Little Boston: East of Eden & TWBB

I saw TWBB as I was reading East of Eden, and I didn't really notice anything similar between the two of them until I came closer to finishing the novel... which actually happened today. The two core stories really aren't alike at all; East of Eden is much more blatantly Biblical in its plot than TWBB and has absolutely nothing at all to do with oil, though it's set in California in basically the same time period. Actually, I didn't notice any really significant similarities. There was just one funny thing that caught my eye: towards the end of the book, there's a mention of "the Peachtree Dance."

Now, I don't know why that sticks with me so much. It's not really a big deal in either of the pieces at hand, but it just seems so funny that it wouldn't be in there on purpose. Like I said, they are set pretty close to each other--Salinas, of course, is a real place whereas Little Boston (to the best of my knowledge) isn't, but they both make mention of King City as being a fairly closeby landmark (I think. Didn't Henry say he came from there?). For some inexplicable reason, this weird little connection makes me really happy. I don't quite get it, but in that spirit:

Did anyone else notice any tiny, seemingly-coincidential allusions in the film?

That's pretty cool, kokakola.

No, this is interesting.  I wish I had READ E of E, because the horrific Jane Seymour mini-series version is in my mind and won't leave. This  certainly opens up a lot of speculation about PTA's research and influences!  (At least DP didn't say "I'm finished, now you can go put on the green light at the end of the dock.")  Forgive my literary humor, but I couldn't resist.

That's awesome! Here's an excerpt from an interview between PTA and Lars von Trier where PTA talks about Steinbeck's significance:

PTA: You know, Lars, when I saw Dogville, it wasn't about America to me. It was about any small-town, small-minded mentality, and it wasn't about America until the end.

LVT: No. I agree completely. The only thing that I've done about America, or that should connect with America, is a kind of positive feeling that I'm trying to create, some things that I remember from Steinbeck or Mark Twain--feelings, or settings--

PTA: --Go back, I can't believe this, 'cause Steinbeck has been an obsession of mine for the past year. Did you read him a lot?

LVT: When I was young, yeah.

PTA: There's a collection of short stories called America and Americans, which is amazing, and I wanted to give it to you. There's a bit in it straight from Dogville, and it's meant so much to me over the past year, because he fought in World War II, he wrote about Vietnam, he wrote from the McCarthy hearings, and he saw it all. He was really a great novelist, but he was a journalist as well, and one of the great American writers.

...not to mention the other Sinclair -- Sinclair Lewis, almost totally unread these days. If you want a picture of the tastes and smells and sensibilities of small-town America during the early part of the century, nothing beats Sinclair Lewis. I suspect PTA gave Elmer Gantry a quick read, since a couple of Eli's healing exhortations come straight out of Elmer's (and probably Billy Sunday's) mouth.

I might be wrong on this, but I thought I recall an interview in the last couple of months where DD-L said he was reading some American authors he hadn't read before, including Steinbeck. Pretty likely if PTA also was re-discovering him. Anyway, I just pulled a copy of East of Eden from the library -- right under the ten shelves of shiny bright Danielle Steel books it was -- and will begin to re-read it tonight. I loved it when I was 15, so we'll see.

Henry really reminded me of a Steinbeck character, ill-used, in jail (on a chain-gang no less), no success.

EW, you're right about Billy Sunday.  Did you see his sermon titles?

When I worked in a library, they had early 18th. century books in the circulating stacks, even though the librarians denied it and said that they had all been pulled and put in Special Collections, where I worked for eight years, and thus ruined my life and aspirations ; )

In my experience, rare books librarians and archivists HATE people actually using the materials.  We had a collection from a major abolitionist, and when I suggested that we call C-Span and have BookTV do a spot on it,  the librarians looked at me like I had just suggested that we burn the stuff.

You know, the minister who preforms Mary and HW's (Episcopalian) wedding is apparently the real deal.  He's credited as Rev. somebody, don't know the name.

Armies,

It's great propaganda for the New Deal, but it's emotionally wrenching.  Really, really sad.  I hated traveling by car for quite a while after reading it (this was before flying completely sucked.)  In it, every horrible thing that can happen to the Joad family happens, and then it gets worse.