According to Sparknotes, one way stereotypes play a role in East of Eden is through the character of Lee. Lee is a Chinese-American cook and housekeeper Adam hires in Chapter 15. "Lee confides in Samuel that he likes being a servant because it enables him to control his master. Lee says that, although he has lived in America all his life, he uses pidgin English—sentences such as “Me talkee Chinese talk”—to play into Americans' stereotypes and expectations of him."

You might also want to check out: http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~stephan/Steinbeck/east.html and http://webpages.charter.net/thejacowskis/eden/
Hope this helps!
Source(s):
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/eastofeden/section3.rhtml


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