The theme of Cannery Row, in short, is no less than a poetic statement of
human order surrounded by a chaotic and essentially indifferent universe, and
this is one reason why the structure of the book does seem so "loose" - why
Steinbeckian digressions and interchapters so often interrupt the flow of
narrative.
A wandering and mysterious Oriental threads his way through the story
with no "purpose" but to remind us of the emptiness and pathos and loneliness
we all share, things which render our cruelty or ambition futile. The face of
a drowned girl appears like a paradoxical vision of "immortal death"; a chaos
of sea-life-and-feeding is given order and shape by an obscure scientist -
observer, who realizes the he is himself part of the processes which he
catalogues; a serio-comic painter devotes himself to work which inevitably
comes to nothing - and we recognize an allegory of our own labors; there is
suicide, loneliness, joy, love, and isolation jumbled together in a peculiar
and haphazard fashion which somehow results in emotion neither peculiar nor
haphazard; the recognition of ourselves.
The symbolism of chaos-and-order is basic to Cannery Row; various
characters, each in his own fashion, try to arrange and observe what cannot,
in any essential aspect, be changed. As Steinbeck says in one of his
"inter-chapters" or digressions, it is the function of The World-of human
communication-to create by means of faith and art an Order of love which is
mankind's only answer to that fate which all men, and indeed all life, must
ultimately share. And if John Steinbeck turns to the "outcasts" from society
as symbols for this vision, it may be that only the outcasts of machine
...onally transposing indirect to direct quotation, putting words into people mouths and blending two separate eye witness's accounts. How can one read a novel for knowledge gaining purposes when the structure appears so flawed? The use of modern and old English are combined in the sentence structure. The highly academic vocabulary not only is confusing, but breaks the flow of the book when that is the evident purpose for the format of the book. The confusing order in which Starkey retells events and the ineffective and useless information that is put in for building character personalities.
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
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.
...or himself with fillers to shape and create the people that he imagined them to be. At this point, readers can fully understand why distortion occurred in the book because O’Brien writes his thoughts out as the book progresses. As O’Brien learns more about his reasons of being an author, the reader learns more about why his war stories wouldn’t be the same if he hadn’t altered them.
mentioned in a class discussion about the parable of talents. This one phrase that stood out to
Maybe it's more important to be appreciated than to be wealthy. Cannery Row by John Steinbeck (1945) is one of the most unique of all of the Nobel Prize winning novels. Cannery Row is set in a very poor area of California known as Monterey. It is a small port town south of San Francisco. The time era is post Depression and World War II. The novel is about how lower class people with warm hearts have the ability to create their own heaven on earth. The novel starts out with a group of people known as Mack and the boys. None of these men have jobs, and they all live in a small shack at the end of town. Mack and the boys want to do something nice for their loving friend Doc. Doc is a simple man who lives for the simple pleasures in life. He would do anything to help out his friends, and they feel that they should return the favor. Doc owns a fish supply house in the middle of Cannery Row. He works hard each and every day to keep his supply house up and running. Doc gets his supplies from and becomes very good friends with Lee Ch...
It is easier to grasp a meaning of this line further along in the book.
What nature does indiscriminately, gradually, and mercilessly, man may do providently, rapidly, and kindly. As it exists in his energy, so it turns into his obligation to work in that bearing.
within the fact that this book has no immediate plot. It is more of a
“A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” The right of all Americans to bear arms is a right the Founding Fathers held to equal importance as the Constitution itself. Gun control laws directly violate this right and therefore should not even be under consideration. Even if that issue is overlooked, gun control advocates state that in order to reduce firearm related violence, gun control laws must be implemented to remove the violence caused by firearms. Although this may seem reasonable, the consequences of such laws are ironically counterproductive; they exacerbate the problem instead of fixing it. Besides the fact that the American Constitution guarantees its citizens the right to bear arms, the idea of restricting gun ownership in order to reduce firearm-related violence would ultimately fail given the previous experiments of gun control in England and in numerous states.
When the work was finished, the Craftsman kept wishing that there were someone to ponder the plan of so great a work... therefore... he finally took thought concerning the creation of man. (Mirandola 224)
Those who argue for gun control usually state guns are a part of most violent crimes. However, this is not always true. While it is true that limiting gun ownership with laws could prevent individuals from possessing guns, it does not prevent people from illegally having or using guns. Those who carry guns legally are not the problem. According to Mark Gius, the author of “Gun Ownership and the Gun Control Index”, “…only about 25% of total violent crime is committed by a person using a gun, no inferences...
Today in the United States many people argue over the fact of guns being legal or illegal. There are people using guns for personal safety and there are others who use them for crimes, as well as for other situations. Firearm deaths in the United States have slowly been decreasing from year to year with all these bills getting passed to promote a safer country than ever before. Guns are the main weapon for youth suicide, school shootings, and for committing murder. In 2010 there were 2,711 infants, child, and teenage firearm deaths. As in school shootings and in committing murder, studies show shooters often had multiple, non-automatic guns, shootings were planned, most youth tell before shooting, shooters have a history of being bullied or threatened, shooters have mental issues, and shooters have done suicidal gestures before (Gun Control with School Shootings). Although there are people who use guns for murdering, there are also those who oppose guns being used without the proper requirements. 85% of all respondents to the survey supporting requiring states to report people to national background-checks systems who are prohibited from owning gu...
Ultimately, it is a person’s choice to use firearms to commit violent crimes. So criminals should be controlled, not the guns which they share with millions of law-abiding citizens. Gun control supporters claim that gun control lowers crime rate. We as people need to take a stand and fight for our Second Amendment and the right to bear arms. Gun control advocates need to realize that passing laws that honest gun owners will not obey is a self-defeating strategy. Gun owners are not about to surrender their liberties or their right to bear arms. The Federal Govement of the United States should not be able to take away the right of law-abiding citizens to own a gun.
of us will reach a point in our lives where work shall come to an end, yet the