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Charles Trask
Lee is the son of two Chinese railroad workers and Adam’s servant. Though he was born in California and speaks perfect English, he chooses to speak pidgin-English for most of his young life, because he knows that people would be confused by a Chinese man who sounds American. Lee feels a deep kinship with Sam Hamilton, and the two often spend hours talking about the meaning of the Bible and the nature of the human soul.
Lee Quotes in East of Eden
The East of Eden quotes below are all either spoken by Lee or refer to Lee. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 15 Quotes
Pidgin they expect, and pidgin they’ll listen to. But English from me they don’t listen to, and so they don’t understand it…That’s why I’m talking to you. You are one of the rare people who can separate your observation from your preconception. You see what is, where most people see what they expect.”
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In this passage, Sam Hamilton has asked Lee why, after all this time in America, he still speaks pidgin English. Lee is one of the smartest and most complex characters in the book, and his simplistic speech turns out to be a part of his complexity. Lee explains (in perfect standard English) that he uses pidgin speech, paradoxically, in order to be understood. Most white Americans, Lee tells Sam, would be unwilling to accept Lee if his speech didn't match their preconceptions of him, and their preconceptions, based on his race, dictate that he should speak in simplistic Chinese-inflected English. Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint ap
Chapter 22 Quotes
“We are descended from this. This is our father. Some of our guilt is absorbed in our ancestry. What chance did we have? We are the children of our father. It means we aren’t the first.”
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In this moment, Sam, Adam, and Lee are discussing the story of Cain and Abel, the very story on which the novel is based. Because of this connection, this passage is key to the book overall. Here, Adam is excited because he realizes something from the story of Cain and Abel; all humans are the descendants of Cain, the bad brother, not Abel, the good one. (Although Judeo-Christian tradition has most people descended from Seth, Adam and Eve's third son.)Adam, who has been consumed by virtue his whole life, thinks that this, in a sense, absolves humanity of our guilt. Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit ne
“A great and lasting story is about everyone or it will not last.”
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Here, Lee is trying to account for the power of the Cain and Abel story. He suggests that a part of human nature is the inability to truly connect with anything that isn't deeply personal. "If a story is not about the hearer, he will not listen," Lee says. Cain and Abel, Lee argues, is a lasting story because rejection, guilt, and revenge are common to all people, so Cain's story still strikes a nerve even after thousands of years. This quote is especially relevant because of the metafictional nature of the novel's narration. Steinbeck repeatedly draws attention to the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligend
Chapter 24 Quotes
“But the Hebrew word, the word timshel—‘Thou mayest’—that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open. That throws it right back on a man…why, that makes a man great, that gives him stature with the gods, for in his weakness and his filth and his murder of his brother he has still the great choice. He can choose his course and fight it through and win.”
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This complex passage is a meditation on human choice, a question that lies at the heart of the book. Steinbeck has already established that humanity is descended from Cain; we have sin in our blood and cannot escape that part of our nature. However, Steinbeck does not intend this to be a dark pronouncement. Here, he locates human goodness and hope not in the naive belief that people are naturally good and that sin is therefore unnatural, but rather in the notion that humans have a unique capacity to choose their own destiny and therefore we have the ability to Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ip
“This is not theology. I have no bent toward gods. But I have a new love for that glittering instrument, the human soul.”
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Here, Lee makes his final point in his elucidation of the importance of the Cain and Abel story. He does not believe that Cain and Abel should be interpreted as strictly religious figures because he does not think the beauty or importance of the story comes from its relationship to theology. Rather, Lee locates the story's importance in its illustration of the beauty of the human soul. In other words, Lee believes in humanity instead of God, and he thinks that the Cain and Abel story reveals the central beauty and power of humans, which is our ability to make Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusant
Chapter 38 Quotes
“Of course you may have that in you. Everybody has. But you’ve got the other too.”
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After seeing his mother sinning at the brothel, Cal is deeply shaken by the implications he sees for his own character. He finds Lee and confesses what he has seen, admitting that he worries that he is evil like his mother. In this quote, Lee explains to him that he does have his mother's evil in him, but he also has his father's good--everyone is a mix of both. Lee takes this argument further by scolding Cal for the laziness of assuming that he is innately evil like his mother. Lee sees the ability to blame bad ancestry for bad Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commo
Chapter 53 Quotes
“He’s crammed full to the top with every good thing and every bad thing.”
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The love between Cal and Abra is, in a sense, Steinbeck's promise of redemption. The most relentlessly virtuous characters in the book (Adam and Aron, for example) lack empathy and understanding in a way that actually closes them off to true human love. Both men experienced strong feelings for women, but those feelings weren't really love because the men could not recognize the bad parts of the women they cared for--they loved an idealized version of a woman, rather than a real human being. Paradoxically, the fact that Cal has sinned almost unforgivably in his treatment of Aron is what Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ip
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Lee Character Timeline in East of Eden
The timeline below shows where the character Lee appears in East of Eden. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 15
...she endures her pregnancy and waits diligently for her opportunity to escape. Adam’s Chinese servant Lee is suspicious of her, but Adam notices nothing.
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One day Adam sends Lee to the Hamilton house to fetch Sam. Lee obliges and as he and Sam are...
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Sam asks Lee why is he content to be a servant. Lee says a man not only learns...
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...shivers. He quickly finishes his dinner and excuses himself. On his way out he asks Lee if he’s noticed anything “creepy” going on around this house. Lee doesn’t answer him directly,...
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Chapter 17
...sits quietly watching the flurry of activity around her. One day while Sam is drilling, Lee comes running outside and insists that Sam come inside to help—Cathy has gone into labor...
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...is a boy—Sam swaddles the baby and tells Adam, who looks queasy. Sam asks for Lee, who comes in to help him clean up. Suddenly Sam sees that a second baby...
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Lee tries to clean up Sam’s wound, and they talk about Cathy. Sam says he “feels...
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Chapter 22
...into himself; Cathy’s departure has caused a great sickness in his mind. For a while Lee and Sam did their best to help him, but eventually gave up, for Adam could...
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Adam, Lee and Sam sit down with dinner and begin to consult the Bible for names. Sam...
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Chapter 24
...every detail of the landscape. He saves his visit to the Trask place for last. Lee and Adam ask Sam to stay for dinner and he agrees. Sam looks at Adam’s...
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Over dinner Lee says he dedicated many years to thinking about the story of Cain and Abel. He...
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Lee triumphantly explains that “thou mayest” captures what makes men great—they have the choice to overcome...
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...the most violent and depraved whorehouse in Salinas. Adam is left reeling and Sam leaves. Lee goes with him; he wants to spend a few more minutes riding with Sam. Lee...
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Chapter 26
When Adam returns home Lee notices a change in him. Adam tells Lee he wants to get to know his...
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Chapter 27
...day bring her home. Aron is deeply upset by the thought of his father and Lee lying to him, but Cal shows no emotion.
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Chapter 28
Lee and Adam discuss the risks of moving to Salinas—the boys would be closer to their...
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Chapter 30
A week after the driving lesson, Adam, Lee and the boys are driving the car around, and stop by the post office. There...
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The boys pretend to drive the parked car as Lee prepares dinner. Aron asks Cal why Cal insists on doing sneaky, tricky things. He knows...
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After the boys go to bed Adam and Lee talk about Charles’s letter. They realize that because Adam and Cathy have never divorced, the...
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Cal sneaks away from the door of the room where Adam and Lee have been talking—he’s heard the whole thing. He quietly sneaks back to the room he...
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Chapter 35
Lee helps Adam make the move to Salinas, and afterwards says his goodbyes. As per his...
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Chapter 36
Aron is disturbed: either his mother is dead, or his father and Lee or liars, which makes them dead in a different kind of way. He cannot stomach...
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Chapter 38
Following this incident Cal approaches Lee and boldly tells him he knows where his mother is. Lee answers all of Cal’s...
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Chapter 39
This affection and acceptance from his father puts Cal in such a bright mood that Lee thinks Cal has a girlfriend. Cal takes to following Catherine around town when she runs...
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Chapter 43
...graduate a year early. Adam could not be prouder of him. He glowingly boasts to Lee about Aron’s accomplishments. Meanwhile, the minister at the church points out to Aron, who is...
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...from Cal, who is shocked to hear that Aron kept this information from his father. Lee hears about this and threatens to fight Aron if he does not start treating his...
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Chapter 44
...only thing in his life that has any meaning for him anymore. Abra confides in Lee, with whom she has grown increasingly close, that she feels the letters are written to...
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Abra, in a moment of courage, asks Lee if Mrs. Trask is still alive. Lee says yes. Just then Cal enters the kitchen....
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Chapter 49
At Thanksgiving time, Adam, Lee, Cal, and Abra go to the train station to greet Aron. Adam is anxious to...
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...his business venture with Will Hamilton. But on the day of Thanksgiving, Aron asks for Lee to delay the meal which messes up Cal’s carefully calibrated timeline. Cal succumbs to angry...
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When Lee sees Cal later he begs him to stop it—Cal looks innocently confused, as if he...
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Chapter 51
Adam and Lee wait for Aron to come home. When they don’t see him for a while they...
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Lee finds Cal, and tells him that his mother committed suicide. Lee explains softly that people,...
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Chapter 52
...has tingling in one of his hands. Cal worries for his father’s health, and asks Lee after a couple of months if they ought to call a doctor. Lee changes the...
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...fact she has not loved him for quite some time. Abra agrees to go visit Lee the next day.
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Chapter 53
Adam takes to sleeping in short bursts throughout the day and night. Lee sees that Adam’s time is drawing short, and it makes Lee feel, paradoxically, more alive....
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Chapter 54
That afternoon an envelope is delivered to the door. Lee resists the urge to open it, telling himself it is some kind of advertisement. When...
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Chapter 55
When Cal and Abra return home, Lee is there to give them some terrible news. Aron is dead, and Adam has had...
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Abra, Lee and Cal sit in the kitchen. Abra begs Lee to help Cal understand. Lee takes...
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