I recently read East of Eden by John Steinbeck and came away convinced it’s the best work of American literature ever written (at least, that I’ve read — if you have a challenger, I’d love to hear it as I’m reading lots of classics recently).

I attempt to write this post without spoilers. Here’s what you need to know:

Going into the second half of the book, the story shifts to focus on two brothers named Cal and Aron. Steinbeck not-so-subtly alludes that they are representatives of the biblical story of Cain and Abel, which sets certain expectations for the reader.

This is a letter about subverting those expectations. How do you make the Reader like a character they expect to dislike?

Going into this story, I expected to not like Cal. He is, after all, based on the biblical character who killed his own brother. That ranks quite high on the ‘worst thing you can ever do’ scale.

Steinbeck knows the majority of his readers will have a similar expectation. But, he needs us to care about Cal, to feel empathy for this character, to actually like and root for him despite the similarities to his biblical counterpart. For the last of the book, he becomes the protagonist. The story hinges on us caring about Cal.

Which begs the question: How does Steinbeck make you like a character who you expect to kill his own brother?

By letting you into the deepest, darkest parts of Cal’s mind and contrasting those with his struggle to be good. Take this passage for example:

Cal exists in a morally ambiguous space between good and evil. He clearly has the capacity for evil, but he desperately wants to be good, to redeem himself, to win his father’s love.

Take a look at how Steinbeck builds Cal’s inner conflict and motivations just in these 4 paragraphs. This is how you pull on reader heartstrings.

• Desire for love. “From his first memory Cal had craved warmth and affection, just as everyone does.“

• But he isn’t loved like his brother. “What was charming in the blond ingenuousness of Aron became suspicious and unpleasant in the dark-faced, slit-eyed Cal.”

• Which leads to a cycle of rejection. “Once a boy has suffered rejection, he will find rejection even where it does not exist.”

• And that rejection makes Cal create his own coping mechanisms. “He lived alone and walked alone.”

I call this Sharing the Struggle. In a way, it’s the complement to what Eddie talked about last week with realism. Instead of focusing on facts, actions, and dialogue, you focus on thoughts and feelings. Specifically, the darker thoughts and tendencies.

Why It Works

Here’s a much shorter example. These two paragraphs come 9 chapters apart. See how Steinbeck shares Cal’s struggle so the Reader can see his growth?

• “Cal saw the confusion and helplessness on Aron’s face and felt his power, and it made him glad. He could outthink and outplan his brother. He was beginning to think he could do the same thing to his father.”

• “He dredged up an old hatred to test himself, and he found the hatred gone. He wanted to serve his father, to give him some great gift, to perform some huge good task in honor of his father.”

We're drawn to characters who show us their flaws because they reflect our own. By baring Cal's inner darkness on the page for all to see, Steinbeck humanizes him, making him not just credible but deeply relatable.

A lesser storyteller would keep Cal’s thoughts surface level or, even worse, never put them on the page.

Storytellers — 3 Takeaways

One, the desire to overcome the struggle is as important, if not moreso, than the struggle itself. We care about Cal not because of his lurking evil, but because he wants desperately to be good.

Two, struggle leaves room for growth. Stories are about the transformation the Hero goes through from beginning to end. But how do you make a Hero transform? You don’t tell her how amazing she is. Instead, you challenge her to overcome her weaknesses.

Three, no great story has ever been told about a character who did everything right.

I’m reminded of a quote from Virginia Wolff:

"I mean to show the complexity of the human heart, and yet make it credible."

Have an awesome week,

Nathan

PS. This idea ties into Brandon Sanderson’s 3 characters scales:

• Likeability

• Competence

• Proactivity

Essentially, he argues that your Reader views your character on these 3 scales. To make them care more, move the dial for that character closer to 10.

If you’d enjoy a deep-dive on the character scales, reply with your favorite character from a book or movie. With enough replies I’ll write one up!

Trivia — A Sentence I Wish I Wrote

An easy one today because I watched the movie adaptation yesterday. What novel does it come from? Tap your best guess.