Human Action Vs Human Intent in Cannery Row For the characters in Cannery Row may be more than they appear to be-more than obscure storekeepers or drifters-but they, like the humanity which they represent, are far less than perfect. Neither their happiness nor their means of achieving it is simply the "good" way compared to the "bad" way of the rest of the money-grubbing world. Mack and the boys, like the rest of us, often break when they wish to build, hurt when they want to love; and, like the rest of us, their immediate appetites often distract them from their deeper need to give of themselves. The people of Cannery Row, representing humanity, are "consistent only in their inconsistency" - in short, they contain the admixture of good and evil which renders self-righteous human judgment both irrelevant and absurd. Lee Chong, for example, the Chinese grocer, is-as Steinbeck himself tells us- "more" than a Chinese grocer. He must be. Perhaps he is evil balanced and held suspended by good - an Asiatic planet held to its orbit by the pull of Lao Tze and held away from Lao Tze by the centrifugality of abacus and cash register-Lee Chong suspended, spinning, whirling among groceries and ghosts." And what is true of Lee Chong is true of Cannery Row: a community of human souls often erring, often fumbling, often absurd, but somehow noble and touching even in the fact of their own lack of "importance." For given the vast forces at work in the chaos which is life - and death - human effort is both fragile and ludicrous, and this is precisely what creates the tragedy, the pride, the humility, the sadness, the comedy, and the nobility of our mortal condition.
When times get tough, many people turn away from everyone and everything. It must be part of human nature to adopt an independent attitude when faced with troubles. It is understandable because most people do not want to trouble their loved ones when they are going through problems, so it is easier to turn away than stick together. Maybe their family is going through a rough patch and they reason they would be better off on their own. This path of independence and solitude may not always be the best option for them or their family, though. Often times it is more beneficial for everyone to work through the problem together. It is not always the easiest or most desirable option, but most times it is the most efficient and it will get results in the long run. In The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck makes this point very clear through several characters. Many characters throughout
Judy Fong Bates’ Midnight at the Dragon Café and Robert Kroetsch’s “Elegy for Wong Toy” use the representation of the Café to place focus on the hardships of immigration. Kroetsch’s “Elegy for Wong Toy” “is a thank you poem” (Kroetsch 321), which focuses not only on the life events the narrator is thankful for experiencing in Charlie’s café, but also the isolation and alienation Charlie experienced in that “prairie town” (Kroetsch 321). Much like Charlie in Kroetsch’s “Elegy for Wong Toy,” the Chens, specifically Su-Jen’s parents and Lee-Kung, also experience alienation and isolation in the town of Irvine. Bates’ Midnight at the Dragon Café and Kroetsch’s “Elegy for Wong Toy” are both works that use their respective cafés in order to represent the struggles of identity, the discovery of self, and the hardships and sacrifices of immigration.
In his painting/collage, line is emphasized in the floor and moves up into the line of his pants which forces you to focus in on the texture of his pants because they are real jeans. It makes you want to reach out and touch it and feel it for yourself. The line continues up to the rest of his body only to notice that his collar too is a piece of fabric which sticks out a few inches from the painting. The line also forces you to look over to the paining that he is creating and notice once again his use of fabric in the collage he is creating and then down to the box of rags at his feet. His use of fabrics throughout the paintin...
In today’s society everyone strives to be successful. Society portrays the idea that success is getting a job and being rich. In Cannery Row however, Steinbeck goes against the idea of how society depicts success and suggests that it may be something else. We can see it through his writing style and characters that success really is more than just money, and more geared to how you see yourself. A successful individual is one who views themself as successful by not giving in to cultural stereotypes, not caring how others perceive you, and by being content with the effort you put into something.
This is evident in the persistence of elderly characters, such as Grandmother Poh-Poh, who instigate the old Chinese culture to avoid the younger children from following different traditions. As well, the Chinese Canadians look to the Vancouver heritage community known as Chinatown to maintain their identity using on their historical past, beliefs, and traditions. The novel uniquely “encodes stories about their origins, its inhabitants, and the broader society in which they are set,” (S. Source 1) to teach for future generations. In conclusion, this influential novel discusses the ability for many characters to sustain one sole
As we are born, we develop natural instincts that we evolve and grow over time. One of these instincts is love. Love can be full of sunshines and butterflies, but with love also comes pain and sacrifice. The book Salvage the Bones contains at least five big examples of loves as pain or sacrifice. Throughout the book, we will see examples of this theme of love as sacrifice and pain through different situations. I am going to walk through these situations. For instance, Death during childbirth, giving up a lifestyle due to teen pregnancy, sacrificing a close relationship, illness and flood.
humanity is our burden, our life; we need not battle for it; we need only to do what
In conclusion, Harper Lee explores the moral nature of human beings, especially the struggle in every human soul between discrimination and growing up. The novel is very effective in not only revealing the themes of caring for others, maturity and prejudice, but in examining the nature of how they all work, and their consequences or rewards.
At present there are numerous regulations and restrictions on firearms imposed by the government. However there are no national mandated requirements or all encompassing legislation. The laws in place vary from state to state and are in some cases are poorly enforced. Hard evidence as to the effectiveness of these present regulations is ambiguous. The question as to how the government and society deals with gun control is unique to the USA. In a complex issue such as gun control both sides of the equation have valid arguments to be h...
In the previous study, the authors stated that there are various studies about the telecommuting include references to corporate attitudes toward telecommuting, motivation, productivity, supervision and employee satisfaction.
What are the three things that spread the Christ-life to us? Do you find it interesting that a non-Catholic would say this? Why or why not?
However, this is one of the biggest misconceptions of weakness ever to be made, as simply having feelings in life is a great factor in one’s life choices. Relationships, are both the battle grounds and refuges for emotions. To have a healthy relationship; trust is everything. Although, thrust is not freely given, as it is one of the most important feelings in regards to personal security. To be completely vulnerable, but trust that a partner has your best interest at heart, takes a great deal of courage and strength. In reverse, if a relationship becomes dangerous, it takes the greatest strength to leave the one that was once your whole world. Strength, commonly associated with perseverance, makes these emotional decisions even more difficult, as it contradicts between staying and letting go. However, sometimes it takes a greater strength to be able to let go of important loves ones, in order to have a better and healthier life. In conclusion, the value and meaning of strength is so much more that the size of one’s muscles, but rather the size of one’s acceptance of metal and emotional strength as they contribute so much to make life as great as it can
them to the peaks of felicity, and to the depths of despair. Love indeed is an
Love is the underlying motive behind a lot of our actions. Love is the reason why we form special bonds with others and why some create a life together. Yet few of us are experts at love. When we are asked to define love, most of us are perplexed by dissimilar discernments of the intangible neurological condition. We thus start to feel inept. Still we have an idea of what love is and most would agree that it is more easily experienced than defined. In the short story “Beginners,” Carver fruitlessly attempts to define love through each of the characters’ distinct insight and encounter with love.
Crack. Such is the sound of a breaking heart. Oh how fragile the heart is, and yet how courageous; ever ready to face its destruction. Tears flow as the heart cries out in agony, as inconceivable pain tortures the soul, as sorrow clouds the mind, and as disappointment weakens the body. Only a few are wise enough to save themselves from the futility of love. But it is not because they are less courageous than others, they are only more practical. If they feel they are not ready, they will not hasten to experience this feeling. They see life as full of love, but not love as the reason for life.