During the town's parade, Aron, who is opposed to the war, watches morosely, while Cal plays pranks behind the crowd's back. The Salinas townspeople, naïvely believing they will win the war in a few weeks, celebrate the United States' decision to join the war against the Germans in Europe. After chatting with him about the family and her business, the dissipated woman finds Cal 'a likable kid' and writes him a check. To raise $5,000 to pay for seed, Cal approaches Kate and asks for the money. To help him, Cal takes advantage of wartime economics by going into business with family friend, Will Hamilton, growing and selling beans at a huge profit. It is Cal, not Aron, who fully senses Adam's disappointment. However, his experiment fails when the train is delayed by a snow slide and the ice melts, causing him to lose his fortune as well as the lettuce crop. Adam conceives of an ingenious idea to transport lettuce across the country in railroad cars, preserving the vegetables in ice. Aron, therefore, believes his mother is 'in heaven.' However, Cal secretly discovers that she is alive and running a brothel in nearby Monterey, and is tormented to think that he is 'bad' like her. Adam believes that his former wife Kate went east after abandoning the family, but has told his sons that their mother died shortly after their birth in order to spare them pain. Unable to understand Cal's restless spirit, Adam is often critical of the boy and fails to praise his hard work and inventiveness.Ĭal yearns for signs of Adam's love and respect, but his father's disapproval provokes him into playing rebellious pranks. While Aron is pious and a source of pride for Adam, the troubled Cal behaves erratically. Despite their fondness for each other, the boys are very different in temperament. In 1917, rancher Adam Trask has moved from his ranch to the town of Salinas, California with his twin sons, Caleb and Aron, whom he named after Biblical characters.

East of eden 1952