Cannery Row - Themes

2. Write about a theme from Cannery Row that you would like to discuss more about in future discussions. How does the author approach this theme? Why is this theme important in the book?

A theme from Cannery Row that I would like to discuss more is how the members of Cannery Row function as part of a bigger whole—an organism. But the part of this theme that I would like to explore is not how the organism comes to subsist through the citizens of Cannery Row but rather the function that Cannery Row inhabitants have for this organism. I believe that the theme of Cannery Row being likened to a living organism is well-understood and accepted, but, like in all organisms, there are tissues and organs that do more than others for the whole or are more important. To my first glance, Cannery Row seemed like a book that was written just to be written, that is, it shows you a world for the sake of letting you understand and know what happens there. Upon further analysis I saw the intricacies of Cannery Row and how Steinbeck created a sort-of biological book on the organism that is Cannery Row. This theme is important as we also have to look at the intricacies of the organism analogy to completely analyze and understand this theme. In Cannery Row following this analogy, who are those that add little to the functioning of the organism as a whole or, even worse, those that could be surgically removed without seriously impairing the operations of the organism? The author approaches this theme—indirectly, by creating the analogy between Cannery Row and organisms you can study. It stands to reason that the different parts of the Cannery Row organism can be identified through the book.