CYCLES

Cycles

            A cycle is any complete series of occurrences that repeats or is repeated. With that clarified there were multiple cycles in this novel East of Eden. Most of the cycles in this novel are never ending and become passed down through generations. Sometimes these cycles cross one another or become an off spring for other cycles. There’s a difference in these cycles though. The cycles in this novel start new beginnings but end the same.  What I mean is each character can be in a cycle and they will start a new life or a new adventure then by the end of their new ways they wound up in the same place they tried to escape, and it is kind of shocking but I can always see it coming. 

            One main cycle is the cycle of abandonment. The main characters this cycle effects are Charles and Tom. Ever since Charles was born he lived on that farm his mother left him (passed away), father left him (went back to the military), and his brother left him (all over the place). Charles was left alone to his farm where he put in all his hard work and soul into. Even after Charles father died and he and Adam became rich Charles still decided to stay and do nothing but keep working on his farm which he would never leave. Tom was abandoned by all of his siblings. They all grew up with big futures and goals that they had fulfilled, while poor old Tom was left with nothing but false ideas that would be nothing but a waste of time and money. Every time he would start a new beginning or new project somehow it failed and he came back to home. This cycle has a negative effect because it never allowed Charles and Tom to prosper and grow. Never allowed them to get away from home and move on with the rest of their lives like everyone else in their families.

            Abandonment plays a big part into Tom and Charles life because it forced them into another cycle. That would be the cycle of returning. In this cycle of returning the characters are like lost birds that never learned to fly. I say this because they were born into the world like a bird, they were given all the necessary tools like a bird, but, they were never nurtured properly and shown the love and care they needed to learn how to fly and prosper on their own so all of their projects/adventures failed and they returned back to home. They had everything they needed to go out into the world and become great things but they never did. Being abandoned allowed them to never abandon anything because they know how it feels. These two cycles are very important to the novel. They are important because they helped Tom and Charles creates paths for new beginnings but showed how they always came up with the same ending.