" The greatest terror a child can have is that he is not loved, and rejection is the hell he fears. I think everyone in this world...has felt rejection. And with rejection comes anger, and with anger some kind of crime guilt-and there is the story of mankind"(270). This is Lee's interpretation of what he feels about rejection and the result of it. As he says this, he says it plain and clear that it is the chronicle of mankind. In the story of East of Eden, by John Steinbeck, three families face conflicting events of rejection amongst each other. In Cathy's family, or relationship with Mr. Edwards, they share a secret love that soon becomes a tragic mess. Then there's the Trask family, a content group of people with one family member feeing like he is not loved at all by his father. Last but not least, Adam Trasks' family, a very similar situation, where Adam's son Caleb feels less loved than his brother, Aron. Steinbeck utilizes Mr. Edwards, Charles and Cal to show how rejection of love causes anger in all of humankind.
             Throughout The East of Eden, Steinbeck exhibits the numerous disgraceful
             rejections of love that the characters face which will eventually result into anger. In the
             beginning Charles was the first to be rejected, this occurred on Cyrus's birthday. "I
             bought him a knife made in Germany-three blades and a corkscrew, pearl-handled.
             Where's that knife? Do you ever see him use it...I've never ever seen him hone it...
             what did he do with it? And that's the last I heard of a pearl-handled German knife that
             costs six bits."(29) Charles is very deeply hurt that Cyrus did not cherish his gift as much
             as he did to Adam's gift, a puppy. Cyrus just plainly looked at the knife, and said 'thank
             you', and then tucked it away in his desk without even sign of wanting the knife.
             This scene of refusal really mak...