While most fall short on their journey to greatness, some are able to rise above and achieve that coveted honor. However, to achieve this, some must sacrifice everything, including their morals. In East of Eden by John Steinbeck, and Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the main characters demonstrate the consequences of the temptations of greed and undeserved power. In East of Eden, Cathy, a beautiful and devious woman, spends her entire life manipulating others and moving her way up in the world. Eventually she meets Adam, who falls in love with her, and they get married. Soon after though, she leaves Adam with twins and a large estate, goes on to own a brothel as a result of more manipulation and eventually commits suicide while Adam heals and
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In Macbeth, three witches visit the successful general Macbeth, with the promise that he will be king. His wife, Lady Macbeth, then takes matters into her own hands by killing off King Duncan with Macbeth 's help. Eventually Macbeth grows just as ruthless as his wife and murders anyone he worries may challenge his position as king. However, their plan eventually backfires and the play ends with both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s deaths. Both books commonly explore the relationship of power between a man and a woman through reversing what is generally expected and how the quest for more power often leads to a character 's downfall.
Cathy in East of Eden and Lady Macbeth in Macbeth both challenge the typical gender roles of the soft and helpless female by possessing strong, almost masculine, qualities. Both women know that they have power over their husbands and use this knowledge to their own advantage. Though being a woman, especially in the 11th century, is associated with being weak and feminine, Lady Macbeth knows those qualities are disadvantageous to her goals, so she decides she must assume the cruel and harsh qualities of a man. Lady Macbeth asks the spirits to “unsex [her] …show more content…
The women lose all their power and strength, while the men suddenly gain control of their lives. In East of Eden, when Adam confronts Cathy at the brothel after she has abandoned him, he has a realization that he “[seems] to know that there’s a part of [Cathy] missing” (Steinbeck 382). This is the first instance that Adam allows himself to see Cathy in a negative light, revealing to him the monster within. He realizes that there is a corruption and cruelty to her that he can’t even begin to comprehend. She struggles to find the goodness in others because she doesn’t have any goodness of her own. She seems to eventually realize, that she has lost her power over him because he finally sees her for who she truly is. Adam decides that he needs to move on from Cathy, and in doing so, he finally finds happiness not associated with Cathy and it’s a joyous realization for him. Adam and Cathy’s transformed relationship resembles the evolution in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s relationship. In the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth must coaxs the hesitant Macbeth into all of his decisions using cruelty and persuasion. However, towards the end Macbeth sheds away his previous insecurities and begins ruthlessly killing on his own showing no mercy even to his best friend. Contrarily, Lady Macbeth once a powerful and strong character, begins to crumble and is defeated by her guilt.
In Macbeth, three witches visit the successful general Macbeth, with the promise that he will be king. His wife, Lady Macbeth, then takes matters into her own hands by killing off King Duncan with Macbeth 's help. Eventually Macbeth grows just as ruthless as his wife and murders anyone he worries may challenge his position as king. However, their plan eventually backfires and the play ends with both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s deaths. Both books commonly explore the relationship of power between a man and a woman through reversing what is generally expected and how the quest for more power often leads to a character 's downfall.
Cathy in East of Eden and Lady Macbeth in Macbeth both challenge the typical gender roles of the soft and helpless female by possessing strong, almost masculine, qualities. Both women know that they have power over their husbands and use this knowledge to their own advantage. Though being a woman, especially in the 11th century, is associated with being weak and feminine, Lady Macbeth knows those qualities are disadvantageous to her goals, so she decides she must assume the cruel and harsh qualities of a man. Lady Macbeth asks the spirits to “unsex [her] …show more content…
The women lose all their power and strength, while the men suddenly gain control of their lives. In East of Eden, when Adam confronts Cathy at the brothel after she has abandoned him, he has a realization that he “[seems] to know that there’s a part of [Cathy] missing” (Steinbeck 382). This is the first instance that Adam allows himself to see Cathy in a negative light, revealing to him the monster within. He realizes that there is a corruption and cruelty to her that he can’t even begin to comprehend. She struggles to find the goodness in others because she doesn’t have any goodness of her own. She seems to eventually realize, that she has lost her power over him because he finally sees her for who she truly is. Adam decides that he needs to move on from Cathy, and in doing so, he finally finds happiness not associated with Cathy and it’s a joyous realization for him. Adam and Cathy’s transformed relationship resembles the evolution in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s relationship. In the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth must coaxs the hesitant Macbeth into all of his decisions using cruelty and persuasion. However, towards the end Macbeth sheds away his previous insecurities and begins ruthlessly killing on his own showing no mercy even to his best friend. Contrarily, Lady Macbeth once a powerful and strong character, begins to crumble and is defeated by her guilt.