We are our own worst enemies...

As I finished Under the Dome and got the real picture of what King was talking about, I realized how bad people can really be. We go about our lives just fine, usually, but every once in awhile we see the true side of those around us. For example, in Under the Dome, before the city was under a dome Jim Rennie was just a normal used car salesman and most people trusted him and only a few saw past his charade. Then when the crisis started, all of sudden Rennie wanted control and got it. More and more people started to realized his fake behavior but usually not soon enough to prevent harm from coming to them or those around them. The longer the people were under the dome the more catastrophic events happened and all of them were caused, not by the dome itself, but by the peoples reactions to the dome. If the people would have been calm, non-controling, and less psychotic then they probably could have lived peaceable under the dome until they ran out of air, food, or water. However, that wouldn't have been very human of them.

Under the Dome

I think I'm officially a Stephen King fan. I've read so many books by him and they always make an impression and tend to stick with me for a long time. I love how King's books are so thought out and long. I love the way he ends his book with an idea that might have been briefly foreshadowed or introduced previously but that wasn't really recognized until the last couple of pages. Usually after I read the last few pages of Stephen King's books, I realized what he was trying to say the entire novel and I'm disappointed that I didn't get the idea sooner. However, that is what makes King's novels fantastic. He tells the reader the story and drags them along but then he makes sure that they understand exactly what he wants them to understand. We can make our assumptions all we want about what he is getting at, but we know that the last few pages will let us know. More than the way the ideas are introduced, I love the ideas themselves. They are always so true and able to relate to. If you haven't read a single Stephen King novel besides, The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon, I recommend you read another one.

Timshel

Until the last page, the 7th to last word, of East of Eden, I didn't realize how important Timshel was in the novel. While reading the entire book, I thought the theme was how history repeats itself over and over again. I still think that is part of the theme, however now I realize that the true theme is that no matter what you think probably will happen, We have the choice. We can choose how to react to our past and how to frame our future, just like Cal could choose to not be like his mother and Lee could choose to be who he set out to be regardless of his upbringing and nationality. Timshel, or "thou mayest", is a life changing idea that life can be what we want it to be.

The end of East of Eden

As I was finishing East of Eden I had a feeling that someone was going to die and that it would probably be Aron. However, I did not expect Adam to have a stroke and then for Lee to get his blessing for Cal as he was dying. As I was reading these last few pages all I could think about was Jacob and Esau. The story is similar, one son killed the other son and then one son stole the other sons blessing from his fathers favorite son. Lee, in this case, acts as the mother figure, protecting the son who needs it the most. I'm not sure if Lee actually liked Cal more, as in the Jacob and Esau story, or if he wanted to make sure that both sons were loved by someone and given the attention they needed whether it was from their father or Lee. In some situations, it seemed as if Lee found amusement in Cal and that is why he protected him until the end. Either way, the biblical allusions in East of Eden never end.

Caleb

Caleb is one of the most interesting characters to me because he seems to share certain aspects of many other characters.

Cal shares Cathy's need for control. When Cal sees a situation getting out of hand he wants to fix it the way he needs it to be. For example: when Cal first noticed Abra's preference for Aron he immediately attempted to bring Abra away from Aron's unconscious grasp. His plan worked for the time being so Cal was satisfied and got his little "high" from being in control and a step ahead of his brother. Cathy, a little more practiced than Caleb, always has control of the situation, even when the situation is slipping from her grasp she is still thinking a step ahead.

Caleb and Charles both have jealousy and, sometimes, hatred for their brothers. While Charles literally tried to kill Adam, Caleb is, so far, happy to just beat Aron mentally down in every way he can.

Cal relates to his father (Adam) because of his need to be loved. Adam was loved by his father but his step-mother showed more preference to her actual son (Charles). So Adam would leave secret little gifts to see her smile, thinking he was making her happy when the entire time she thought it was Charles. Cal sees how everyone, including his father, shows more preference for Aron but even so he loves Adam and has a protective nature towards him.

I'm stuck under the dome...

It is both extremely difficult and extremely exciting to get sucked into a story where there are characters who are absolutely disgusting and characters who are absolutely amazing. I find it difficult to continue reading while there are characters who are so manipulating and dirty that I know I will not like their next move but I have to continue reading about it (Jim Rennie). Then there are the characters who do everything but stop the bullets, which is unfortunate because they usually end up getting shot (metaphorically or literally), who keep me scanning the pages ahead, waiting for them to show up and be the hero (Barbie).

I'm currently stuck under the dome with these characters who continue to get slapped from all sides: the dome, the outside world, and there own people stuck with them. Once again, Stephen King has written a interesting and thought provoking book which keeps me turning pages and fearing for what might happen. Good job lizard man!! 

East of Eden~Chapter 1

Last year, a girl in my Bible as Lit. class was reading this book and the more she talked about it the more I wanted to read it. The biblical symbolism and the character Kathy (which we haven't gotten to yet), seemed so complex and interesting to me.

However, the first chapter was exactly what I don't like in literature...too much information. I feel as if the first chapter will mean a lot more after the whole book is read but at this point I just want to get to the meat of the book. However, even though the first chapter was slow, I liked to overall idea of forgotten ideas/memories and wanting what isn't present.

I'm super excited about this book because I've heard so much about it. I hope it's all it was cracked up to be!!