Freedom of Choice in Steinbecks East of Eden Essay -- John Steinbeck

Our circumstances do not determine our lives. Instead, our lives are determined by our choices. That is not to say that our lives are not impacted by the country in which we were born, the family which we were born to, or the tragedies which touched our lives. We are given a choice of how we respond to those things, and the power of choice means that the lessons and value of our lives is not determined by outside influences, but instead it is determined by our reaction to those influences. In the novel, East of Eden by John Steinbeck theorizes that all individuals have the freedom to make choices in order to triumph over evil. Steinbeck demonstrates this by his use of the word timshel, the word, which translates to â€Å"thou mayest,† is used in the story of Cain and Abel in the Bible. God t... Freedom of Choice in Steinbeck's East of Eden Essay -- John Steinbeck Our circumstances do not determine our lives. Instead, our lives are determined by our choices. That is not to say that our lives are not impacted by the country in which we were born, the family which we were born to, or the tragedies which touched our lives. We are given a choice of how we respond to those things, and the power of choice means that the lessons and value of our lives is not determined by outside influences, but instead it is determined by our reaction to those influences. In the novel, East of Eden by John Steinbeck theorizes that all individuals have the freedom to make choices in order to triumph over evil. Steinbeck demonstrates this by his use of the word timshel, the word, which translates to â€Å"thou mayest,† is used in the story of Cain and Abel in the Bible. God t...