“…Despite today's resistance to absolutes, many recognize a need for the stability that Steinbeck sought in the 1950s. Resistance to the idea of “one story” may be stronger than ever, but reread as an attempt to offer the stability a changing world lacks and the flexibility it requires, East of Eden still has much to offer, for, as Stephens notes, “Unsure of its future, this world continues to crave clear‐cut answers” (178).…”