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.