Father Figure of Man

 I will be your father figure
(Oh baby)
Put your tiny hand in mine
(I'd love to)
I will be your preacher teacher
(Be your daddy)
Anything you have in mind
(It would make me)
I will be your father figure
(Very happy)
I have had enough of crime
(Please let me)
I will be the one who loves you
'Til the end of time
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​Fatherhood

Steinbeck creates two important father figures in EAST OF EDEN:  Samuel Hamilton and Cyrus Trask. Both of these father-figures influence the protagonist, Adam Trask, and present him with paternal models for the choices he must make in his own life. Both Samuel and Cyrus are bearded, in the biblical patriarchal style.


Adam's father, Cyrus, commits the novel's original sin by lying about his Civil War record to advance himself politically and financially.  Samuel, on the other hand, is the archetypical force for goodness - the good father to Cyrus' bad father. He exhibits enormous physical strength and capability, while Cyrus hobbles on one leg. Samuel is a symbol of life, of fertility: he cultivates barren soil, fathers nine children, and is associated with water imagery. He digs wells, is always washing, and delivers the twins, Aron and Cal.


Cyrus, on the other hand, is a negative force: a cruel, one-legged thief, Cyrus continually manipulates those around him. He is associated with disease and death, rather than fertility. He infects his religious wife with syphilis, causing her to commit suicide.



Steinbeck employs the theme of rivalry to the relationships between the novel's two sets of brothers: Charles and Adam, and Cal and Aron, whose initials recall the biblical brothers Cain and Abel. The sons of Adam and Eve, Cain is a farmer and Abel a shepherd. God prefers Abel's sacrificial offering of a lamb over Cain's offering of grain. In a jealous rage, Cain murders his brother. Cain angrily replies to God's inquiry by saying, "Am I my brother's keeper?" Cain is exiled to wander in the East of Eden.


Charles and Adam's lives and actions recall those of Cain and Abel. When Cyrus favors Adam's birthday gift over Charles', the jealous Charles nearly kills Adam. The next generation of brothers, Cal and Aron, further perpetuates the Cain and Abel legend. When their father, Adam, spurns Cal's birthday present of $15,000, the jealous Cal takes revenge on Aron by taking him to see their mother, a prostitute. Aron joins the army, and soon after dies.
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