blog Topic# 5

Blog #5: Personal Review

I personally enjoyed this story, but I did not like the lack of storyline and plot. There were many characters introduced throughout the course of the novel, however, many of them were not ever really tied together or given a key role in the story. There were several smaller stories that do not seem to have any significant importance in the story. Some of them even confused the story because they were placed in between chapters of the main storyline and only made me forget what was happening with Doc and Mack and the boys. There were also elements of the story that o thought would return later on but never showed up again. For example, when Doc finds the girl that drowned in the water, there was not even after thought as to how he felt about finding her lifeless body.

However, I did enjoy many other elements of the story. I liked how all of the citizens of Cannery Row were so closely tied together. They all may not have known each other, but they seemed to go through troubles coincidentally at the same time. Such as the aftermath of the first failed attempt at a party for Doc; everyone in the town seemed to be dealing with their own miserable predicaments. Also, I liked the character development of Mack. For half of the novel, I did not particularly like him and thought he was just selfish and rude. However, after learning of his wife and how he did not know where she went, I felt that I understood him more and found him more likable. This was also proved when it is revealed that he truly felt bad for ruining Doc’s home. I also particularly found this story as an easy read and felt that it had a very good flow with Steinbeck’s style.

Blog Topic# 4

Blog#4: Text Connections

One text connection Steinbeck makes is the references to the Great Depression. The novel was written in 1945 but tells the story of many people living through the 1930s. These text-to-worlds greatly exemplify how life was for people during The Great Depression. Prices are much lower, many people do not have much money, and unemployment is very common. For example Joey’s dad had great trouble fining a job. He was unable to provide for his family and as a result he kills himself by eating rat poison. Steinbeck shows how hard life was for these people who were greatly struggling. This pain was felt nation-wide during this time period and he attempts to untie his readers through the number of stories. This struggle seems to be the one thing that ties all of the characters together. When one character seems to be having issues, all of the characters seem to fall. After the first party, The Bear flag had to close for two weeks, Doc had to think of a way to pay for all of the damages, and Mack and the boys felt ashamed by the horrible things they had caused and felt that they needed to find work in order to make things right again. However, as soon as one of their lives started to turn around, the others seemed to be picked back up again as well.

Blog Topic# 3

Blog #3 Syntax

Long list of things sold at Lee Chong’s: “Inside the glass case were the brown cigars, the cigarettes, the Bull Durham, the Duke’s mixture, the Five Brothers…the pints, half pints, and quarter pints” (10).

Awkward conversation between Doc and Hazel: “’Oh!’ said Hazel and he cast frantically about for a peg to hang a new question. He hated to have a conversation die out like this. He wasn’t quick enough.” (34).

The first example shows the multitude of items available for purchase at Lee’s grocery. The many long lists that Steinbeck creates greatly shows how much the people of Cannery Row depend on his store and how many items are at their disposal. It also seems to compliments Lee’s personality of feeling like he is the dominate figure of his community by having a monopoly on most goods sold in the town. He knows that everyone must come to him for the purchasing of their goods and it makes him feel superior.

The second example shows without explaining it in words, how awkward the conversation between Hazel and Doc is. The short, frantic syntax shows Hazel’s inner thoughts and explains how uncomfortable the silence is. This is significant to Steinbeck’s style as it establishes his tendency to imply certain meanings through the structure of his sentences to convey his story to the reader. It also adds to his realistic style of writing by showing how an actual conversation between two people from different ends of society would really take place.

Blog Topic# 2

Blog Entry #2: Diction

Doc finds a dead girl in the water as he is looking for octopuses: “the face burned into his picture memory…Doc’s heart pounded deeply and his throat felt tight” (105).

After the party, Doc fills with anger: “Doc’s eyes flamed red with anger…his body weaved a little in his rage…Doc’s eyes shone with a red animal rage” (122).

In the fist example, Doc is frightened at the sight of finding a dead girl in the water. Doc’s horror is reflected though the author’s strong, powerful diction. Words such as “burned” express the shock Doc feels upon seeing this dreadful sight. He cannot get the horrible image out of his head and it is burned into his thoughts. The author’s choice of words such as “pounded” and “tight” express Doc’s overwhelming distraught and builds onto the frightened and disgusted tone.

In the second example, Doc’s house has just been destroyed after the part Mack attempted to throw for him. Steinbeck uses phrases such as “flamed red with anger” to express how Doc has finally been pushed over the edge and is overwhelmingly angry. He promotes this angry tone filled with rage through this dark diction. He also uses the color red several times to display how angry Doc truly is. Red is the main color associated with rage so Steinbeck uses it several times in his diction to add to the aggravated tone. Also through this dark diction, Steinbeck shows how the most benevolent character in the story can loose his temper and express true feelings of rage and anger that he soon takes out on Mack. These are the only two significant times in the novel in which Doc is associated with a dark tone.

Blog Topic# 1

Alliteration: “nobbed and needy urchins…snapping shrimps…snails and spiders…rattlesnakes, and rats” (27).

Parallelism between opposing views of stove: “a silver-scrolled monster” (40). “With the great stove came pride, and with pride, the Palace became a home” (41).

Anaphora: Constant repetition of “When” (57).

Personification: “the Row seems to hang suspended out of time in a silvery light” (81).

Rhetorical Question: “But how could they have anticipated Mack’s new method” (88).

Situational Irony: “[The Captain] was indebted to Mack and the boys” (90).

Zeugma: “As the afternoon and the whiskey went down the enthusiasm rose” (116).

Simile: “His heart was as bruised as his mouth” (131).

Alliteration is the key component to Steinbeck’s style. He relies on the repetitions on consonant sounds to establish a smooth flow and illuminate certain phrases. It also seems to give the novel a quicker pace with its rapid alliteration such as the example on page 27.

The opposing views of the beaten-down stove draw a parallel between different groups of society. The symbol of the stove demonstrates how Mack and the boys take nothing for granted and see this piece of left out trash as the pride of their home. While most civilians look on it as, “a silver-scrolled monster,” the thrifty gang sees it as a treasure. Their cheap nature gives them the view of the, “true philosophers.”

After being beaten by Doc for ruining his house, Mack is revealed to have a true conscience underneath his selfish exterior. The fact that his heart aches more than his wounds shows that Mack was truly trying to do well by Doc by throwing him a party. He is shown in a different light through this simile and his guilt greatly builds to the character of the troubled man. Until this point in the story, Mack was viewed as a flat character.