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East of Eden

Quiz

Analysis of Major Characters

Themes, Motifs, & Symbols

Part One, Chapters 1–5

Part One, Chapters 6–11

Part Two, Chapters 12–17

Part Two, Chapters 18–22

Part Three, Chapters 23–26

Part Three, Chapters 27–33

Part Four, Chapters 34–40

Part Four, Chapters 41–44

Part Four, Chapters 45–50

Part Four, Chapters 51–55

Important Quotations Explained

Study Questions & Essay Topics

Quiz

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East of Eden

John Steinbeck

Quiz

1. In what eastern state is the original Trask farm located?

(A) Massachusetts

(B) Connecticut

(C) Maryland

(D) Virginia

2. What does the young Adam give his father as a birthday gift?

(A) A saddle

(B) A puppy

(C) A knife

(D) A copy of the Bible

3. To what U.S. government post is Cyrus appointed?

(A) Secretary of the Treasury

(B) Attorney General

(C) Secretary of the Army

(D) Secretary of State

4. In the Bible, Cain and Abel are the sons of whom?

(A) Abraham and Sarah

(B) Adam and Eve

(C) Jacob and Leah

(D) Isaac and Rebekah

5. In which region of California does most of East of Eden take place?

(A) The San Fernando Valley

(B) The San Joaquin Valley

(C) The Salinas Valley

(D) The Owens Valley

6. How does Cathy kill her parents?

(A) She burns down their house

(B) She poisons them

(C) She shoots them

(D) She drowns them

7. How does Charles react when he learns that Adam and Cathy have married?

(A) He is overjoyed

(B) He is jealous

(C) He is disgusted

(D) He is indifferent

8. What does Cathy do when Samuel tries to help her deliver her babies?

(A) She thanks him

(B) She passes out

(C) She asks him to fetch Liza instead

(D) She bites him

9. What puzzles Lee about the story of Cain and Abel in the Bible?

(A) He does not understand Cain's motivation for killing Abel

(B) There is a discrepancy between two different translations of the story

(C) He wonders why God punishes Cain so harshly

(D) He is curious where the garden of Eden might have been located

10. What type of business does Faye run?

(A) A saloon

(B) A gambling house

(C) A cabaret

(D) A brothel

11. According to Lee, what does the Hebrew word timshel mean?

(A) “Thou shalt”

(B) “Do thou”

(C) “Thou mayest”

(D) “Thou art not”

12. Who is Cotton Eye?

(A) The local sheriff's deputy in Salinas

(B) The piano player at Faye's

(C) An ex-convict who blackmails Cathy

(D) Cathy's pimp

13. According to the original biblical story, what motivates Cain to kill Abel?

(A) Greed

(B) Ambition

(C) Jealousy

(D) Nothing; Cain kills Abel by mistake

14. Which of the Hamilton brothers commits suicide over guilt about Dessie's death?

(A) George

(B) Will

(C) Tom

(D) Joe

15. What, according to the narrator, is the one recurring story in human history?

(A) The conflict among the generations

(B) The struggle between good and evil

(C) The search for the meaning of life

(D) The struggle of the poor

16. In what kind of business does Adam lose his fortune?

(A) Mining

(B) Cattle

(C) Construction

(D) Refrigeration

17. Which daughter's death crushes Samuel?

(A) Dessie's

(B) Lizzie's

(C) Olive's

(D) Una's

18. Where does Aron go to college?

(A) Stanford

(B) Berkeley

(C) Harvard

(D) Dartmouth

19. What type of store does Lee wish to open in San Francisco?

(A) A clothing store

(B) A bookstore

(C) A restaurant

(D) A grocery

20. What does Cal ultimately do with the $15,000 that was meant to be a gift to his father?

(A) He keeps it

(B) He gives it to charity

(C) He uses it to start a business

(D) He burns it

21. Toward the end of the novel, what does Cathy wear around her neck?

(A) A locket containing Aron's picture

(B) A string of black pearls

(C) A red velvet ribbon

(D) A vial filled with grains of morphine

22. To whom does Cathy leave all her wealth when she dies?

(A) Aron

(B) Cal

(C) Adam

(D) Charles

23. Why does Aron join the Army?

(A) Out of a patriotic desire to serve his country

(B) Out of horror at learning his mother's identity

(C) Because his father wants him to

(D) Because he cannot find any other job

24. In what war is Aron killed?

(A) The Civil War

(B) The Spanish-American War

(C) World War I

(D) World War II

25. Which character was Steinbeck's mother in real life?

(A) Cathy Ames

(B) Abra Bacon

(C) Dessie Hamilton

(D) Olive Hamilton

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