Cannery Row Essay
1st Essay
Since the beginning of history, women have been commended on their natural ability to nurture and their ability to not only nurture children, but everything they take interest in. Unfortunately their interests have always been limited. They are denied the right to be fascinated by anything that doesn’t align with the traditional roles of a woman and that is to: cook, clean, submit to her husband, bear children, and look “pretty”. Don’t get me wrong, they are not undesirable attributes, however society and history declare that those are the only qualities a woman can bear merely because she is a woman. She is labeled fragile, needy, and incompetent all because she can only do what society dictates she must do. That is the is the sermon …show more content…
we preach, but John steinbeck’s book, Cannery Row, preaches a different one. One that says women are powerful and are capable of doing what an average man can do because she is a woman. Throughout the book Steinbeck portrays women as strong by giving the women of Cannery Row characteristics contrary to their stereotype. He does this by placing most of the women in the book in places of authority. For instance Captain’s wife is a senator. Now, in the time this book was written, a woman holding office wasn’t something common nor really respected because it was seen as male’s occupation. Infact if a woman was even caught trying to pursue a job as high as that, she would be ridiculed and brutally humiliated until she agreed to give up. So for a woman to be elected into the senate and obtain that position was not only something meant to be applauded, but awarded. The work of a senator can be quite exhausting, even for a man.. I mean, senators can receive so much of a workload that for days at time they are unable to simply go home and have dinner with their families. If Steinbeck can give a female such a strenuous profession, he must believe that women are not as fragile as they are assumed to be. Instead he believes that they are intelligent, fierce, and worth respecting. That they aren’t like albums that are only meant to be looked at and used for pleasure, rather they are like rose bushes; although they are immensely beautiful they carry a weapon that allows them to overcome every adversity that is sent there way.
Another way he portrayed women as strong was by allowing the women of Cannery Row to use their natural born ability to give them power .
One way way he illustrates that was through the character, Dora, the owner of a fine establishment called “The Bear Flag Restaurant.” Males and females alike admired her for her commitment to the building and the people who worked there. She treated both as if they were her children and just like a mother, she protected, raised, and disciplined her offspring. She maintained her business by grooming it and arranging it-making it a place that made one fill at home. She also managed to make it prosperous by incorporating her own values into her staff. She instilled in them honesty, dignity, good conduct, grace, and compassion. You could especially see these traits in the girls of bear flag. For instance, even though the Restaurant was often packed with men and it was the girls jobs to meet their needs, no girl ever dared to “speak to [them] on the street,” go out with them, or practice any “dirty” activities with them because they were trained. They learned not to associate themselves with vulgar-crude people in order to be taken seriously. Now, even though Dora often got bullied by police because she was a women with a dream, she remained well behaved and kept to herself. Her job was not to fight or to be popular, it was to be a good role model to all aspiring
women. In conclusion I believe that Steinbeck’s portrayal of women was not like any author of his time. He was a man that understood that a woman wasn’t a toy meant to be thrown around. Women are people. People with the capacity to endure challenges because their gender is their biggest challenge. I believe the reason that women were portrayed the way they were in Cannery Row was so steinbeck could introduce a new perspective of women to society and so that it would forever rid the the land of America of gender inequality. And so that America could be a land where the lives of both men and women alike could be a life worth celebrating.
Since the beginning of history, women have been commended on their natural ability to nurture and their ability to not only nurture children, but everything they take interest in. Unfortunately their interests have always been limited. They are denied the right to be fascinated by anything that doesn’t align with the traditional roles of a woman and that is to: cook, clean, submit to her husband, bear children, and look “pretty”. Don’t get me wrong, they are not undesirable attributes, however society and history declare that those are the only qualities a woman can bear merely because she is a woman. She is labeled fragile, needy, and incompetent all because she can only do what society dictates she must do. That is the is the sermon …show more content…
we preach, but John steinbeck’s book, Cannery Row, preaches a different one. One that says women are powerful and are capable of doing what an average man can do because she is a woman. Throughout the book Steinbeck portrays women as strong by giving the women of Cannery Row characteristics contrary to their stereotype. He does this by placing most of the women in the book in places of authority. For instance Captain’s wife is a senator. Now, in the time this book was written, a woman holding office wasn’t something common nor really respected because it was seen as male’s occupation. Infact if a woman was even caught trying to pursue a job as high as that, she would be ridiculed and brutally humiliated until she agreed to give up. So for a woman to be elected into the senate and obtain that position was not only something meant to be applauded, but awarded. The work of a senator can be quite exhausting, even for a man.. I mean, senators can receive so much of a workload that for days at time they are unable to simply go home and have dinner with their families. If Steinbeck can give a female such a strenuous profession, he must believe that women are not as fragile as they are assumed to be. Instead he believes that they are intelligent, fierce, and worth respecting. That they aren’t like albums that are only meant to be looked at and used for pleasure, rather they are like rose bushes; although they are immensely beautiful they carry a weapon that allows them to overcome every adversity that is sent there way.
Another way he portrayed women as strong was by allowing the women of Cannery Row to use their natural born ability to give them power .
One way way he illustrates that was through the character, Dora, the owner of a fine establishment called “The Bear Flag Restaurant.” Males and females alike admired her for her commitment to the building and the people who worked there. She treated both as if they were her children and just like a mother, she protected, raised, and disciplined her offspring. She maintained her business by grooming it and arranging it-making it a place that made one fill at home. She also managed to make it prosperous by incorporating her own values into her staff. She instilled in them honesty, dignity, good conduct, grace, and compassion. You could especially see these traits in the girls of bear flag. For instance, even though the Restaurant was often packed with men and it was the girls jobs to meet their needs, no girl ever dared to “speak to [them] on the street,” go out with them, or practice any “dirty” activities with them because they were trained. They learned not to associate themselves with vulgar-crude people in order to be taken seriously. Now, even though Dora often got bullied by police because she was a women with a dream, she remained well behaved and kept to herself. Her job was not to fight or to be popular, it was to be a good role model to all aspiring
women. In conclusion I believe that Steinbeck’s portrayal of women was not like any author of his time. He was a man that understood that a woman wasn’t a toy meant to be thrown around. Women are people. People with the capacity to endure challenges because their gender is their biggest challenge. I believe the reason that women were portrayed the way they were in Cannery Row was so steinbeck could introduce a new perspective of women to society and so that it would forever rid the the land of America of gender inequality. And so that America could be a land where the lives of both men and women alike could be a life worth celebrating.