East of Eden, by John Steinbeck, is an incredibly complex novel with a plot that’s rife with emotion. The reader, who was satisfied with the book’s progress, suddenly becomes frustrated and rips his hair out. Steinbeck succeeds to make his readers feel uncomfortable with the use of specific diction and descriptive imagery.
Steinbeck begins East of Eden by describing the setting in detail. You can see that Steinbeck’s opening description of Salinas Valley parallels his theme and story progression. His theme of “balance”, the comparison of good with evil, is introduced by comparing the setting. He recalls his childhood in Salinas. “I have always loved the east and hated the west” (Steinbeck). Gabilan verses Santa Lucias. Love vs. brooding. Birth vs. dying. The “good” will take over the situations where the reader is temporarily satisfied. The author describes the Valley and mentions both blue flowers as well as how white flowers can bring out more blue. When contrasting events or colors are placed together, they will stand out. If you place the “bad,” next to “good,” it will make the “bad,” seem worse. The emotional turmoil experienced by the reader is a result of the ups and the downs, as well as the good and bad.
Steinbeck has the ability to instantly change the tone and emotion of the narrative, which makes it impossible for the reader maintain one mindset or feeling. Adam seems to be unaware of Cathy’s evil nature, even though the reader knows it. He asks her to marry him after she has recovered. ‘Will You Marry Me?’ (Steinbeck 120). Adam’s words of innocent and naive love agitate readers. Cathy is well-known to almost all characters in the book and readers alike. Adam’s love for Cathy clouds his common sense and makes him disillusioned. Readers can anticipate a tragic future even before he asks to marry her. These events make the readers want to throw the books and yell “WHY?” to the characters – or even the author. Adam’s proposal of marriage to Cathy is just one example.
The mood can sometimes be very ominous. The mood can also be playful. Steinbeck can alter the mood and tone of a piece to suit his needs by using his diction. Steinbeck loves to use metaphors, similes and other figurative expressions. Steinbeck uses comparison to give a positive or negative connotation to any situation. Adam talks to Kate’s Assistant, Eva, at one point in this story. Eva’s response was noticeably cold and uninviting. The metaphor uses the word “edge” to describe the sharpness of a knife. Steinbeck might have chosen to simply say “the voice of the young girl” but chose instead to compare the voice’s sharpness with that of a razor. This phrase is used to suggest that the girl’s voice, while sharp, can be deadly, murderous and capable of killing like a knife. This blade metaphor only makes this uninviting situation worse. Steinbeck used figurative language and very descriptive words to create a quote that will stay with the reader for a lifetime.
A final relationship, and one that is of great importance to the plot, is “timshel,” which means choice. Steinbeck incorporates “timshel”, a concept that contrasts good with evil. Each man must choose a path. The reader is left feeling frustrated and angry by the unpredictable results of “timshel” and the unpredictable and often disappointing nature of the decisions. Steinbeck’s descriptive imagery, plot twist, and word choices are all effective in creating emotional turmoil for readers. Steinbeck achieves his goal of “ripping a reader’s nervous system to pieces” by using descriptive imagery, a unique plot twist and specific word choices.