“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hatred. Hate leads to suffering” (Lucas). Very few human beings know the dark side like Cathy Ames. The character that everyone is supposed to despise, even though we love to hate Cathy, is a mean woman. Although some people might argue that she changed during John Steinbeck's East of Eden, her motivation for every evil act she commits is the same: Cathy yearns to control her entire existence. Cathy is a megalomaniac from the moment she is introduced. From a very young age, she shows the tendency to want to control everything about herself. While most things are given to her and most people are seduced by her natural charm and attractiveness, she sometimes loses control. When she decides she no longer wants to go to school, her parents reprimand her by speaking harshly to her, letting her know "who's boss" (83). In response to her parents telling her that they control her, even when her parents have her best interests at heart, she decides to sever all ties with them and run away. She does it because she hates the idea of ​​another person being her boss. Even when she is whipped for her attempt to escape, she quickly learns to scream and has “the satisfaction of feeling the blows become lighter” (83). She pretends to cry and sob to control her father and manipulate him into not hitting her. Although some people blame the parents for this situation, it is worth pointing out that this was a normal practice at the time and the parents were inexperienced and consumed with guilt and sadness over the process. Eventually, Cathy kills her family to escape them by telling them what to do, leaving them to live their own lives. At an unidentified point in her childhood Ca...... middle of paper ......Cathy is afraid. Her fear drives her to be evil, or at least to do horrible things. People may say that Cathy is a dynamic character who deserves more sympathy as the story progresses, but her motivation is constantly to control and preserve that sense of control. From her introduction to her untimely, blossoming demise, she was trying to take the lead. Whether people decide to forgive Cathy is another decision, but it's important to understand her motivations, or anyone else's, before judging them. Steinbeck, John. East of Eden. Ed. of the centenary of John Steinbeck. New York: Penguin Books, 2002. Print. Star Wars, Episode I, The Phantom Menace. Real. Lucasfilm Ltd. Perf. Liam Neeson Ewan McGregor Natalie Portman Jake Lloyd Ian McDiarmid Anthony Daniels Kenny Baker Pernilla August Frank Oz. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 1999. DVD.