tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395948500312534280.post5926238372205796990..comments2024-02-25T01:48:45.848-07:00Comments on Mr. Center's Wall: East of Eden XIV -- The Glory BoysJoseph Centerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00090686611405364311noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395948500312534280.post-35920856266809186142010-10-22T13:13:22.451-06:002010-10-22T13:13:22.451-06:00You know what, you're right. Glory is in the ...You know what, you're right. Glory is in the eye of the beholder. If Adam feels glorified, then he is, whether he's actually accomplished anything or not. <br /><br />On the political science, yeah, it's cool, but, as I'm sure you've felt this, too, also having many interests yourself, it makes life decisions of what you want to do REALLY HARD. lol Sometimes I envy these people that only have one love and just go with it their entire lives.Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11708022607046379611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395948500312534280.post-12807229886380130042010-10-22T07:59:37.557-06:002010-10-22T07:59:37.557-06:00Two things:
I love that you're political scie...Two things:<br /><br />I love that you're political science, a purview I hardly ever stand by and observe. I never thought--which isn't exactly like my; I guess the book gave me enough to think about that I haven't gone digging into ever some of my typical sources analysis (I've even done far less of an authorial analysis here than usual, sticking mostly just to textual and cross-textual)--about this books historical contemporaries like the Red Scare. That's awesome and really opens up a perspective on the book. You know, James, there's a whole branch of analysis labeled specifically Marxist Analysis. I've got a book that talks about it. Interesting, interesting....<br /><br />Second, Adam does attain HIS glory, not necessarily does he attain Glory. And simply for this, we need to either adjust the practical definition of the word here or differentiate between Glory, as is generally understood, which I think you touched on above, and the more personal glory that Steinbeck claims Adam is experiencing. Adam experiences an effusion of pure happiness. Adam attributes his expansion (a Steinbeck word) to Cathy; Steinbeck attributes it to Adam's dreams. I think if we put those together, Adam's glory--his expansion of happiness--is an illusion. Non-tactile, impractical, and unlikely. He has none of Samuel's action to balance his dreams, like you indicate in the issues brought on genius. Adam's glory is a light within. The light doesn't do anything in and of itself. It can inspire and motivate, but without action, it's nothing but light--and maybe with a little infrared, because clearly it's capable of burning. (Okay, that was cheesy!)Joseph Centerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00090686611405364311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395948500312534280.post-5510850353228192182010-10-22T06:21:51.669-06:002010-10-22T06:21:51.669-06:00Lots of interesting questions here. I think I'...Lots of interesting questions here. I think I'll focus on the final one, at least first. Samuel's glory seems to be a bit of a Salinas Valley empire. He keeps talking about how great the land is, and how, eventually, it will make people rich, and how, eventually, thousands of people will settle there. What he seems to want more than anything else is for people to recognize how great the things that he loves are, and chief among these is the land on which he lives.<br /><br />Going back to what Steinbeck means by glory: I think it's always important to think of books in the context in which they are written. Grapes of Wrath is a Depression-era book, and a lot of its views reflect the historical realities in which it was written. East of Eden was written in 1952. This was at the height of the Red Scare in America, and there was a real fear that communist collectivism would stamp out human creativity. It's hard for me to look at this and not see Steinbeck warning against this type of acceptance of collectivism at the expense of the individual. Further, he argues that any RELIGION that emphasizes the collective good over the individual is one against which he must fight, and I think you could make a good argument that there are elements of even Christianity to which he might apply this. The whole chapter gets almost Ayn Rand-ish, although thankfully not nearly as carelessly written or morally bankrupt.<br /><br />So how does this apply to glory? Well, once everything is for the collective good, then it is really hard for the individual to shine. In Thucydides's History of the Peloponnesian War that I am reading for my Ancient Political Thought class right now, you can really see how the Spartans could be more successful at war than the Athenians because they value the good of the society so much above the individual, but at the same time, life in Sparta not only sucks, but also Athens produces every noteworthy genius of the age, while Sparta can't produce ANYONE. <br /><br />Now, sometimes this ability to let people be individuals (and let's face it, nothing says rugged individual like farming in the Salinas Valley in this time period) produces geniuses like Sam Hamilton. Other times, you get would-be geniuses, who only become starry-eyed dreamers because they delude themselves into believing something that in all probability will never become true. This is Adam. There's something admirable in the way that he wants to stake out his destiny by buying the land and marrying Cathy without regard for the obvious downsides. However, he does not achieve glory, but rather in the pursuit of this glory, he falls flat on his face. Sure it's disappointing, but there is something admirable about a society that at least gives him a chance to pursue his dreams, no matter how crazy they may be.Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11708022607046379611noreply@blogger.com