Cathy's Magnum Opus Character Analysis

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Just as a child cannot know goodness without a model of virtue, a child cannot know offense without an image of villainy. As enlightened animals, humans set out to reject natural tendencies and live without sin. In Steinbeck’s magnum opus, Cathy is a humanoid symbol for predestined immorality and devilish values. She is the embodiment of divine rejection and a representation of the seven cardinal sins: pride, greed, gluttony, sloth, envy, lust, and wrath (Catholic Church 1866). By committing the most mortal sins, Cathy is fated to represent all that we should not be and the worst of God’s fallen humanity. Whether her sociopathic mindset stems from her pride or so contrariwise, all of her crimes originate from her belief that she is superior. At a young age, she failed to develop a trust for others, leaving her unable to connect with anyone. She can only take …show more content…
She covets the wealth, property, and status of others and dislikes people for their affluence of wallet and character. She disregards the deliberation and labor that goes into the gradual accumulation of wealth. She cannot view others as honorable. If they posses something, she believes it is her right. Near the end of her life, Cathy finally meets her son Cal, but is disgusted to discover the extent of his goodness. She feels that, as his mother, she has the right to control him, “for as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman” (Corinthians 11:12). Cathy never respected Adam, and it destroyed her to find that he had more influence over their sons than she ever could. She hopes to affect Cal’s mentality and make him believe he can “excuse” himself from fighting sin “because of [his] ancestry” (449). Her desire to influence her son, even without being present in his life, outlines how delusional jealousy made her. Her envy stems from not being as powerful as she expected, as she is nothing more than her command over

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