"...there are techniques of the human mind whereby, in its dark deep, problems are examined, rejected or accepted. Such activities sometimes concern facets a man does not know he has...in the morning a whole new direction and a clearness is there, maybe the result of the black reasoning" (E.O.E 327).
This particular road sign applies to Adam Trask in East of Eden by John Steinbeck. Adam has always been a flawed character. Right from childhood he was neglected by his father, and later on failed to acknowledge the tough love in which his father bestowed upon him. His inability to confront problematic situations right when they begin to surface is a major flaw he posses that leads him to future downfalls. Just like a falling rock, Adam's life has been presumed to collapse due to minor cracks that can be viewed as scars from past struggles that comes back to wreck havoc. Because destiny rules for the success of an individual and Adam struggle to avoid failure, his life has been silted in warnings both he and others can see when there is a need for outside assistance. Characters like Lee and Samuel Hamilton have been put in place to take the refuge of those who are to evoke meaning in the life of Adam. With help from both characters, Adam is able to rise above his struggles and advance with life in a new and brighter prospect.
A rock that falls must find ground, and it is on this ground that it tries to find balance to settle down. Adam was capable of overcoming one of his major problems after confronting his wife, Cathy Ames. In doing so, he becomes a better father, and takes responsibility of the consequences of being absent in the first few years of his sons lives. Adam's new found acceptance of his sons is what breaks the chain that links him to his own father's neglect in the first few years of his life as a child. By refusing to take resemblance of his father, he clears all his past unforeseen curses or attachments and begins a new life. Sometimes during the fall of a rock little particles are left behind. In East of Eden, these particles are portrayed as minor things that are destined to hold Adam back. In this case, Adam releases himself of those obstacles be it a person or overwhelming presence, as he begins to see life in a renewed prospect. Although Adam is portrayed as a weak character in the beginning, he changes the way he is seen and decides to show his true nature as a strong minded person by beating fate at its own game and becoming one of the influential characters in the book.
