East of Eden Summary
John Steinbeck

Everything you need to understand or teach East of Eden by John Steinbeck.

East of Eden Summary & Study Guide
8 Student Essays
2 Literature Criticisms
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30 East of Eden Lessons
20 Activities
180 Multiple Choice Questions
60 Short Essay Questions
20 Essay Questions
Pre-Made Tests and Quizzes
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East of Eden Summary

Reviewers were quick to point out the flaws in structure and theme in this long novel, and later critics have in general not regarded it as the equal of Steinbeck's finest works. However, the story of the Trask family is a powerful, if melodramatic one, and the Hamilton chapters show Steinbeck's ability to create living characters and set them in motion is undiminished. The selection of East of Eden by Oprah Winfrey for...

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East of Eden Study Guide

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Characters

Objects/Places

Themes

Style

Historical Context

Critical Overview

Criticism

Critical Essay #1

Quotes

Adaptations

Topics for Further Study

Compare and Contrast

What Do I Read Next?

Topics for Discussion

Further Study

Bibliography

John Steinbeck Biographies (7)

John Ernst Steinbeck

786 words, approx. 3 pages

John Ernst Steinbeck (1902-1968), American author and winner of the Nobel Prize in 1962, was a leading exponent of the proletarian novel and a prominent spokesman for the victims of the Great Depressi... Read more

John (Ernst) Steinbeck

3,344 words, approx. 12 pages

John Ernst Steinbeck was in the course of his mixed career a common laborer, world traveler, novelist, short-story writer, essayist, and playwright. Although he will be most importantly remembered for... Read more

John (Ernst) Steinbeck

16,107 words, approx. 54 pages

Throughout a career which spanned four decades, John Steinbeck was a novelist of people. His best books are about ordinary men and women, simple souls who do battle against dehumanizing social forces ... Read more

John (Ernst) Steinbeck

9,902 words, approx. 34 pages

John Steinbeck has the seemingly oxymoronic distinction of having been both a Nobel laureate and best-selling author and yet also one of the most underrated and misunderstood American authors of the t... Read more

John (Ernst) Steinbeck

5,194 words, approx. 18 pages

John Steinbeck may not be known for his work as a nature writer, at least in the sense of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, or Annie Dillard, but much of his work develops character... Read more

John Ernst Steinbeck

17,637 words, approx. 59 pages

Biography EssayThrough a career which spanned four decades, John Steinbeck was a novelist of people. His best books are about ordinary men and women, simple souls who do battle against dehumanizing so... Read more

John Steinbeck

6,778 words, approx. 23 pages

"I hold that a writer who does not passionately believe in the perfectibility of man has no dedication nor any membership in literature." With this declaration, John Steinbeck accepted the Nobel Prize... Read more

Essays & Analysis (10)

Critical Essay by Mark Schorer

812 words, approx. 3 pages

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Critical Essay by Louis Owens

5,117 words, approx. 18 pages

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Steinbeck's Themes in "East of Eden"

1,240 words, approx. 5 pages

In East of Eden, John Steinbeck's narrator explores good and evil in three generations of Americans. Each time a character overcomes their extremely pure or horribly corrupt fate, he disproves destiny... Read more

Evil in East of Eden

2,055 words, approx. 7 pages

East of Eden is an in-depth look at different people who are all related to one another and the effect they have on each other. Written by John Steinbeck, this book deals with good vs. evil in Salina... Read more

East of Eden: Character Analysis

594 words, approx. 2 pages

John Steinbeck's East of Eden introduces us to various characters with unique and captivating personalities. His spectacular method of developing their individual traits is a work of art.. For he ... Read more

East of Eden, A Film Review

1,177 words, approx. 4 pages

The movie "East of Eden" was made in 1955 but is an all time classic. It was based on John Steinbeck's novel of the same name. The novel was a winner of Nobel Prize for Literature, and the movie al... Read more

Steinbeck's Bible

1,163 words, approx. 4 pages

Allusions are one of the most powerful writing tools in modern literature, commonly making strong, though sometimes hidden, references to events of past. These insinuations can refer to anything fro... Read more

East of Eden - Self Knowledge

1,242 words, approx. 5 pages

Several characters through the course of Steinbeck's novel East of Eden demonstrate a lack of self-knowledge or corruption of the soul. A gap is created between some the character's actions and their ... Read more

Genesis of the New World: East of Eden

1,301 words, approx. 5 pages

A story is about a made up person in a made up place going through made up events. So why should I even care to read it? In order to add a sense of meaning and purpose to a novel, an author must add... Read more

Symbolic Characters in Steinbeck's East of Eden

1,962 words, approx. 7 pages

Many works of fiction are able to emotionally move the reader through the successful development of its characters. The characters are imbued with lifelike characteristics, and through the interactio... Read more

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