air because Aron has not yet told their father that he intends to drop out of college. Rather than let Aron steal the moment, Cal gives Adam the money at dinner, expecting his father to be proud of him. Adam refuses to accept it, however, and tells Cal to give it back to the poor farmers he exploited.

In a fit of rage and jealousy, Cal takes Aron to see their mother, knowing it will be a shock to him. Sure enough, Aron immediately sees Kate for who she is and recoils from her in disgust. Wracked with self-hatred, Kate signs her estate over to Aron and commits [[suicide]].

Aron, his idealistic worldview shattered, enlists in the [[U.S. Army|Army]] to fight in World War I. He is [[killed in action]] in the last year of the war, and Adam suffers a stroke upon hearing the news from Lee. Cal, who began a relationship with Aron's girlfriend Abra after Aron went to war, tries to convince her to run away with him. She instead persuades him to return home.

Lee pleads with the bedridden and dying Adam to forgive his only remaining son. Adam responds by non-verbally indicating that he forgives Cal and then says "timshel," giving Cal the choice to break the cycle and conquer sin.