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Chapter 45
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in East of Eden, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Good, Evil, and the Human Soul
Time
Family, Love, and Loneliness
Religion, Myth, and the Power of Stories
Identity
Money, Wealth, and the Value of Work
Summary
Analysis
John Steinbeck, the narrator, tells a story about how he and sister Mary, when hatred of Germans had reached a fever pitch, harassed and insulted one of Salinas’s German citizens. The narrator says he has always felt bad about this act.
Another interlude from the narrator reveals a crucial reality about the nature of evil: John succumbed to nationalistic fervor and harassed an innocent man. But just as significant as his transgression is his repentance: he knows he has done wrong. Good once again exists alongside evil, and redemption is always an option.
Themes
