East of Eden Bibliography

I honestly still have no idea what I want my thesis to be, but in my brainstorming and research, I focused primarily on Cal and Cathy and what we learn about morality from their characters.

       Because of this, my working thesis is: "The characters of Cal and Cathy shows that one's nature is more influential than one's nurture in making moral choices."

Sources:
(1) Segal, Nancy L. Born Together. N.p.: Harvard University Press, 2012. Web. 21 Mar. 2016. [Online Book]
This is a report on twin studies that looks at the similarities between habits and quality of life for twins separated at birth. It is a study that looks at "nature," and can be helpful in analyzing the character of Cal and looking at the theme of timshel--does he actually have a choice? This helps also in the analysis of Cathy's character and her antisocial personality.

(2) Sternberg, Robert J., and Elena L. Grigorenko. Environmental Effects on Cognitive Abilities. N.p.: Psychology Press, 2014. 40-43. Web. 21 Mar. 2016. [Online Book]
This source has information on child development, especially how families affect the mental growth of children and early teens. This is important for the character of Cal, who was raised in a very dysfunctional home and was therefore affected by his circumstances. This focuses, therefore, on "nurture."

(3) Cavarero, Adriana, Angelo Scola, and Margaret A. Groesbeck. Thou Shalt Not Kill: A Political and Theological Dialogue. N.p.: Fordham University Press, 2015. 7-10. Web. 21 Mar. 2016. [Online Book]
This is a good source because, obviously, it discusses the law of murder, particularly in relation to morality. This is a central idea in the original story of Cain and Abel, and it is important in understanding the parallels between the Biblical story and the versions shown in East of Eden, especially in relation to Cal's character.

(4) Verene, Donald P. "The Sociopath and the Ring of Gyges:: A Problem in Rhetorical and Moral Philosophy." Philosophy and Rhetoric 43.3: 201-21. Web. 3 Nov. 2010. [Journal Article]
I wanted to do some research on sociopaths since Cathy has so many sociopathic tendencies. This source was generic enough to be easily applied by specific enough to be helpful. This type of reserach is important in a further study of morality--if a person is hindered from understanding morality at all, is timshel still an applicable concept? How far do personal choices go? This will allow me to expand more on Cal's character as well.

(5) Montes, Maria J. "A Response to Ronald G. Alexander's 'Personal Identity and Self-Constitution' and Michael Goodman's 'A Sufficient Condition for Personhood'." The Personalist Forum 8.1 (1992): 91-96. Web. 21 Mar. 2016. [Journal Article]
This is another article about morality, though it is more an evaluation of morality in general as it applies to all people. This will also help me to further look into the idea of timshel and the morality of each of the characters, especially Cathy and Cal.

(6) The Holy Bible. Salt Lake City: n.p., 2003. 9-10. Web. 21 Mar. 2016. [Book]
This is the source of the original Cain and Abel story, which is clearly very important to the analysis of East of Eden. In order to understand the two versions of the story that Steinbeck presents, it is good to see the original views of morality and sin. I think this will help me most with Cal's character and analyzing his character through a moral lens.