Q 01/05

Which Bible story of two brothers does East of Eden retell through the rival sons of the Trask family?

A) Jacob and Esau

B) Isaac and Ishmael

C) Cain and Abel

D) Joseph and his brothers

Answer · why

C) Cain and Abel

Cain and Abel shape both Trask generations: each time a father prefers one son's gift, and the slighted brother lashes out.

Q 02/05

Which actor played Cal Trask in East of Eden, the only one of his three starring films released in his lifetime?

A) James Dean

B) Marlon Brando

C) Montgomery Clift

D) Sal Mineo

Answer · why

A) James Dean

James Dean died in a car crash six months after East of Eden opened, so Rebel Without a Cause and Giant reached cinemas without him.

Q 03/05

Which word, the last Adam Trask speaks in East of Eden, does Lee read as a promise of free choice?

A) Maranatha

B) Timshel

C) Hosanna

D) Shalom

Answer · why

B) Timshel

Timshel is Adam's dying blessing on Cal, telling him the cycle of sin can be broken. Bible scholars point out that the verse's real word is timshol.

Q 04/05

Whose television book club picked East of Eden half a century on, sending it back to the top of bestseller lists?

A) Ellen DeGeneres

B) Martha Stewart

C) Katie Couric

D) Oprah Winfrey

Answer · why

D) Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey chose it in 2003, and the 1952 novel climbed to number one on the New York Times paperback list.

Q 05/05

Which actress plays Cathy Ames in Netflix's 2026 East of Eden series, on which she is also an executive producer?

A) Florence Pugh

B) Saoirse Ronan

C) Anya Taylor-Joy

D) Emma Stone

Answer · why

A) Florence Pugh

Florence Pugh was attached from 2022, two years before Netflix ordered the series. Years earlier Jennifer Lawrence had been cast as Cathy for a planne...