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The Importance Of Quality Of Life In John Steinbeck's Cannery Row

277 Words2 Pages

The theme of the novel is about the quality of human life being dependent upon good intentions and heart. The novel celebrates every type of person, while showing their flaws and their good nature. As Steinback says, Cannery Row is a town filled with “whores, pimps, gamblers, and sons of bitches” (5) and through another point of view the inhabitants could be seen as “Saints and angels and martyrs and holy men” (5). The people of the town are lower-class citizens and have unconventional jobs, and they are in the midst of a great national recession. However, they are still kind-hearted, grateful, and understanding. They encounter troubles and dark times, but the people still remain together and help each other in the community. They are all content with their lives. They may live in a slum, but the hearts of the people are pure; they make their dump into a paradise. …show more content…

His place is a mess from the fights of the party, and he’s hungover. The party from the night before had been to repay Doc for all that he had done for the people of Cannery Row. These lower-class citizens, may they be whores or gamblers, had come together to show their gratefulness and appreciation of another person. Doc, understanding that the party was out of pure intentions and good heart, is happy despite the place being a mess. After all, he says to himself that he has “savored the hot taste of life” (185). This chapter shows how the quality of human life is dependent upon intentions and heart, rather than the status of a

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