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What Are The Intercalary Chapters Of Cannery Row

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“And Mack said, ‘That Doc is a fine fellow. We ought to do something nice for him’” (16). With this quote, the whole plot of the book of Cannery Row is explained, for it has a simple one: Mack and the boys want to throw a party for Doc. But it is because of this simple plot that Steinbeck is able to freely portray... Despite Cannery Row’s lack of a complex story, Steinbeck’s use of shifting between intercalary chapters and plot chapters conveys the belief that man is more than just an animal because of their ability to have emotions. Throughout Cannery Row are intercalary chapters that help to build the world; on the surface, many people would think that these intercalary chapters have no purpose or even an impact on the book’s content, but the way that the book is structured, and the way pieces of the world of Cannery …show more content…

At the end of the book, “[Doc] wiped his eyes with the back of his back of his hand. And the white rats scampered and scrambled in their cages. And behind the glass the rattlesnakes lay still and stared into the space with their dusty frowning eyes” (185). In this particular scene, Steinbeck highlights the coexistence between man and animal; as Doc is overwhelmed with emotions, the rats scampers and the snakes stare into the empty space. This supports the argument that man is more than just an animal due to their ability to have emotions. “Cannery Row in Montague in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream” (5). Regarding Cannery Row’s structure, the word “poem” is very fitting. With his use of shifting between intercalary chapters and plot chapters, Steinbeck explores the depths of the human mind, and their ability to challenge their fate that was given by nature. Through these chapters is he able to convey the differences between man and animal, which, in the end, are dank

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John Steinbeck has a style of writing unparalleled in history and in the modern world. In the same way, his philosophies are also unparalleled, with his focus in socialism not extending to communism or abnegation of spiritualism. His ideal world is utopian, holding the dust bowl migrant at the same level as the yeoman farmer was held in Jeffersonian times. In The Grapes of Wrath Steinbeck Steinbeck, who posses impregnable technique, conveys his message of a group working tirelessly for the betterment of the community.

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Steinbeck makes it as if the animals were part of the decor of the nature. He also describes the “lizard” that “makes a great skittering” which is a compliment and an admirable thing the lizard can do. The diction makes the nature more graceful and respected by the animals. This diction shows how the author favors the animals while also showing how humans are ruining the peaceful lives of nature and the

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John Steinbeck tells the story of two migrant workers, George and Lennie, in his novel, Of Mice and Men. George and Lennie are two men who travel together and find themselves working on a ranch in Salinas Valley, California. On the ranch they meet Slim, Candy, Crooks, Carlson, and Curley who are all workers that live in the bunkhouse with George and Lennie. As they make new friends and work through their struggles they stick together. Throughout the book Steinbeck uses figurative language to compare Lennie to an animal.

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Cannery Row is a novel more about the characters than the plot. In Cannery Row these characters have needs and desires that we uncover as we get to know them better. These characters desires are found when they are set alone in nature which is when they have time to be with themselves. John Steinbeck says that the nature of human desire may be shown as a need or want depending on the values and morals of the specific human. His commentary influences our understanding of the Californian Imagination by showing us the needs and wants of humans during a specific time.

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137 Words | 1 Pages

Of Mice and Men was an excellent novel about two migrant workers traveling in Southern California, trying to make enough money to fulfill their dream of attaining their own plot of land. They have trouble accomplishing this goal when Lennie, the big and clueless on of the two, consistently makes mistakes, some of them being vital. The author, John Steinbeck, uses great techniques and literary devices that build up to the climax and resolution. Throughout the story, he describes how several characters all have/had dreams or goals, but none of them truly achieved those dreams. All of these literary devices, techniques, and the entire plot lead up to my thesis statement.

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This relates to a quote from The Pearl by John Steinbeck that says,

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The spirit of unity emerges as the one unfailing source of strength in Steinbeck’s novel. He tries and accomplishes in conveying it to the reader, through imagery. On multiple accounts,

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During this event in Steinbeck’s story, she and her husband were driving and “She turned up her collar so he could not see that she was crying weakly—like an old woman” (211). She was beaten down simply by a sight, not only was she crying but as if she was an old woman. This showed she was not as strong as she made it out to be, and she was terrified to let her husband see her in this condition. She lost all of her dignity when she saw those flowers and could not help but sit there and let the tears

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f Mice and Men Essay - Essays and Analysis Critical Context and Evaluation print Print document PDF list Cite link Link Of Mice and Men is one of the most widely assigned modern novels in high schools because of both its form and the issues that it raises. John Steinbeck’s reliance on dialogue, as opposed to contextual description, makes the work accessible to young readers, as does his use of foreshadowing and recurrent images. Equally important is the way in which he intertwines the themes of loneliness and friendship and gives dignity to those characters, especially Lennie and Crooks, who are clearly different from their peers. By focusing on a group of lonely drifters, Steinbeck highlights the perceived isolation and sense of “otherness”

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Books ain't no good.” (P. 72). Here Steinbeck lets the reader know that Crooks "has nobody”. He has no family left and no friends on the ranch. He reads books to fill his time and keep him company because the other workers do not want him in the bunkhouse to simply play a game of cards, but a book cannot compare to a human being.

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In The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, the chapters alternate between two perspectives of a story. One chapter focuses on the tenants as a whole, while the other chapter focuses specifically of a family of tenants, the Joads, and their journey to California. Chapter 5 is the former and Steinbeck does an excellent job of omniscient third person point of view to describe the situation. Chapter 5’s main idea is to set the conflict and let the readers make connections between Steinbeck’s alternating chapters with foreshadowing. Steinbeck is effectual in letting readers make connections both to the world and the text itself with the use of exposition, and symbolism.

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In Of Mice and Men Steinbeck portrays the meaning of loyalty and loneliness by creating the feeling of love and loss between two friends, Lennie and George and an elderly man and his loyal senior dog. Loneliness and loyalty are shown through the relationships in

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Of Mice And Men John Steinbeck’s novella ‘Of Mice and Men’ published in the 1930’s employs carefully considered narrative techniques that effectively inject sympathy within the reader. The chain of events are foreshadowed through speech, Death and Lennie Small. Curlys Wife soon becomes the instrument who destroys the dream. Steinbeck demonstrates this through various techniques including of foreshadowing, realism, symbolism, circular structure, significance of the title and setting.

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Perhaps his memories of home have been romanticized in his memories which makes it increasingly difficult for him to accept that the city is continually changing. In this chapter Steinbeck uses historical and biblical allusions as well as diction to appeal to the audience's emotions or pathos and to convey his feelings towards an unyielding acceptance of

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Near the end of Cannery Row, John Steinbeck includes a story about a gopher. Even though it seems random, this story is actually a parable about Doc and his realization that he will always feel alone despite being surrounded by the denizens of Cannery Row. The similarities between the gopher and Doc are apparent after viewing the quotes from the poem Black Marigolds in the surrounding chapters, quotes from other characters, and the descriptions of the rats and rattlesnakes at the end of the book. Both the gopher and Doc are dissatisfied despite having perfect lives. The gopher had it all.

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