Regardless of the obvious mistakes and choices cathy made throughout the novel, Steinbeck presented her as a character in search of love. Do you agree or disagree?
Strongly disagree. Some people go through a phase in their lives where they feel nobody truly cares about them or loves them, and because of this they resort to doing sometimes negative things that fills this void of theirs. In the case of Cathy however, her evil deeds are not a phase in her life, but merely the person she truly chooses to be, and she definitely does not want to be loved. She is loved by her parents the moment she is born, but it is seen that she didn't really appreciate the love they gave to her, and it makes one think that with the way she was this love suffocated her. Thus she wound up getting rid of what she deemed as a dilemma (E.O.E 86-89). Again love came to her in the form of Mr. Edwards the whore master-as ironic as it seems, it was true-who it seemed would do anything to please her, yet all she did was use him to get the things she wanted most, money and power. These things seemed to be what concerned her more than anything and most importantly more than love, and with them she felt she had the upper hand on everyone and everything. Adam in turn also loved her-from the moment he also saw her- and wanted to care for her more than anything. Again like everyone who loved her, all she did was hurt him, and in the most depraved way walked out of his life, and that of her kids (E.O.E 202). The examples could go on about all those who loved, but never had their love reciprocated by Cathy. However the point is, if she truly was in search of love, she would have accepted Adam, as kind and caring as he was, for Mr. Edwards was cruel in what he did, and not done the things she did. In other words she chose to do without love, for seeing who she was it hindered her from achieving the things she wanted. I guess it also made her seem weak in a way, for Adam's love for her really blinded him to her true nature. Whether or not she refused the love she was getting from others because those weren't the places she wanted those affections to come from, she still didn't truly show any signs of wanting love. I say this because it seems she had “something” with Charles, and as faint as it might have been, there was still something. Either that or sleeping with him may have been another one of her evil schemes to hurt Adam. But if there was truly something, she could have done the right thing and left Adam to be with Charles, for he was one of the few people who saw through Cathy, because he was like her in some ways. Since she didn't do this however, it appears she didn't want to be loved. Money and power, yes, it's exactly what she was after, but love, even when it came from all around her she turned her back on it, and refused to be bogged down by it. A person who wanted to be loved, as paranoid as he or she may be of thinking the people to love them would hurt them, seeing that they provide more love than hurt, would stay and accept this wonderful change in their life, but that just wasn't Cathy.
Agree Regardless of obvious mistakes and choices Cathy made throughout the novel I believe all she wanted to find love. She would always having men flock around her, but she never felt love from them. She obviously wouldn't when she was manipulating all of them. They were only showing her affection what she gives. She wanted them to want her for not for what she gives them which is sex. That is the only thing men wants from her so she never felt truly loved which is why she felt okay with Charles at first cause he saw through her. Everyone would just love her outer appearance or her personality she create to get on everybody's good side, but as soon as her true self is revealed they start to disregard her. Even the most corrupted person would want to be feel wanted not for what she or he is. Sometimes the best way to turn a person around is showing them true love and affection. That is exactly what Cathy need, but she would never get that cause she was always using her appearance and her sexuality to get peoples (men) attention. This could all be due to her childhood. She might not of receive enough love and attention from her parents causing her to learn that her beauty catches others attention meaning boys. This led her to do many evil deeds when that was probably a child's way of saying they want to be loved like the everyone else.
Cathy sought everything but love in East of Eden. It is in fact her failure to recognize that people around her care for her, that causes readers to arrive at the conclusion that she is incapable of changing or loving anyone. Take for instance, Cathy murdered her own parents who loved her dearly and were caring enough to discipline her when she did wrong. It takes a lot for a parent to have to discipline their child, I mean to take that risk in bridging the bond that has already been set. Cathy never saw her parents as anything, she never had any respect for them which is why she did not feel remorseful after murdering them. Steinbeck must have been a contradictory writer if he had attempted to show that Cathy was truly in search of love. I mean, a person in search of love would have seized the opportunity of being loved in every way. What more did Cathy want? Intimate love? Because she definitely did not want the love from her parents. Even though Cathy might have wanted love from the opposite sex, she never showed it. She was so cunning when it came to matters of the heart. Everything that had to with getting closer to people involved cautiousness and being overly manipulative. She never gave anyone a chance because she was too focused on being independent and causing those that fall prey to her superficiality to suffer for being blind. If I may say, Cathy's ego was something she took very seriously compared to the need to be loved- if anyone came between her goals or desires, she got rid of them. At times she was patient enough to allow obstacles that stood in her way of success to subside before she took any action, "...the image in my mind of Cathy, sitting quietly waiting for her pregnancy to be over...with a man she did not love" (E.O.E 184). The amount of patience Cathy has when it comes to achieving her goals is awe-inspiring; if she really wanted love, why wasn't she patient for the kind of love she wanted to come her way just like she did with her goals? Cathy's egotistical nature is what I think comes in the way of her finding true love. She is like a human train that crushes anything that tries to come between her and her destination without her own awareness. If it came down to money or love, Cathy would choose the money because she sees no value in loving someone or being loved.
When one searches for love, the first "loving" individual that they come in contact with will be of great satisfaction to them. However, for some people it takes a lot more love and affection from different individuals, for them to be convinced that they are worth loving. With the character, Catherine Ames, she was morally presented by Steinbeck as one who isn't in search for love at all. Throughout the phases of the novel, she was introduced to love from the beginning until the end and she still managed to fail when it resulted in loving someone back. The first two people that expressed their love to Cathy were her beloved parents. Both Mr&Mrs. Ames cared for their daughter and whenever she was to get into trouble with someone or something, they used to stick by her and make sure that she was always comfortable, safe and most importantly disciplined. Due to that, when Cathy did something wrong her father punished her so that her lesson can be learned, but after punishing her, he would somehow feel apprehensive towards her. For instance, Mr. Ames whooped Cathy for leaving to go to Boston without their consent and afterwards, he said "I hated to do it"; she seems like a changed girl to me (E.O.E 83-84). Cathy was greatly loved by her parents and she didn't deliver the love to them. Along with her parents, another character that loved her was Adam. Adam Trask was the main character that showered Catherine with lots and lots of love and she didn't love him in return. From the moment he laid eyes on Cathy, he instantly saw the good in her and loved her for the person that she allowed him to see her as. Even though Charles warned and informed him about Cathy and Samuel Hamilton telling him that there is something odd about her, he loved her regardless of what she may have done in the past. Despite the fact that Adam expressed all that he could've possibly express towards Cathy, she did her usual routine which was running away from him, taking his money and shooting him (nearly killing him) during her departure (E.O.E 201-202). Furthermore, Mr.Edwards also cared and loved Cathy. He provided her with a lot and even though she used to steal from him, he continued to love her. Cathy used Mr.Edwards wrongfully and he understood her motives when she drank the wine that he offered her one evening, spilling all of her dirty and devious deeds to him (E.O.E 94-95). He eventually got tired of her and her manipulative ways and kicked her to the curb. Moreover, Faye loved Cathy as well but it was a little to late for her to see past who Cathy really was due to the fact that she was killed. If Catherine Ames was in search for love, those five characters that deeply showed her all the love in the world would've seal the deal for her, but the fact that she didn't love them back reveals that she probably didn't know how to love. There are people that search for love and find it, but they never know how to return it in the end. Catherine was definitely someone who only wanted the benefits out of individuals and after she got what she wanted, she would leave them with the impression that she got what she came for. All of her selfless actions will someday come back to haunt her and show her that it takes courage, dignity, patience and most of all character to love, and the fact that she doesn't know how to reciprocate the value of love indicates that she doesn't have those qualities. Cathy Ames isn't searching for love because based on the given circumstances; she probably doesn't know the definition of love to not only receive it but to give it.
In the novel "East of Eden", Cathy Ames sought everything but love, her egotistical nature and desire for evil portraits her as a heartless character. For example Steinbeck first introduces her as a monster. Cathy murdered her parents with no remorse, burned them till ashes with no pain or apparent guilt. The love of parents towards their child is immense and so it's an offspring's love towards their parents. If Cathy's character was in search of love, that was her best opportunity to obtain it. Throughout the novel she was introduced to love, but she always failed to recognize it condemning the people that cared for her to a life of pain. For instance Adam loved her a lot and tried his hardest to make her stay with him but she was in search of something else something she didn't even know about. In the other hand when she was expecting her twins she intended to kill them so we can infer that a woman's desire to be a mother meant nothing to her because she didn't want the love of neither her babies nor Adam's, she wanted to be free. Cathy wanted to be free in a world that she believed was conceived by evilness. Using her body as her main weapon Kate overcame her desire for love seeking for passion only. Cathy got rid of everyone that got in her way, for example when she killed Faye who tried to be a mother like figure for her, Cathy had the opportunity to change and give love a try but she didn't instead she planned her strategy very well to keep all Faye's fortune. Cathy never wanted love she always blinded the people that cared for her until she got what she wanted, she never understood the concept of giving and receiving she only took but never gave back. In fact I doubt she even knows the definition of love, because she never felt it neither was necessary to obtain anything nor was going to get her anywhere. Kate only wanted to feed her ego and this took her right to love away stating that she loved no one but herself.
I Disagree, Cathy was not in search for love. Cathy was not in search for love because Cathy had it all along. Cathy was a manipulater she knew the right things to do or say to get people to do what she wanted. Her biggest weapon was love so how would she be in search for it? She use love as her weapon because that was her most powerful tool for persuasion. She would make whoever fall in love with her and see if they had what she needed then suck them dry of all their worthy possesions and leave them hurt or injured. Love became Cathys weapon when she failed at running away from her parents. Yes, she had them manipulated but she soon found out the spell she had them under was not deep enough so she had to work harder at her skills and she made her father love her more by showing intrest in his profession. Cathy is not searching for love because everytime someone shows her or gives her love she uses and abuses it. Cathy has had love multiplr times in this book and it has never failed for her to turn around and do something out of the ordinary to mess it up. A character like cathy was not made to love anything. She couldnt even love herself. Between all the men throughout the book she has slept with she barely even respected herself. she seemed as though all she cared for is the money but deep down i knew all she wanted was the power. That's why she became so greedy and couldn't learn to stop and settle because once she got a taste of that power she neede more and more and once the power she had captured wasnt enough she started over and moved on to an even bigger project with love as her weapon. Cathy was and will never be in search for love. she is so use to getting her way she does not know how to love if she tried. No one can help or teach her because no one is allowed to get close with out being harmed. In conclusion, Cathy wanted power and control. She liked the idea of people willing to do or give her anything and that's what amused her and kept her going.
Out of all the things that Cathy desires, love is not of them. Cathy portrays evilness by getting pleasure over the pain that she causes on others. While being the most immoral character in the novel, Cathy is always being chased by people who are willing to give her love, but she denies their offer by hurting them. Love was waiting for Cathy from the time that she was brought to this earth. Her two loving parents gave her unconditional love from the moment they saw her; a person with morals would have returned the love, but that wasn't Cathy; being loved wasn't what she desired, so she refused their love by murdering them. It seems to me that Cathy is afraid of being loved and returning the love, because she thinks that if she loves or fall in love with someone, she might end up being a victim of betrayal, and Cathy does not like to be a victim, she always wants to have a complete power over everyone. After Cathy’s denial of her parents love, she was greeted with a new love when she met Mr. Edward. Mr. Edwards falls in love with Cathy supporting and providing her with whatever she needed from housing to clothing, but knowing his generosity and the love he had for her Cathy took Advantage of Mr. Edwards. As I stated previously Cathy does not want to be loved, so she refused his love by stealing his money and trying to run away. (E.O.E. Pg. 94), “Catherine wanted money, and she set about getting it as quickly” if Cathy was looking for love, she would have acquired all the money that she needed by accepting Mr. Edwards love, but since finding love was not her number one priority, she manage to take advantage of people without have an emotional attachment. The question is why does Cathy attract love, when she doesn't really want to be loved? Love was still searching for Cathy, and the big one was yet to come. Just like her parents, the moment that Adam saw Cathy he falls in love with her. The love he had for her was so strong that it blinded him from seeing her true nature. Cathy just met Adam, and after seeing that Adam was in love with her she tried to hurt him by sleeping with his brother Charles. The moment that people offer Cathy love, that she when she starts hurting them. Cathy was Adam's world; she brings him the happiness that he never had before. He loved Cathy so much, and sometimes his love was overboard. Charles and Samuel warned Adam about Cathy, but Adam would not let anything get in between him and the love of his life. Performing her usual routine, Cathy gave birth to her twin boys and left Adam by shooting him and stealing his money. Refusing Adams love clearly demonstrates that Cathy does not want to be loved, she just wants to get to an unknown destination by walking over any emotional attachment that got on her way. All Cathy wants is to promote evilness, and deny any offer that will install moral and emotion in her. Cathy does not want to be loved; love for her is an emotional trap that will prevent her from reaching her destiny.
I agree. Throughout the novel Cathy has done many horrible things, but why? Cathy is a beautiful woman who has the appearance of a goddess. She could get any guy she desire. The only problem with Cathy is the men that she end u[ with all want the same thing; sexual relations. It is never truly about her and that is what she really wants. Cathy wants someone who would stick with her through the thick and the thin, the good and the bad. All Cathy wants is to be loved. She just wants what every woman wants - what Ms. Hamilton has; someone who loves her despite the differences and the heartaches. Cathy would go as far as to put her self in a whorehouse to gain the attention she wanted. And when Adam finally found her she froze. Perhaps she was wondering if he really came back for her in that moment and she may have been pondering the possibility that he really is the knight she has been waiting for. (E.O.E. 318)Her willingness to find and capture this love lead her to the point of ingesting poison. "Liquor makes me sick," she declared in high hopes that something good would come of her sacrifice. (E.O.E 319)
Disagree Throughout the novel several people have loved Cathy but in the end she has done nothing for it but hurt them and leave them. It all began as a child with her loving and concerning parents. Cathy hated their concern, and them. She knew her parents loved her to death and what does she do? She looks at her mother “expressionless and cold” (E.o.E pg. 82) and makes her mother afraid of her. She also runs away from a great family. If she wanted to be loved she would have stayed and appreciated the love that was being given to her. If she wanted to be loved she would have not killed her parents. If she wanted to be loved she would have appreciated that what her parents were doing for her was for the best. Furthermore, Mr. Edwards the whoremaster also loved Cathy. Although he was married he was able to fall in love with her, his mistress. “He wanted this one for his own.” (E.o.E pg 92) Cathy then began saying things to him that hurt him. If you want someone to love you then why would you intentionally hurt them? She said things to him in bed about how bad his sex was so he can feel a type of way. All he did was love her and all she did was push him away. Cathy manipulated Mr. Edwards to a point where he was afraid of her and when the time was right she was ready to “take flight at any moment.” (E.o.E pg 94) She had love love right there in front of her and she was ready to leave him in the dust. Not only did Mr. Edwards and her parents love Cathy, but so did Adam. He fell in love with her as he was helping her recover from the brutal beating from her previous lover. He saw no bad in Cathy and he loved her “better than anything” (E.o.E pg 325) When she got what she wanted from him and she was ready to move on she wanted to hurt him. Is that really love? She wanted to hurt him through his kids. Now is that really love? Cathy used her beauty to manipulate people and while doing that they ended up falling in love with her. Once she had them under her wing she would take them for everything thing they had or she would hurt them. That is definitely not love.
I strongly agree that Cathy is truly in search for what love really is. Anyone could argue that she was shown love throughout the entire novel and she turned away from it, but was it genuine love that they were showing her? I believe not. Her parents just loved her only because that was their daughter, Mr. Edwards was only using her as a mean to get sex that he wasn't getting from his wife, and Adam loved her out of pity; no one loved Cathy for just being who she was. A lot of people saw her as a weakened person that needed help; once they began to take care of her they started to get attach to her. They never truly showed Cathy love which is all she really wanted. If Cathy was to be shown love for who she truly is, maybe she wouldn't act the way she does. It's kind of like how little children, or anyone in the world at the matter, acts; some would sit around quietly and others would create mayhem until they are shown the attention they want. Cathy seems to be the type to act up in any way she feels would get her the right attention she needs. Cathy's monstrous ways was just to figure out who was really there for her. I found out through personal experience that if someone loves you then they would be with you no matter what is thrown in your direction. All Cathy is looking for is for someone to love her; she doesn't want to share her love (which explains why she didn't want to have the twins or stay after they were born), she just want that one person all to herself.
I agree that Cathy was in search of love. She is portrayed as this monster in the novel because there is always a need of an evil character. She actually does find someone she is compatible with, Charles, and is taken away from him by Adam. Cathy yearns to fill a void that is made inside of herself. She is hurt and lost and sees no good in the world. She did not find anyone who saw her for who she was and loved her regardless except for Charles. Her parents thought that she was an angel child and loved her because of the image they made up themselves of her. They carved out the ideal daughter and made her fit the mold. She finally cracked and did not want to be that person, and got away from them by killing them. She knew that she would not be able to get from under their thumb any other way because when she tried to leave on her own they brought her back. When she meets Mr. Edwards he is infatuated with her and only falls in love with her outward appearance and does not get to know Cathy herself as a person. If he had truly loved her he would have taken the time to get to know her. He saw her as a challenge, and wanted to conquer it and when he finally realized who she was he rejected her not taking her for all she was and tried to kill her. When she meets Adam he takes her in due to pity and trying to escape his own problems by taking on Cathy who he sees a job and a person to take care of and fix. He sees Cathy as a project and does not even notice that she does not even talk that much. In fact when he first falls in love she cannot talk at all. So, how is it that he loves her but only talks to her and not with her. Once again like her parents Adam has carved out a role he wants Cathy to play and refuses to let her leave and she is forced to shoot him. She does not kill him though because she does not want her children to be alone and orphans. She does not go far and stays close because she does love her children but does not think they love her back because of the relationship that she had with her parents. She runs away to a brothel where she has sex with men for money. I believe that she uses sex as a way to be close and intimate with someone and it helps her fill the void that she has within herself. When she meets Adam at the brothel again and he leaves her she feels a pinch of regret because she realizes that she gave up a loving family home and that she may have learned to love Adam. She reflects back on her younger days and remembers feeling alone and in the dark trying to escape something.She is hurt and damaged and is why she will not willingly give herself up to someone that does not even know her. Charles saw right through her act and saw who she was and wanted her to stay on the ranch regardless. She risks getting caught drugging Adam to spend a night with Charles and does not have to lie to him about drugging Adam because she knows h'll see through her lies and knows who she is as a person. They are on one accord because they have similar personalities. She even says that she could have been happy with Charles and even loved him.
Strongly disagree.
ReplyDeleteSome people go through a phase in their lives where they feel nobody truly cares about them or loves them, and because of this they resort to doing sometimes negative things that fills this void of theirs. In the case of Cathy however, her evil deeds are not a phase in her life, but merely the person she truly chooses to be, and she definitely does not want to be loved. She is loved by her parents the moment she is born, but it is seen that she didn't really appreciate the love they gave to her, and it makes one think that with the way she was this love suffocated her. Thus she wound up getting rid of what she deemed as a dilemma (E.O.E 86-89). Again love came to her in the form of Mr. Edwards the whore master-as ironic as it seems, it was true-who it seemed would do anything to please her, yet all she did was use him to get the things she wanted most, money and power. These things seemed to be what concerned her more than anything and most importantly more than love, and with them she felt she had the upper hand on everyone and everything. Adam in turn also loved her-from the moment he also saw her- and wanted to care for her more than anything. Again like everyone who loved her, all she did was hurt him, and in the most depraved way walked out of his life, and that of her kids (E.O.E 202). The examples could go on about all those who loved, but never had their love reciprocated by Cathy. However the point is, if she truly was in search of love, she would have accepted Adam, as kind and caring as he was, for Mr. Edwards was cruel in what he did, and not done the things she did. In other words she chose to do without love, for seeing who she was it hindered her from achieving the things she wanted. I guess it also made her seem weak in a way, for Adam's love for her really blinded him to her true nature. Whether or not she refused the love she was getting from others because those weren't the places she wanted those affections to come from, she still didn't truly show any signs of wanting love. I say this because it seems she had “something” with Charles, and as faint as it might have been, there was still something. Either that or sleeping with him may have been another one of her evil schemes to hurt Adam. But if there was truly something, she could have done the right thing and left Adam to be with Charles, for he was one of the few people who saw through Cathy, because he was like her in some ways. Since she didn't do this however, it appears she didn't want to be loved. Money and power, yes, it's exactly what she was after, but love, even when it came from all around her she turned her back on it, and refused to be bogged down by it. A person who wanted to be loved, as paranoid as he or she may be of thinking the people to love them would hurt them, seeing that they provide more love than hurt, would stay and accept this wonderful change in their life, but that just wasn't Cathy.
Agree
ReplyDeleteRegardless of obvious mistakes and choices Cathy made throughout the novel I believe all she wanted to find love. She would always having men flock around her, but she never felt love from them. She obviously wouldn't when she was manipulating all of them. They were only showing her affection what she gives. She wanted them to want her for not for what she gives them which is sex. That is the only thing men wants from her so she never felt truly loved which is why she felt okay with Charles at first cause he saw through her. Everyone would just love her outer appearance or her personality she create to get on everybody's good side, but as soon as her true self is revealed they start to disregard her. Even the most corrupted person would want to be feel wanted not for what she or he is. Sometimes the best way to turn a person around is showing them true love and affection. That is exactly what Cathy need, but she would never get that cause she was always using her appearance and her sexuality to get peoples (men) attention. This could all be due to her childhood. She might not of receive enough love and attention from her parents causing her to learn that her beauty catches others attention meaning boys. This led her to do many evil deeds when that was probably a child's way of saying they want to be loved like the everyone else.
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ReplyDeleteCathy sought everything but love in East of Eden. It is in fact her failure to recognize that people around her care for her, that causes readers to arrive at the conclusion that she is incapable of changing or loving anyone. Take for instance, Cathy murdered her own parents who loved her dearly and were caring enough to discipline her when she did wrong. It takes a lot for a parent to have to discipline their child, I mean to take that risk in bridging the bond that has already been set. Cathy never saw her parents as anything, she never had any respect for them which is why she did not feel remorseful after murdering them. Steinbeck must have been a contradictory writer if he had attempted to show that Cathy was truly in search of love. I mean, a person in search of love would have seized the opportunity of being loved in every way. What more did Cathy want? Intimate love? Because she definitely did not want the love from her parents. Even though Cathy might have wanted love from the opposite sex, she never showed it. She was so cunning when it came to matters of the heart. Everything that had to with getting closer to people involved cautiousness and being overly manipulative. She never gave anyone a chance because she was too focused on being independent and causing those that fall prey to her superficiality to suffer for being blind. If I may say, Cathy's ego was something she took very seriously compared to the need to be loved- if anyone came between her goals or desires, she got rid of them. At times she was patient enough to allow obstacles that stood in her way of success to subside before she took any action, "...the image in my mind of Cathy, sitting quietly waiting for her pregnancy to be over...with a man she did not love" (E.O.E 184). The amount of patience Cathy has when it comes to achieving her goals is awe-inspiring; if she really wanted love, why wasn't she patient for the kind of love she wanted to come her way just like she did with her goals? Cathy's egotistical nature is what I think comes in the way of her finding true love. She is like a human train that crushes anything that tries to come between her and her destination without her own awareness. If it came down to money or love, Cathy would choose the money because she sees no value in loving someone or being loved.
ReplyDeleteWhen one searches for love, the first "loving" individual that they come in contact with will be of great satisfaction to them. However, for some people it takes a lot more love and affection from different individuals, for them to be convinced that they are worth loving. With the character, Catherine Ames, she was morally presented by Steinbeck as one who isn't in search for love at all. Throughout the phases of the novel, she was introduced to love from the beginning until the end and she still managed to fail when it resulted in loving someone back. The first two people that expressed their love to Cathy were her beloved parents. Both Mr&Mrs. Ames cared for their daughter and whenever she was to get into trouble with someone or something, they used to stick by her and make sure that she was always comfortable, safe and most importantly disciplined. Due to that, when Cathy did something wrong her father punished her so that her lesson can be learned, but after punishing her, he would somehow feel apprehensive towards her. For instance, Mr. Ames whooped Cathy for leaving to go to Boston without their consent and afterwards, he said "I hated to do it"; she seems like a changed girl to me (E.O.E 83-84). Cathy was greatly loved by her parents and she didn't deliver the love to them. Along with her parents, another character that loved her was Adam. Adam Trask was the main character that showered Catherine with lots and lots of love and she didn't love him in return. From the moment he laid eyes on Cathy, he instantly saw the good in her and loved her for the person that she allowed him to see her as. Even though Charles warned and informed him about Cathy and Samuel Hamilton telling him that there is something odd about her, he loved her regardless of what she may have done in the past. Despite the fact that Adam expressed all that he could've possibly express towards Cathy, she did her usual routine which was running away from him, taking his money and shooting him (nearly killing him) during her departure (E.O.E 201-202). Furthermore, Mr.Edwards also cared and loved Cathy. He provided her with a lot and even though she used to steal from him, he continued to love her. Cathy used Mr.Edwards wrongfully and he understood her motives when she drank the wine that he offered her one evening, spilling all of her dirty and devious deeds to him (E.O.E 94-95). He eventually got tired of her and her manipulative ways and kicked her to the curb. Moreover, Faye loved Cathy as well but it was a little to late for her to see past who Cathy really was due to the fact that she was killed. If Catherine Ames was in search for love, those five characters that deeply showed her all the love in the world would've seal the deal for her, but the fact that she didn't love them back reveals that she probably didn't know how to love. There are people that search for love and find it, but they never know how to return it in the end. Catherine was definitely someone who only wanted the benefits out of individuals and after she got what she wanted, she would leave them with the impression that she got what she came for. All of her selfless actions will someday come back to haunt her and show her that it takes courage, dignity, patience and most of all character to love, and the fact that she doesn't know how to reciprocate the value of love indicates that she doesn't have those qualities. Cathy Ames isn't searching for love because based on the given circumstances; she probably doesn't know the definition of love to not only receive it but to give it.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel "East of Eden", Cathy Ames sought everything but love, her egotistical nature and desire for evil portraits her as a heartless character. For example Steinbeck first introduces her as a monster. Cathy murdered her parents with no remorse, burned them till ashes with no pain or apparent guilt. The love of parents towards their child is immense and so it's an offspring's love towards their parents. If Cathy's character was in search of love, that was her best opportunity to obtain it. Throughout the novel she was introduced to love, but she always failed to recognize it condemning the people that cared for her to a life of pain. For instance Adam loved her a lot and tried his hardest to make her stay with him but she was in search of something else something she didn't even know about. In the other hand when she was expecting her twins she intended to kill them so we can infer that a woman's desire to be a mother meant nothing to her because she didn't want the love of neither her babies nor Adam's, she wanted to be free. Cathy wanted to be free in a world that she believed was conceived by evilness. Using her body as her main weapon Kate overcame her desire for love seeking for passion only. Cathy got rid of everyone that got in her way, for example when she killed Faye who tried to be a mother like figure for her, Cathy had the opportunity to change and give love a try but she didn't instead she planned her strategy very well to keep all Faye's fortune. Cathy never wanted love she always blinded the people that cared for her until she got what she wanted, she never understood the concept of giving and receiving she only took but never gave back. In fact I doubt she even knows the definition of love, because she never felt it neither was necessary to obtain anything nor was going to get her anywhere. Kate only wanted to feed her ego and this took her right to love away stating that she loved no one but herself.
ReplyDeleteI Disagree, Cathy was not in search for love. Cathy was not in search for love because Cathy had it all along. Cathy was a manipulater she knew the right things to do or say to get people to do what she wanted. Her biggest weapon was love so how would she be in search for it? She use love as her weapon because that was her most powerful tool for persuasion. She would make whoever fall in love with her and see if they had what she needed then suck them dry of all their worthy possesions and leave them hurt or injured. Love became Cathys weapon when she failed at running away from her parents. Yes, she had them manipulated but she soon found out the spell she had them under was not deep enough so she had to work harder at her skills and she made her father love her more by showing intrest in his profession. Cathy is not searching for love because everytime someone shows her or gives her love she uses and abuses it. Cathy has had love multiplr times in this book and it has never failed for her to turn around and do something out of the ordinary to mess it up. A character like cathy was not made to love anything. She couldnt even love herself. Between all the men throughout the book she has slept with she barely even respected herself. she seemed as though all she cared for is the money but deep down i knew all she wanted was the power. That's why she became so greedy and couldn't learn to stop and settle because once she got a taste of that power she neede more and more and once the power she had captured wasnt enough she started over and moved on to an even bigger project with love as her weapon. Cathy was and will never be in search for love. she is so use to getting her way she does not know how to love if she tried. No one can help or teach her because no one is allowed to get close with out being harmed. In conclusion, Cathy wanted power and control. She liked the idea of people willing to do or give her anything and that's what amused her and kept her going.
ReplyDeleteOut of all the things that Cathy desires, love is not of them. Cathy portrays evilness by getting pleasure over the pain that she causes on others. While being the most immoral character in the novel, Cathy is always being chased by people who are willing to give her love, but she denies their offer by hurting them. Love was waiting for Cathy from the time that she was brought to this earth. Her two loving parents gave her unconditional love from the moment they saw her; a person with morals would have returned the love, but that wasn't Cathy; being loved wasn't what she desired, so she refused their love by murdering them. It seems to me that Cathy is afraid of being loved and returning the love, because she thinks that if she loves or fall in love with someone, she might end up being a victim of betrayal, and Cathy does not like to be a victim, she always wants to have a complete power over everyone. After Cathy’s denial of her parents love, she was greeted with a new love when she met Mr. Edward. Mr. Edwards falls in love with Cathy supporting and providing her with whatever she needed from housing to clothing, but knowing his generosity and the love he had for her Cathy took Advantage of Mr. Edwards. As I stated previously Cathy does not want to be loved, so she refused his love by stealing his money and trying to run away. (E.O.E. Pg. 94), “Catherine wanted money, and she set about getting it as quickly” if Cathy was looking for love, she would have acquired all the money that she needed by accepting Mr. Edwards love, but since finding love was not her number one priority, she manage to take advantage of people without have an emotional attachment. The question is why does Cathy attract love, when she doesn't really want to be loved? Love was still searching for Cathy, and the big one was yet to come. Just like her parents, the moment that Adam saw Cathy he falls in love with her. The love he had for her was so strong that it blinded him from seeing her true nature. Cathy just met Adam, and after seeing that Adam was in love with her she tried to hurt him by sleeping with his brother Charles. The moment that people offer Cathy love, that she when she starts hurting them. Cathy was Adam's world; she brings him the happiness that he never had before. He loved Cathy so much, and sometimes his love was overboard. Charles and Samuel warned Adam about Cathy, but Adam would not let anything get in between him and the love of his life. Performing her usual routine, Cathy gave birth to her twin boys and left Adam by shooting him and stealing his money. Refusing Adams love clearly demonstrates that Cathy does not want to be loved, she just wants to get to an unknown destination by walking over any emotional attachment that got on her way. All Cathy wants is to promote evilness, and deny any offer that will install moral and emotion in her. Cathy does not want to be loved; love for her is an emotional trap that will prevent her from reaching her destiny.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Throughout the novel Cathy has done many horrible things, but why? Cathy is a beautiful woman who has the appearance of a goddess. She could get any guy she desire. The only problem with Cathy is the men that she end u[ with all want the same thing; sexual relations. It is never truly about her and that is what she really wants. Cathy wants someone who would stick with her through the thick and the thin, the good and the bad. All Cathy wants is to be loved. She just wants what every woman wants - what Ms. Hamilton has; someone who loves her despite the differences and the heartaches. Cathy would go as far as to put her self in a whorehouse to gain the attention she wanted. And when Adam finally found her she froze. Perhaps she was wondering if he really came back for her in that moment and she may have been pondering the possibility that he really is the knight she has been waiting for. (E.O.E. 318)Her willingness to find and capture this love lead her to the point of ingesting poison. "Liquor makes me sick," she declared in high hopes that something good would come of her sacrifice. (E.O.E 319)
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ReplyDeleteThroughout the novel several people have loved Cathy but in the end she has done nothing for it but hurt them and leave them. It all began as a child with her loving and concerning parents. Cathy hated their concern, and them. She knew her parents loved her to death and what does she do? She looks at her mother “expressionless and cold” (E.o.E pg. 82) and makes her mother afraid of her. She also runs away from a great family. If she wanted to be loved she would have stayed and appreciated the love that was being given to her. If she wanted to be loved she would have not killed her parents. If she wanted to be loved she would have appreciated that what her parents were doing for her was for the best. Furthermore, Mr. Edwards the whoremaster also loved Cathy. Although he was married he was able to fall in love with her, his mistress. “He wanted this one for his own.” (E.o.E pg 92) Cathy then began saying things to him that hurt him. If you want someone to love you then why would you intentionally hurt them? She said things to him in bed about how bad his sex was so he can feel a type of way. All he did was love her and all she did was push him away. Cathy manipulated Mr. Edwards to a point where he was afraid of her and when the time was right she was ready to “take flight at any moment.” (E.o.E pg 94) She had love love right there in front of her and she was ready to leave him in the dust. Not only did Mr. Edwards and her parents love Cathy, but so did Adam. He fell in love with her as he was helping her recover from the brutal beating from her previous lover. He saw no bad in Cathy and he loved her “better than anything” (E.o.E pg 325) When she got what she wanted from him and she was ready to move on she wanted to hurt him. Is that really love? She wanted to hurt him through his kids. Now is that really love? Cathy used her beauty to manipulate people and while doing that they ended up falling in love with her. Once she had them under her wing she would take them for everything thing they had or she would hurt them. That is definitely not love.
I strongly agree that Cathy is truly in search for what love really is. Anyone could argue that she was shown love throughout the entire novel and she turned away from it, but was it genuine love that they were showing her? I believe not. Her parents just loved her only because that was their daughter, Mr. Edwards was only using her as a mean to get sex that he wasn't getting from his wife, and Adam loved her out of pity; no one loved Cathy for just being who she was. A lot of people saw her as a weakened person that needed help; once they began to take care of her they started to get attach to her. They never truly showed Cathy love which is all she really wanted. If Cathy was to be shown love for who she truly is, maybe she wouldn't act the way she does. It's kind of like how little children, or anyone in the world at the matter, acts; some would sit around quietly and others would create mayhem until they are shown the attention they want. Cathy seems to be the type to act up in any way she feels would get her the right attention she needs. Cathy's monstrous ways was just to figure out who was really there for her. I found out through personal experience that if someone loves you then they would be with you no matter what is thrown in your direction. All Cathy is looking for is for someone to love her; she doesn't want to share her love (which explains why she didn't want to have the twins or stay after they were born), she just want that one person all to herself.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Cathy was in search of love. She is portrayed as this monster in the novel because there is always a need of an evil character. She actually does find someone she is compatible with, Charles, and is taken away from him by Adam. Cathy yearns to fill a void that is made inside of herself. She is hurt and lost and sees no good in the world. She did not find anyone who saw her for who she was and loved her regardless except for Charles. Her parents thought that she was an angel child and loved her because of the image they made up themselves of her. They carved out the ideal daughter and made her fit the mold. She finally cracked and did not want to be that person, and got away from them by killing them. She knew that she would not be able to get from under their thumb any other way because when she tried to leave on her own they brought her back. When she meets Mr. Edwards he is infatuated with her and only falls in love with her outward appearance and does not get to know Cathy herself as a person. If he had truly loved her he would have taken the time to get to know her. He saw her as a challenge, and wanted to conquer it and when he finally realized who she was he rejected her not taking her for all she was and tried to kill her. When she meets Adam he takes her in due to pity and trying to escape his own problems by taking on Cathy who he sees a job and a person to take care of and fix. He sees Cathy as a project and does not even notice that she does not even talk that much. In fact when he first falls in love she cannot talk at all. So, how is it that he loves her but only talks to her and not with her. Once again like her parents Adam has carved out a role he wants Cathy to play and refuses to let her leave and she is forced to shoot him. She does not kill him though because she does not want her children to be alone and orphans. She does not go far and stays close because she does love her children but does not think they love her back because of the relationship that she had with her parents. She runs away to a brothel where she has sex with men for money. I believe that she uses sex as a way to be close and intimate with someone and it helps her fill the void that she has within herself. When she meets Adam at the brothel again and he leaves her she feels a pinch of regret because she realizes that she gave up a loving family home and that she may have learned to love Adam. She reflects back on her younger days and remembers feeling alone and in the dark trying to escape something.She is hurt and damaged and is why she will not willingly give herself up to someone that does not even know her. Charles saw right through her act and saw who she was and wanted her to stay on the ranch regardless. She risks getting caught drugging Adam to spend a night with Charles and does not have to lie to him about drugging Adam because she knows h'll see through her lies and knows who she is as a person. They are on one accord because they have similar personalities. She even says that she could have been happy with Charles and even loved him.
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