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.