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Cyrus Trask is the patriarch of the Trask family, and his morally questionable behavior sets a precedent for the struggles that will befall his children and grandchildren. Steinbeck introduces Cyrus early in the novel in order to offer insight into Adam’s character, a choice which reinforces the impact that each generation has on the next. Even in Adam’s earliest moments, his father acts recklessly and seems to care little about how his actions affect others. He contracts gonorrhea from sleeping with a Black prostitute during his brief time in the army, knowingly passes it onto his wife, and quickly remarries in the wake of her suicide. This negligent behavior also manifests itself in his relationships with his sons, leading him to blatantly favor Adam over Charles. Given the plethora of biblical allusions throughout the novel, the dynamic between Cyrus and his children establishes them as the first generation of Trasks to embody the story of Cain and Abel. In this religious context, Cyrus, with all of his character flaws and moral failings, ironically takes on the role of God.
In addition to the dysfunction that Cyrus causes among the Trask family while he is alive, his death ensures the continuation of his corrupt legacy. Adam and Charles learn that, upon their father’s death, they are to split an inheritance of $100,000 equally between them. While Steinbeck never confirms where this large sum of money came from, Adam speculates that Cyrus stole it from the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR). This behavior represents an extension of the lies about his military experience that he perpetuated during his life. Overexaggerations and outright falsehoods serve as the foundation for Cyrus’s career, and this inauthentic background ultimately enables him to secure a position as a high-ranking military secretary. From these lies to the unresolvable tension that Cyrus’s involvement in the military evokes between Adam and Charles, the money that he leaves behind is unquestionably tainted. The inheritance, which serves as a physical symbol of Cyrus’s corruption, alludes to the concept of original sin. His moral failings will continue to plague the Trask family for generations to come.
