EAST OF EDEN
Fingers crossed, in a week, I will be finishing ‘East of Eden,’ and I cannot wait to start reading the book again when I have more time on my hands. Never have I ever been so disgruntled with the way I am treating the eye-opening piece of literature. It seems as if I were gulping down chapter after chapter without processing. It occurs because I am either pressed for time or too engrossed in reading. In the case with ‘East of Eden,’ frankly, it is both (I have passed a few weeks without reading a line (shout-out to the traumatizing teaching practice)). Anyhow, over the last few days, I have been catching up on savoring ‘East of Eden’ (and constantly getting open-mouthed by the profundity of the narrative).
To begin with, I’d like to share with you a few words that may come in handy to explain ourselves.
A goose walked over my grave: when a person says ‘a goose (or someone) walked over my grave,’ they mean that they’ve got sudden, inexplicable shivers = (appr.) мурашки бегут по спине
“Samuel shivered. ‘It isn’t cold, is it?’ Adam asked. ‘Cold? No. A goose walked over my grave, I guess.’ ‘Oh, yes, I know that feeling.’”
Imminence = something that may cause injury or harm = нависшая угроза
“He remembered that he had felt an imminence akin to the one that came to him when he held the water wand. And he remembered the shivers when the goose walked over his grave.”
SYNONYMS: danger, hazard, menace
Impunity = the fact of not getting punished for something = безнаказанность
“Only one person in the world could with impunity and without crime lie between her crisp ironed sheets after dawn, after sunup, even to the far reaches of midmorning, and that was her youngest and last born, Joe.”
SYNONYMS: exemption, immunity
ANTONYMS: liability
Indecipherable = (of writing or speech) impossible to read or understand = неразборчивый
“Her life may have been her language, formal, developed, indecipherable. It is easy to say she was bad, but there is little meaning unless we know why.”
SYNONYMS: illegible, unreadable
ANTONYMS: clear, readable
To jeer = to laugh at somebody or shout rude remarks at them to show that you do not respect them = глумиться, насмехаться, язвить
Adam said, ‘Get off my place. Go on — get off. You’re acting crazy. Get off. This is my place. I bought it.’ ‘You bought your eyes and nose,’ Samuel jeered. ‘You bought your uprightness. You bought your thumb on sideways. Listen to me, because I’m like to kill you after. You bought! You bought out of some sweet inheritance. Think now — do you deserve your children, man?”
SYNONYMS: taunt, scoff
ANTONYMS: cheer
To snarl = to speak in a rough, low, angry voice = сердито ворчать
“Then Samuel’s hands were on Adam’s throat, pressing the throbbing up to his temples, swelling his eyes with blood. And Samuel was snarling at him. ‘Tear away with your jelly fingers. You have not bought these boys, nor stolen them, nor passed any bit for them. You have them by some strange and lovely dispensation.’”
SYNONYMS: bark, snap
Flabby = weak; with no strength or force
“He thought of the virtues of courage and forbearance, which become flabby when there is nothing to use them on. His mind grinned inward at itself.”
To gnaw (at) = to make somebody feel anxious, frightened or uncomfortable over a long period of time = беспокоить, терзать
“He took out the package and unwrapped the battered book. ‘This one has been scraped and gnawed at,” he said. “I wonder what agonies have settled here.’”
SYNONYMS: devastate, overwhelm, decimate
ANTONYMS: pacify
Catcall = a vocal sound made to express scorn or disapproval = освистывание
“Poetry was a symptom of weakness, of degeneracy and decay. To read it was to court catcalls. To write it was to be suspected and ostracized.”
SYNONYMS: razzes, snorts
ANTONYMS: cheers
To ostracize = to avoid someone intentionally, or to prevent someone from taking part in the activities of a group = отвергать, притеснять
“Poetry was a symptom of weakness, of degeneracy and decay. To read it was to court catcalls. To write it was to be suspected and ostracized.”
SYNONYMS: blacklist, excommunicate
ANTONYMS: exalt, acclaim, revere
To maim = to injure somebody seriously, causing permanent damage to their body = калечить, изувечит
“Cathy, and she is now called Kate, takes the fresh and young and beautiful and so maims them that they can never be whole again.”
SYNONYMS: incapacitate
ANTONYMS: heal, rehabilitate
Jittery = anxious and nervous = тревожный
“Kate sat still as though she held her breath. Eva was jittery.”
SYNONYMS: jumpy, edgy, uptight
ANTONYMS: calm, collected
Magnanimously = in a way that is kind, generous and forgiving, especially towards an enemy or competitor =великодушно, благородно
“He put the arrow in his quiver. “You can carry him,” he said magnanimously.”
SYNONYMS: gallantly, grandly, greatheartedly
ANTONYMS: currishly, dishonorably
Inexorable = that cannot be stopped or changed = непоколебимый
“The boys exchanged uneasy glances. It was their first experience with the inexorable logic of women, which is overwhelming even, or perhaps especially, when it is wrong.”
SYNONYMS: relentless, definite, settled
ANTONYMS: doubtful, dubious, questionable
Short-winded = having difficulty breathing after exercise or physical effort = запыхавшийся, страдающий одышкой
“I never had any trouble with my heart. Just a little short-winded when I climb the stairs.”
Haggard = looking very tired because of illness, worry or lack of sleep
“Kate was haggard and her slender body had shrunk to bones. The girls tried to spell her with Faye, but Kate would not leave.”
SYNONYMS: drawn
There are various reasons why reading ‘East of Eden’ mesmerizes me. However, the crucial one is that it is invariably apposite to what we are talking about in the classroom. I feel as if a goose had walked over my grave, when I stumble on such topical ‘coincidences.’ The one I am bringing up in this post is not a mere occurrence. The book is permeated with profound religious and moral beliefs; we are delving into the same topic. Therefore, many ideas seem to have appeared in a new light for me.
‘East of Eden’ has a rich plethora of explicit and implicit references to the Bible. Generally speaking, Mr. Steinbeck employs one pivotal biblical allusion to the story of Adam’s sons, Cain and Abel. It justifies the main issue of the book — the existence of good and evil. The author asserts that both good and evil inclinations are inherent in human nature. However, he also suggests that individuals have the power to choose between good and evil. The concept of ‘timshel’ epitomizes one of the greatest attributes of humanity — the ability to choose.
The concept of ‘timshel’ is a significant thematic concern throughout the novel. ‘East of Eden’ turns on the correct translation of the Hebrew word (since it is translated differently in various versions of the Bible) and its implication to the characters’ fates. It will be reasonable to tackle the correlation of ‘timshel’ and the characters’ destinies once I finish the book; therefore, now I will concentrate on the concept itself.
It is Lee, the Chinese servant who raises Adam’s twin boys Aaron and Cal, who introduces this concept. The man dedicates many years ruminating over the story of Cain and Abel (the twins are named after the characters), and, at some point, he encounters a peculiar contradiction between two American translations of the Bible. When God prefers Abel’s sacrifice to Cain’s, he tells Cain not to be angry. Then, the two translations differ. The American Standard translation orders men to triumph over sin (“It says, ‘Do thou rule over him.’”). The King James translation makes a promise in ‘Thou shalt,’ meaning that men will surely triumph over sin (“Jehovah says, ‘If thou doest well, shall thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.’”). During his years of research on the Bible, Lee discovers that in the original Hebrew, the word given with God’s commands is ‘timshel,’ meaning ‘thou mayest ’– ‘Thou mayest rule over sin.’
Lee accounts for his astounding discovery by saying that ‘thou mayest’ encapsulates what makes a man great, what ‘that gives him stature with the gods’ — we have the choice to overcome sin. “He can choose his course and fight it through and win.”
(I feel as if I wanted to leave the entire part here for everyone to appreciate the ‘revelation.’)
“I have no bent toward gods. But I have a new love for that glittering instrument, the human soul. It is a lovely and unique thing in the universe. It is always attacked and never destroyed — because ‘Thou mayest.’ ”
Thus, ‘thou mayest’ is an empowering idea that flatly denies the predetermination of fates and emphasizes the power of human beings to make choices that directly influence their destinies. Therefore, even if our predecessors are known for being possessed by innately evil nature (like Cathy Ames, for instance), it does not presuppose that we are doomed to inherit the same darkness. We are entitled to combat it by making the right moral choices. It works in the opposite direction as well. The crucial point is that each choice entails bearing responsibility and accountability. The idea will be further developed in the book, and I am anticipating relishing the correlation between the concept and the characters’ destinies.
