In my experience in reading East of Eden, Calvino’s multiplicity quality is a thread that weaves together major works of modernism and post modernism explaining that there are no limitations to realizations, representations, relationships and ending.

John Steinbeck is the narrator but he is privy to all of the characters and he also knows extensive knowledge of the personalities and family histories of each character. There is little restriction and even the random thoughts of characters are shared. This gives equal importance to characters and gives the reader insight to multiple perspectives and various accounts of events.

This idea can be compared to the job of an author to include all the necessary parts to complete a story that by nature is limitless with possibility.

Like the infinity symbol, all the parts of the valley, different in each area and farm, all form together in the circle of life that is both harsh and rewarding to the characters of East of Eden.

Calvino’s quality of visibility is expressed in two ways. The one that starts with the word and arrives at the visual image (reading) and the one the starts with the visual image and arrives at a verbal expression (writing) The style of East of Eden is a marriage of vivid imagery of the Salinas Valley where Steinbeck writes words to express mental images and the human condition of good and evil that is already present in reader’s minds.

            This is the idea that Steinbeck used imagination to convey the sights, sounds, colors, and smells of the Salinas Valley to the reader because the Valley is not something that people will inherently know. On the other hand, by telling the stories of two families living in the valley Steinbeck relays the story of Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel from Genesis, a story that resonates with all people.

Calvino’s quality Visible is similar to the visualization of the Children’s Miracle Network logo. The logo is a red and yellow hot air balloon with five stripes and because pentagonal symmetry is embodied in many signature life forms such as fingers, senses, etc, the number is associated with life and the human spirit.

            The mystical properties of the number five mixed with the hopeful imagery of a hot air balloon blend perfectly with the human aspect of the Children’s Miracle Network.

The emblem that visualizes Visible based on a feature found within East of Eden is a Chinese drink called ng-ka-py that Lee drinks and sometimes shares with Mr. Hamilton and Adam during life discussions.  The drink represents the nostalgia for China to Lee and for Adam and Mr. Hamilton it is s strange and mystical drink that makes them open to long and vulnerable talk.

            The ng-ka-py represents both the vitality of life and the strange mysteries that accompany all the wonder.

Calvino defines Exactitude to mean three things:

1. A well-defined and well-calculated plan for the work in question

2. An evocation of clear, incisive, memorable visual images

3. A language that is as precise as possible both in choice of words and in expression of the subtleties of thought and imagination.

The language that Steinbeck uses to create the imagery of East of Eden is remarkable. The descriptive language of the Salinas Valley does just provide the backdrop of the story but it is an integral part of the plot and a key vehicle used to transition the story. The changes in the country overtime directly reflect the changes of the people who live there. The language used is precise and deliberate; each describing detail gives evidence of events to come in the plot.

Mcnab’s principles on patterns in nature can be used to visualize East of Eden. A significant portion of the novel is dedicated to the meticulous description of the Salinas Valley- the sights, sounds, smells, colors, and seasonal nature. Mcnab explains how patterns in nature are fundamental to human intuition and thus give us the ability to communicate.

Recognition of how things connect allows us to rearrange pattern into versions that anticipate consequences.  Through his intense description of the Salinas valley, Steinbeck gives the reader perhaps subliminal clues to future events for the characters. The deliberate use of natural patterns exemplifies Calvino’s fourth quality, exactitude.