I’m wondering how reliable you think the narrator is in John Steinbeck’s East of Eden?
Though the narrator doesn’t have much of an arc, he’s said to be the grandchild of Samuel Hamilton, the son of Olive Hamilton, and we know he’s a friend of Adam’s
For me, the disclosure of this identity really complicates the story. If it is a townsperson speaking, how much can we trust his accounting of the events—especially of the other characters’ interior thoughts and motives?
Knowing the narrator’s relationship to Adam makes me especially skeptical of his account of Cathy and the idea that she was “born a monster.”
Frankly, how would a friend of Adam’s be able to speak with authority about what Cathy had seen/felt/experienced as a child? And wouldn’t he be inclined to believe the worst about her?
Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but I’m wondering how much you trust the narrator and why or why not?
by gatheringground