Function Of The Environment In Cannery Row, By John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck is the renowned author of novels such as Of Mice and Men, East of Eden, and The Pearl. In his novel The Grapes of Wrath Steinbeck expounds on the theme of the cruelty people inflict on one another as well as how they can overcome the inhumanity of others. Steinbeck’s artfully demonstrates that this cruelty is often born out of the human tendency to think of oneself first; others, if they are thought of at all, come second.

Despite common stereotypes given to the homeless and poor people in a society, these people make up an important role in humanity. As the author of the book Cannery Row, John Steinbeck’s manifestation of cannery row in Monterey California, shows the true potential and personality of the less fortunate members of society. In Steinbeck’s greenhouse of everyday, average people, he gives a representation of society’s key characters. One of the most influential characters in Steinbeck’s book, “Cannery Row” is the group of poor and homeless men who strive for better lives. However, in today's society, the homeless and poor people in a town are often looked at quite differently than Steinbeck’s representations of the minority.

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.

Today, it is more evident than ever that there are deep divisions within modern society along the lines of race, class and gender. These divides are highlighted by recent protests, riots and movements. These issues are relevant in modern society as well as in two famous stories. Both F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men use character development to make commentary toward these points. Fitzgerald’s novel covers the tumultuous journey of Nick Carraway through the swanky social elite of the 1920’s. Steinbeck’s text covers the opposite end of the spectrum, detailing the experiences of George and Lennie, ranchers during the great depression. While also providing a riveting and captivating plot, these seemingly antithetical tales both develop their respective characters to be normal, everyday people who face difficult problems because of their class.

Steinbeck and Thoreau both recognize the responsibility the citizen has in influencing the government to create the society he or she wants to live in. Far too often, this duty is neglected because of how vulnerable one man can seem against the government. In The Grapes of Wrath, the migrant workers are constantly being taken advantage of while they struggle to remember their roots. They can only find solace in each other as they learn the “technique of building worlds” within their communities because it is the only way they can survive (Steinbeck 131). The solidarity that these migrant workers possess is the spirit of Steinbeck’s philosophy on how much impact citizens have. If just one man can realize the potential within himself, this spark will spread until there is a movement. Steinbeck underscores how crucial the role of the individual in creating a better society through displaying the close relations between these migrant workers. It goes to display the victory

The normality of public spaces being used as private spaces also demonstrates the theme of acceptance. The character of Doc is ironic and fits well with the story because he is a doctor without a license. By normal standards, this would be unacceptable, and he would be imprisoned for offering medical help or advice without a license.Doc knows that he has somewhat of reasonability to the people of cannery row. This responsibility being to help aide them with whatever their ailments may be. Steinbeck depicts Doc in such a way that you see his vast amounts of compassion and humanity throughout the book.

Seventy-five years later, John Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath, and the film adaptation, are still relevant to life now, because there are several relatable themes running through the book and movie. The novel depicts the about the economic inequality of the 1840s and 1930s. Yet still today, there is economic inequality. The wealthier people with jobs also look down on the poorer, unemployed people. Perhaps there is a fear that the jobless will come in and steal jobs. However, the American dream is clearly present in the novel and has been throughout history.

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 novel, The Grapes of Wrath, takes place during the Great Depression, a time when troubled and distressed American men and women lived; a time of poverty and an economic crisis. When change is thought upon, it is to be thought of new life and new experiences. The Great Depression is the kind of change that replaces a part of American living with “ Somepin’s happening. I went up an’ I looked, an’ the houses is all empty, an’ the lan’ is empty, an’ this whole country is empty” ( Steinbeck 94). In his work, Steinbeck presents the hardships that Americans had to go through by being mindful of particular aspects which makes the reader understand the characters’ distress. For example, the landscape of the farm lands. Even though the land has its brutality, it grows to be the scenery for humans to be able to recognize and consider their troubles about work and life in general. With these concerns, there are differences between the people who are accustomed to the landscape and admire it, and those who do not agree with it. In the novel, Steinbeck uses attributes of class conflict and injustice as a way of presenting and socially commenting that the Great Depression brought attention to more problems beyond the idea of poverty.

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.

            In the story Cannery Row Loneliness is a main theme to the characters lives.  One of these themes is Loneliness.  'He was a dark and lonesome looking man' No one loved him.  No one cared about him'(Page 6).  The severity of his solitude makes this theme one of the most important.  The seclusion of this man can penetrate ones innermost thoughts and leave them with a sense of belonging after hearing of this

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.

The Cannery Row is like a domino,  if one member drops than the rest are affected by it. Cannery Row was written by John Steinbeck. He was one of the finest authors during 1900s.  His stories mostly take place during the Great Depression in Monterey, California. He wrote about migrant workers and people lifestyle during the Great Depression. Even though he was a fictional author, he kept his books close to reality and connected to the current event. This story is identical to a domino because Cannery Row use to be a happy and beautiful town but after Macks and his friends fallout it turns into a dull  and sad place. The reason behind their fallout was when Mack and his friends decided to give a surprising party. When they were preparing for the party, some drunks broke into the party from La Ida created a chaos. This chaos caused the boys to fight with them and fight with them  which led to Doc’s laboratory.  In Cannery Row,  John Steinbeck, shows how everyone is interconnected in the community and if one part of a community fails then

As night falls on Cannery Row actuality and fear overwhelms the souls as they lay awake at night. At this very moment they are alone to think to ponder their existence their importance their meaning. During the day the things the people of Cannery Row use to fill their void. To give them happiness is gone and for those long hours of the night they are truly alone. The cats, the parties, and companions are gone just for a second. But they return in the morning to calm the weary and the broken spirits of the people in Cannery Row. Each of us just like the people in Cannery Row uses something or someone to compensate for the loneliness in our lives. Money, relationships, and personal struggles are evident and bring about loneliness to

“Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty,” said Mother Teresa. Humanity has struggled against being left alone and being lonely for a long time. As a result, humans formed a society where they could be together. On the other hand, there are still people who are left out of the society. In other words, there are still people out there who are marginalized, not accepted fairly to the society. John Steinbeck shows the marginalized people’s lives in his novel, Of Mice and Men. In his novel, characters such as Lennie, George, Candy, Curley’s wife, Crooks, and even the ranch workers, are marginalized from the society. Ranch workers like George, Candy, and Lennie have nowhere to go, and they do not have anybody to care for them. Especially for Lennie, he is mentally challenged, too. Crooks, being the colored man, suffers from discrimination. Curley’s wife is constantly surrounded with loneliness. In Of Mice and Men, marginalized people who are neglected from the society, create a society of their own; they share their dreams and help each other out although they are all different from each other.