The Role Of Morality In John Steinbeck's Cannery Row

All individuals have their sense of right or wrong and it varies from person to person. Your morals are made from your own understanding of the world, which results in different perspectives which vary from person to person, so doing the right thing can only be justified from your outlook. In John Steinbeck’s collection of short stories, Cannery Row, Steinbeck writes a collection of short stories that show how people struggle and live through poverty which is shown through the lives of Doc, Lee Chong, and also Mack and the boys. The story takes place in Cannery Row which is filled with homeless and poor people. The story revolves around Mack and the boys and their experiences of how they try to give back to the others who helped them.Although

The use of emotional appeal on Frankie’s actions helps the reader figure out what the role of the individual is within the story, and that is to be able to contribute to Doc’s life because he believes that its ethnical.. Frankie finds out Doc is having a surprise party which led to him robbing a store to get Doc a gift, Steinbeck states, “What did he take [...] A great big clock and a bronze statue [...] Why did you take it? Frankie looked at him for a long time. I love you, he said. Doc went out and in his car”(Steinbeck 164-165). Steinbeck reveals that Frankie committed the robbery of the store out of his love for Doc, and this resulted in Doc running away and getting into his car and driving off because he did not want to further mess up Frankie’s life because he was the cause of why Frankie stole. This ties in with the role of the individual because the role of the individual is to pursue your happiness, which is exactly what Frankie achieved. He attained happiness by

Irony is used to show how the role of the individual is to be able to stay true to yourself and following your own ethnics shown through Mack and the boys. In the aftermath of the surprise party, Doc comes home to a ravaged aftermath of the party and then lets his anger out on Mack, the author states, “He looked in wonder at the sagging door and at the broken window [...]Doc’s eyes flamed with a red animal rage [...] Doc’s fist was hard and sharp. Mack’s lips were split up against his teeth and one front tooth bent sharply inward [...] We’ll pay you for it Doc. No you won’t, said Doc. You’ll think about it and it'll worry you for quite a long time, but you won't pay for it”(122-123). Even though Mack and the boys attempted to do a good deed, it turned out horrible and it ruined Doc’s place which led to “Doc’s eyes flamed with a red animal rage” and that’s when he punched Mack. Mack accepted the punch from Doc because he knew that he messed up and made life harder for Doc because Doc knows he was the one cleaning up the mess. This is ironic because Steinbeck shows how Mack and the boys attempt to do a good deed by throwing Doc a surprise party, but it ends up destroying Doc’s place and angering him. This comes back to the role of the individual which is to pursue happiness, which is exactly what Mack and the boys tried