|
East
of Eden
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Movie
| Book
| Author
| Director
& cast
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Book: East of Eden (1952)
Movie: East of Eden (1955)
Premise
movie:
"In the Salinas Valley, in and around World War I, Cal
Trask feels he must compete against overwhelming odds with his
brother Aron for the love of their father Adam. Cal is frustrated at
every turn, from his reaction to the war, to how to get ahead in
business and in life, to how to relate to estranged mother."
from:
http://www.us.imdb.com/title/tt0048028/plotsummary
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Premise
book:
"John Steinbeck's East of Eden was published for the
first time by Viking Press in September 1952, ten years before the
writer was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, and has never
been out of print since. In November 1952 East of Eden was number
one on the fiction best-seller list.
In A Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letter, the writer's diary
of East of Eden, Steinbeck calls the novel "...the story of my
country and the story of me." The book spans the history of the
nation from the Civil War to World War I and tells the story of two
American families, The Hamiltons, Steinbeck's matenal relatives, are
the "Universal Family" and the fictional Trasks are the "Universal
Neighbors." Steinbeck's inspiration for the novel comes from the Bible, the
fourth chapter of the book of Genesis, verses one though sixteen,
which recounts the story of Cain and Abel. The title, East of Eden,
was chosen by Steinbeck from Genesis, Chapter 4, verse 16.
The novel was originally addressed to Steinbeck's young sons, Thom
and John IV (then 6 1/2 and 4 1/2 respectively). Steinbeck wanted to
describe the Salinas Valley for them in detail: the sights, sounds,
smells, and colors. Steinbeck called East of Eden "a sort of autobiography of the
Salinas Valley." East of Eden begins in 1862 and covers three generations and 56
years. The book ends in salinas, California, in 1918.
The theme of East of Eden: "All novels, all poetry, are built
on the never-ending contest in ourselves of good and evil."
Steinbeck called this book "The big one as far as I'm concerned.
Always before I held something back for later. Nothing is held back
here." East of Eden is an allegorical/realistic novel, a daring combination
of biography and fiction. Steinbeck returned to Salinas in February of 1948 to begin intensive
research for what he considered would be his greatest book, East of
Eden. During his stay in Monterey, he drove to Salinas and used the
files of the local newspaper, the Salinas Index-Journal. The novel
was completed in November of 1951.
The work on East of Eden followed two blows, the death of Edward
Ricketts, Steinbeck's best friend, known as "Doc" in his Cannery Row
books, and the separation and divorce from his second wife,
Gwyn. Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters, the posthumously
published series of letters to Pascal Covici that accompanied the
text of East of Eden, was published in 1969."
from:
http://www.steinbeck.org/EastEden.html
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Author:
"John Ernst Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California, on
February 27, 1902 of German and Irish ancestry. His father, John
Steinbeck, Sr., served as the County Treasurer while his mother,
Olive (Hamilton) Steinbeck, a former school teacher, fostered
Steinbeck's love of reading and the written word. During summers he
worked as a hired hand on nearby ranches, nourishing his impression
of the California countryside and its people.
After graduating from Salinas High School in 1919, Steinbeck
attended Stanford University. Originally an English major, he
pursued a program of independent study and his attendance was
sporadic. During this time he worked periodically at various jobs
and left Stanford permanently in 1925 to pursue his writing career
in New York. However, he was unsuccessful in getting any of his
writing published and finally returned to California.
'His first novel, Cup of Gold was published in 1929, but
attracted little attention. His two subsequent novels, The Pastures of Heaven
and To a God Unknown, were also poorly received by the literary
world. Steinbeck married his first wife, Carol Henning in 1930. They lived
in Pacific Grove where much of the material for Tortilla Flat and
Cannery Row was gathered. Tortilla Flat (1935) marked the turning
point in Steinbeck's literary career. It received the California
Commonwealth Club's Gold Medal for best novel by a California
author. Steinbeck continued writing, relying upon extensive research
and his personal observation of the human condition for his stories.
The Grapes of Wrath (1939) won the Pulitzer Prize.
During World War II, Steinbeck was a war correspondent for the New
York Herald Tribune. Some of his dispatches were later collected and
made into Once There Was a War. John Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in
1962 "...for his realistic as well as imaginative writings,
distinguished by a sympathetic humor and a keen social perception."
Throughout his life John Steinbeck remained a private person who
shunned publicity. He died December 20, 1968, in New York City and
is survived by his third wife, Elaine (Scott) Steinbeck and one son,
Thomas. His ashes were placed in the Garden of Memories Cemetery in
Salinas."
from:
http://www.steinbeck.org/Bio.html
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Director:
Elia Kazan
Cast:
Julie Harris (Abra), James Dean (Cal Trask), Raymond Massey
(Adam Trask), Burl Ives (Sam the Sheriff), Richard Davalos
(Aron Trask), Jo Van Fleet (Kate), Albert Dekker (Will Hamilton), and others.
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