Good will always triumph over evil. If you believe that good things will happen to you, then they will. East of Eden, a novel by John Steinbeck, challenges this idea by forcing its audience to read and then discuss unpopular or controversial topics with themselves. Furthermore, Steinbeck places burdensome obstacles in the path of each of his characters to make them understand that facing and defeating personal and interpersonal demons is a routine and necessary part of life. Likewise, this event could also mean coming face to face with a rather literal, not just metaphorical, demon, and how you choose to deal with it shows your true nature. However, the question is: are the characters strong enough? Can they do it themselves or will they rely on others? Steinbeck suggests that the triumph and redemption of the human soul can only consist in the struggle between good and evil because that is what makes us human. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Cathy Ames, also known as Catherine and Kate throughout the novel, is manipulative, barbaric, and parasitic to everyone she comes in contact with. However, Cathy is not the kind of monster you first think of, Cathy is not deformed, has no extra or non-existent limbs, or body parts in strange places. No Cathy is described as a beautiful, yet exotic and delicate looking character. But just as Steinbeck writes at the beginning of the novel, “the face and body may be perfect, but if a distorted gene or a malformed egg can produce physical monsters, the same process could not produce a malformed soul” (Steinbeck 71) ? A moral monster, he acts out of a love of degradation, destruction and control. The evil he displays appears to be deep-rooted and all-consuming, as he displays murderous and sexually perverse tendencies from a young age. Cathy's character is built around Eve, the mother of humanity and master of sin, but while Eve was forced to commit sin, Cathy takes him in like a stray cat on the porch. He uses other individuals, such as Adam or Faye, confidence and kind nature against them and manipulates them to get what he wants. However, there is no reason for Cathy to behave this way, she had a nice family and was given decent opportunities. That is, there was no single event or series of events that caused her to become this way, she just is. Although he may have some personal demons and insecurities that he holds onto and his barbaric actions are how he chooses to deal with them. Furthermore, it appears to operate without an end goal or purpose. In this sense, Cathy is the most confusing and challenging character in the entire novel. Adam Trask, Cathy's husband in the later parts of the novel, faces demons both literal and metaphorical. All Adam wanted to do after finding the love of his life, or so it seemed, was to provide a heavenly environment for her and their future children to thrive in the years to come. This garden-like utopia that Adam is so desperately trying to build is based on the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve were placed to live, grow, and repopulate. This is not what Cathy wants, and she makes that very clear. She has no desire to walk away, marry Adam, or bring her children into the world, and her actions over time support that idea. When Cathy finally decides to leave Adam, shooting him in the process, Adam lies on the floor “and the monotonous sound that had been there all along was the cry of the twins, wanting their dinner. He forgot to feed them” (Steinbeck 200). This scene brings Adam's personal demon to light. Adam feels as if.