Review and Analysis of “Cannery Row” by John Steinbeck
Dissecting the places and people you love
John Steinbeck’s “Cannery Row” starts with a reference to the author of “Tao Te Ching” — the Taoism guidebook of living in harmony with the way things are by not wanting or not trying too hard — and ends with a lengthy quote of a tragic love poem — the definition of unbridled desire. Steinbeck bounces these two conflicting themes off each other throughout the novel that is also seasoned with various neuroticisms of the human condition.
So good luck trying to define this enigmatic novel.
Also, is it really even a novel? Its 32 chapters often read like anecdotes or vignettes that are sometimes connected and sometimes not. But if you view the work holistically and Steinbeck’s characters, who are either not trying and going with the flow or trying too hard, there’s a definite cohesiveness to the novel.
The main character, Doc, embodies the conflicting themes. He is the Taoism master available to all people and situations who doesn’t waste anything. Yet, he’s a lonely character despite a string of women in his bed who at the end of the novel quotes by heart the final lines of the tragic love poem “Black Marigolds.” So even the main character embodies the conflicting themes.
