An omniscient narrator carries its audience through the eccentric tale of the town of Cannery Row and all of its strange idiosyncrasies. Cannery Row is an aberrant novella written by John Steinbeck in 1945, and it is unlike any other story of its time. Set in the town of Cannery Row in Monterey, California during the Great Depression, Steinbeck writes about a diverse community of men and women who all struggle with their own mundane tragedies. He creates the world of Cannery Row through his own unique form and style in which he continually interrupts his own narration to piece together the fictitious, but nonetheless heartbreaking, events of Doc, Dora, Mack and many other misfits. John Steinbeck designed the heavenly paradise of Cannery Row, where good does not always triumph evil, however the two must be balanced, even the most thought out plans may go awry, and even though you may ignore the sorrowful misfortune that surrounds you, you are inescapable of your designed fate.
Steinbeck has an interesting style of writing that pulls his readers in through confusion and curious desire. He has an intriguing way of transitioning from chapter to chapter because of his tendency to start a new story in the middle of telling another one, leaving questions unanswered and storylines untouched until he is ready to reveal the rest of the original story. Constantly, he invents new misfits and finds ways to torture them with failure, fear, loneliness, poverty, and loss. For example, in
Narrative pacing is used by Steinbeck to create a sense of loneliness and isolation in the novel.
Cannery row is a tight community that Steinbeck uses as an example of common life. A vital niche in this system of life is Mack and his gang of fellow bums. In the words of Steinbeck, “Mack is the elder, leader, mentor, and to a small extent the
In John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row, Mack and his ravenous companions depart the inhospitable coastal fog of Monterey, California, and head east toward Carmel Valley, searching for sun.
Like how Crooks was telling Lennie about how he has seen tons of men wanting the dream that every man wants but he has never seen anyone do it. With Curley’s wife, she wanted to be an actress and said that she had the opportunity but it was her mom that was holding her back. Yet she was “discovered” at a dancing club which did not seem to give her the clue that it was not for real. This comes to show how today, everyone wants to be famous, actor, singer, internet star, but it is just the real world and not everyone gets to be or gets what they want. Then how Lennie is always in the way of the american dream for him and George. Steinbeck just shows how complicated it is to achieve the american dream and shows how it may not be possible for
Steinbeck not only uses realism to make an impact on his readers but he also uses strong characterization to his advantage as well (Howard). By using characters such as Ma Joad and Curley's wife, he is able to personalize the novel for the reader. This technique that Steinbeck uses makes the reader feel like he/she can relate with the characters' struggles, therefore, creating a greater sense of understanding toward the characters' situations (Horn). These two characters can best be described as strong, courageous, and they show great amounts of
In Steinbeck’s Cannery Row, the gopher story parallels the story at the beginning about the silk worm. Steinbeck used the story to portray his approach to writing the book and “let the stories crawl in by themselves”. It sets up the book as the gopher story closes it out. The gopher seems to convey the overall destiny of Cannery Row. They start out in great environments. Even in the prime of the life to achieve the desires. The patience wears thin to and is convince to make a way. Then there is an acceptance of doing what they have to truly be satisfied. Even if it means risking being uncomfortable and trapped, what their hearts desire is worth it. The story ends open ended, leaving the reader unsure of the fate that is ahead.
Cannery Row is a town located in Monterey, California. Despite being small, dirty and crowded, it is a well functioned town and is home to people from different walks of life. In the novel’s prologue, John Steinbeck wrote the following: “Its inhabitants are, as one man once said, ‘whores, pimps, gamblers, and sons of bitches’ by which he meant Everybody” and “[have] the man looked through another peephole he might have said: ‘Saints and angels and martyrs and holy men,’ and he would have meant the same thing” (Steinbeck 1). He basically comments that the difference in viewpoints given the same event results from the power of perspective and duality observed in people. One might see Cannery Row as a low-down place while the others might see Cannery Row as a lively, vigorous town. One would see a character’s actions disputable while the others would see their behaviors admirable. The viewpoints of the readers and the way characters behave at various times explain the fact that Cannery Row and its inhabitants possess qualities crossing good and evil.
Cannery Row is a town located in Monterey, California. Despite being small, dirty and crowded, it is a well functioned town and is home to people from different walks of life. In the novel’s prologue, John Steinbeck wrote the following: “Its inhabitants are, as one man once said, ‘whores, pimps, gamblers, and sons of bitches’ by which he meant Everybody” and “[have] the man looked through another peephole he might have said: ‘Saints and angels and martyrs and holy men,’ and he would have meant the same thing” (Steinbeck 1). He basically comments that the difference in viewpoints given the same event results from the power of perspective and duality observed in people. One might see Cannery Row as a low-down place while the others might see Cannery Row as a lively, vigorous town. One would see a character’s actions disputable while the others would see their behaviors admirable. The viewpoints of readers and the way characters behave at various times explain the fact that Cannery Row and its inhabitants possess qualities crossing good and evil.
John Steinbeck’s “Cannery Row” shows how people living there dealt with the hardships brought by the Great Depression. Steinbeck set his novel in the 1930’s in Cannery Row, California. The canneries are an integral part of the fish industry and Steinbeck makes the ailing American economy a critical part of everyone’s lives in his novel. He show how different characters, with different points of view with the exact same situation.
The minor characters in John Steinbeck’s novel Cannery Row are a contradiction within themselves. Steinbeck shows two conflicting sides to each character; for example, Mack is smart and lazy and some of his colleagues are both good and bad. Doc is a father figure with some bad habits. Dora Flood is a kind-hearted saint who happens to run a brothel. Lee Chong is a shrewd businessman who likes to take advantage of others. Henri is an artist with a French background even though he isn’t from France. Through his characters, Steinbeck shows that humans are complicated and can have many faces.
Human behavior is a function of the environment that he/she is brought up in because it is the environment that shapes the person’s morals. This statement is openly validated in the novel Cannery Row where an inclusive community is built as a result of good morals that have been developed and shaped by the environment. Cannery Row is novel that was published in 1945 by John Steinbeck in Monterey. It was named after a waterfront street in California which had sardine caning factories. According to Grasse et al (75), fellowship and warm-heartedness is all that is required to form a united and successful community. Wealth is important part of one’s life but it should not take away the person’s happiness. Steinbeck in his work uses the characters of the novel to communicate this message in a clear and understandable manner. The name of the novel matches with the actual meaning that the writer wanted to communicate the readers. He used the name to enable the readers to be able to relate the novel’s actual meaning with authentic opinions.
Jai James Ms. Pokorak AP Language and Composition 25 August 2014 The Realistic Utopia The novel Cannery Row, written by John Steinbeck, follows the lives of residents living on Cannery Row in Monterey, California. Life in this area is simple and often lonely, despite the sense of community. Steinbeck manages to create a humorous and light-hearted tale, while occasionally touching on topics such as abortion, abuse, and suicide.
Cannery Row is a novel about Steinbeck’s hometown and friends, living their lives. His novel does not follow a conventional narrative structure, but has several seemingly unconnected chapters, themes, and inner chapters. Of the numerous themes in the book, terrible beauty seems to be the most prominent in Cannery Row. There are countless instances of terrible beauty in Cannery Row, but the major ones are Dora and her brothel, and Doc’s studies of the tide pool.
Cannery Row is a novel John Steinbeck wrote after World War I. At first, the novel almost seems like a humorous book, written in a style commonly used by Steinbeck. The book has its main plot, but also has side chapters that periodically interrupt the main idea, which adds to the story. One would think that these side chapters are there to universalize the book, but in fact that is not true. The side chapters tell their own story, and they have a message that Steinbeck was clearly trying to show through his book. The novel has a main point about respect. In Cannery Row , Steinbeck is trying to say that respectability is the destructive force that preys on the world. Steinbeck
Alexander's excerpt drives his point that Cannery Row is a pastoral novel similar to Tortilla Flat but with deeper and more admirable sentiments. In his point of view, Cannery Row displays the marginal existence of the relatively primitive townsfolk in Monterey, with its pastoral aspects coming from detached, truth-hungry Doc. Alexander argues that the pastoral tone of Cannery Row is established in the short inter-chapter where Steinbeck renders Monterey as a microcosm with Mack and the boys’ orbits being more stable than those of the world. In addition, Alexander believes that Mack's famous apology to Doc for wrecking his lab 6recounts the outcast-renunciate status of the men.