John Steinbeck's, East of Eden, is a novel following different characters and their lives. As the story unfolds, the reader watches the characters lives intertwine, making a magnificent piece of work. In this passage, the reader can see how the setting alludes to later themes throughout the novel. This is shown by his use of vivid imagery, which is conveyed by the description of the two mountains and the river in between, his diction, which includes words like loveliness, warm, and beckoning to show a sense of enticingness, and words like brooding, raged and boiled for a dangerous feel, and his poetic sentence structure to show the fluidity, but yet, ruggedness of the river.
In the passage, the reader is introduced to the idea of the inviting mountains on the east and the repulsing mountains on the west. This is done by the full description of the mountains that Steinbeck gives his audience. When he talks about the river and how at times it is beautiful and at others it is a “destroyer,” it hints at a future character, Cathy. While Cathy is beautiful, she draws people in and then she explodes, taking everyone down with her. This shows that when there is beauty, there is danger to follow.…show more content… While the reader wants to love and appreciate its beauty, they can not, due to the word choice given to the audience to describe the other half of the valley. When words like, “loveliness,” “warm,” and, “beckoning,” are used, it makes the reader feel as if they want to go there but are held back by the words, “brooding,” “raged,” and, “boiled.” This is done to make the reader see the beauty in danger. It reveals the idea that danger is enticing. This implies references to the bible, with an Adam and Eve type of feel. These inklings of the bible are used continuously throughout the entire