John Steinbeck
In the novel, "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck, Catherine Ames is one of
the main characters. She is introduced to the reader as a monster and
as time goes on, she possesses both monster like and animal qualities.
As Catherine she gets older and wiser, she gets more evil and displays
her monster and animal like characteristics. She knows she is powerful
and indestructible. She has manipulated and tricked many people her
life causing them to go to the extreme... death.
Catherine "Cathy" shows her evilness and her monster like behavior
in many scenes throughout the book. Steinbeck illustrates Cathy as
being a monster on pages 95 and 96. "I believe there are monsters born
in the world... It is my belief that Cathy Ames was born with the
tendencies, or lack of them, which drove and forced her all of her
life," said Steinbeck. Cathy used this to her advantage by making
people uneasy, but not so uneasy that they would not run away from
English: John Steinbeck
Grave site of John Steinbeck and family
English: Own Work. 2007. National Steinbeck Centre...her. Cathy was born with an innocent look that fooled many; she had
golden blond hair, hazel eyes, a thin and delicate nose, and a small
chin to make her face look heart shaped. According to the town Cathy
lived, Cathy had a scent of sweetness, but that is just what Cathy
wanted the town to see and think when Cathy planned her kill. On page
114-115, "The fire broke out... the Ames house went up like a
rocket... Enough remained of Mr. and Mrs.
Cannery Row in Monterey
cathy