East of Eden Lesson Plan

The concept of timshel is a central theme of East of Eden. How does it manifest itself in today's reading?

Adam is given the choice to live his life clearly or to remain bogged down in apathy, depression, and longing for Cathy. Thanks to Lee and Samuel, Adam gains agency through his realization of the novel's central concept, timshel, and by learning that his wife is still living in Salinas. Finally, he can choose to live differently and to see Kate as the monster she is, not as his pretty, young, vulnerable wife.

He finds within himself the power to resist her feminine wiles. Indeed, when they at last meet face-to-face, he finds that he has all the power and that,...