Cannery Row: Book Analysis

Janelle Waters
Response Paper #1, Topic #1

“Its inhabitants are, as the man once said, ‘whores, pimps, and sons of bitches,’ by which he meant Everybody. Had the man looked through another peephole he might have said, ‘Saints, and angels and martyrs and holy men,’ and he would have meant the same thing” (1).

The residents of Cannery Row include: a beloved marine biologist, a forgiving Chinese grocer, an operator of the local whorehouse and an array of other essential characters that are debatably “whores, pimps and sons of bitches.” The characters are all vastly different, yet are able to forgive each other’s debts and wrongdoings and unite together with a sense of camaraderie to cohabit on Cannery Row and do something nice for Doc, theirthe street in Monterey’s adored marine biologist. The quote above suggests that individuals’ true characteristics appear differently depending on perspective and situation. The residents that are the successes are also the failures and the failures are also the successes. The way of measuring the worth of a man is questioned in this setting that Steinbeck has depicted in Cannery Row. The continuing story-line throughout this novel is Mack and the boys determination to throw Doc a party. The narrator describes Doc as “Doc would listen to any kind of nonsense and turn it into wisdom. His mind had no horizon -- and his sympathy had no warp. He could talk to children, telling them very profound things so that they understood. He lived in a world of wonders, of excitement. He was concupiscent as a rabbit and gentle as hell. Everyone who knew him was indebted to him.” Ironically, Doc does not seem to view himself in the same way as his neighbors do. He is a loner, a drunk and a liar who makes all efforts to keep his acquaintances at arm’s length. When Hazel, a young man who helps Doc collect starfish tries to ask him questions, Doc brushes him off. Doc lies to Mack about the exact date of his birthday and even lies to a complete stranger about the taste of a beer milkshake. He refuses to allow himself to open up to anyone or become attached. When Frankie, the boy who lives with Doc is arrested for stealing a clock for Doc, he does not try to help him. Frankie expresses emotion for Doc and tells him he loves him. Doc reacts by running out of the police station completely avoids the situation. Throughout the novel, the character who is most commonly admired and relied upon appears to also be the character who is perhaps the most unhappy, lonely and distant.  Mack is the leader of a group of men who live at the Palace Flophouse and Grill that they convinced Lee Chong to let them live in rent-free. The narrator portrays Mack as “the elder, leader, mentor, and to a small extent exploiter of a little group of men who had in common no families, no money, and no ambitions beyond food, drink, and contentment.” Mack, similar to Doc, is a liar. He in manipulative, yet his overall intentions are generally good. As Mack respects Doc, he is respected by ‘the boys.’ One of them even suggests that Mack could be president if he wanted to. While he appears to have no goals and is not successful, he is very smart and diplomatic and throughout the novel he negotiates with Lee Chong, the Captain, and Doc to progress in his plans for the party. While Mack appears to be confident, he is also insecure and sensitive. When the first party turns into a failure and he and Doc have an altercation, he is clearly upset and disappointed in himself. Mack questions why he can’t seem to do anything right and takes it upon himself to become a more respectable member of society. Mack is caring for his dog, Darling. With the help of Doc, he is able to nurse him back to health after he becomes ill. Unlike the relationship between Doc and Frankie, Mack shows affection and compassion for the thing that relies on him. In different contexts Mack and Doc are very similar, yet very different and they are both admiringable of each other. Mack spends his time trying to do something nice for Doc as he believes he is the most respectable man on Cannery Row. Doc also glorifies Mack and the boys as “the true philosophers.” He thinks that “Mack and the boys know everything that has ever happened in the world and possibly everything that will happen. I think they survive in this particular wold better than other people. In a time when people tear themselves to pieces with ambition and nervousness and covetousness, they are relaxed.” For Mack, every-day life is an end in itself. Both Mack and Doc are envious of the way the other lives. Mack envies Doc’s success while Doc envies Mack’s state of content and innocence. The narrator says, “It has always seemed strange to me...The things we admire in men, kindness and generosity, openness, honesty, understanding and feeling, are the concomitants of failure in our system. And those traits we detest, sharpness, greed, acquisitiveness, meanness, egotism and self-interest, are the traits of success. And while men admire the quality of the first they love the product of the second.” Mack represents the initial description while Doc represents the latter. On Cannery Row, traditional ways of measuring success and good are irrelevant. The failures are actually the successes. They are not bound by the judgement, criticism, and pressures of the outside world. On the other hand, those that have chosen to conform lose their freedom and combat the judgements and anxiety that they allow society to enforce upon them. The lack of expectation minimizes the chances for disappointment. The important elements of life are debated on Cannery Row and are evident in the admiration for the journey and ending results of Mack and Doc’s lives. GRADE: 10/10 Excellent, thorough analysis.