East of Eden Part 2

"The free exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world." (pg.132) The freedom to voice one's opinion is very important and may come with whiplash. Freedom of the mind may leave a person open to being manipulated because everyone wants to be able to trust and accept people in today's society. Everyone wants to believe that the people on the other side of the fence has the same or even better moral values than oneself - that everyone is good. Adam and Faye are both blind; they are blind to Cathy's true nature. Cathy is a very manipulative person and she takes her victims anywhere she can get them. She prays on them like a snake prays on its dinner. Their belief that there is good in everyone leaves them both wide open for being taken advantage of. She makes them feel better about their situation just by being there. She creates a type of ambiance that makes Adam for example forget anything bad - about her or anything else. "Burned in his mind ... nothing Cathy did or said could warp Adam's Cathy." (pg. 133)