Conflict in Cannery Row John Steinbeck's novel, Cannery Row, takes place in Monterey, California, in the 1930's. The novel focuses on the lives of six friends, Mack, Eddie, Hazel Hughie, Jones and Doc, and how their lives are intertwined. Their friend Doc is always doing nice things for people of Cannery Row. Mack and his friends want to do something nice in return, so the boys plan a party for their mentor and friend, Doc, to show their appreciation for everything he has done to help them and their community. Their intentions are good, but what actually happens is a complete disaster. The characters have one main problem. They want to do something good for their father-figure friend, Doc, but the outcome of their innocent …show more content…
Mack and his friends want to have a surprise party for Doc, to show their appreciation. Mack's conflict of trying to do something good, when everything he does, goes wrong adds to the novel. Mack always tries to do something good, but can never succeed because things never work out the way he plans. Mack and his friends are group of down-and- out, but always scheming men who live together in the Palace Flophouse and Grill. While planning Doc's surprise party, the boys struggle with the thought that their party will not be fun if they don't have enough money, so they take odd jobs to help pay for the party. They have been collecting frogs as a surprise for Doc. Eventually, they finally earn enough money to have the party. While everyone waits for Doc to return home from work, the party gets out of hand and a massive fight breaks out and the laboratory is completely trashed. One of the guests is drunk, accidentally breaks the crate containing the frogs, the frogs escape, and all of the guests leave. At dawn, Doc returns to find his laboratory is destroyed, and he is furious. Mack apologizes to Doc explaining that the party was supposed to be a surprise and it got out of hand while they …show more content…
Mack's dog, Precious, is sick, and Mack brings his dog to Doc. Mack begs Doc for help. Miraculously, the dog is healed. Mack is so appreciative, he wants to have another party for Doc, but this time he wants help to plan the party better. He does not want to have another catastrophic event. Mack and his friends plan another party for Doc. Everyone on Cannery Row knows about the party and wants to help. Mack wanted the party to be better than the last one. "Mack was realistic about it, 'Last time we forced her,' he told the boys. 'You can't never give a good party that way. You got to let her creep up on you'"(135). He did not want to disappoint Doc like he had the last time. He wanted everything to be perfect. The conflict in the novel, human intention versus human action, eventually helps Mack overcome the many failures he feels he has had throughout his life. Mack thinks that everything that he does, goes wrong. He is always trying to right the things he does wrong. "It don't do no good to say I'm sorry. I been sorry all my life. This ain't no new thing. It's always like this" (114). Mack and Doc's conflict is resolved by Doc's forgiving Mack for his
Characters: Buck is one of the three people who are kidnapping the children. He is tempered easily. He doesn’t really care for others much. Rita is Buck’s wife. She is not very pretty and gets drug into schemes by Buck. She feels he will leave her if she doesn’t follow directions. Juan is the other kidnapper who does more of the dirty work. He is the one who calls the parents for the money. He’s the one who shot the bus driver. Glenn is one of the boys who were kidnapped. He’s very popular and has friends and thinks that nobody dislikes him. He’s handsome and very athletic. Glenn’s brother Bruce
think for themselves and to “seize the day.” With the boys having a new way of viewing life,
Mcmurphy was the one who started making people laughing in the ward. When he first came into the ward he was cracking jokes and shaking everybody’s hand. (p.16)
He needs to pay for a rental boat, so he asks to people who want to join the fishing trip and pay $10 per person. In the meeting, the big nurse reads out loud that although fishing off the coast of Oregon was having a peak year, the salmon were running quite late in the season and the sea was rough and dangerous. Even though the big nurse is not answer, McMurphy starts to sign up the guys. The nurse brings in clippings from the newspapers that told about wrecked boats and sudden storms on the coast. She knows her patients. The clippings scared them more than McMurphy had figured.
During this project, my class and I learned many examples of choices and consequences made by people throughout every day life. One specific character in the book, Erik Fisher, made choices that not only affected himself, but everyone around him negatively. Fortunately enough, as bad as these choices were; they did cause a few good outcomes.
| This is how he starts out the book and it is in a way introducing you to one of the worst childhoods that you can have. It also shows you that you can go beyond your childhood and become something or do something with your life. I think it is kind of weird that one of the worst childhood to have is Irish because that would not have been the first one on my list.
Although the nurse has seemingly won because the patients were not able to achieve their primary goal, in reality, their real victory is their combined resistance against Nurse Ratched. The adventure on the fishing boat also exhibits how the patients aid McMurphy in his rebellion. Though he charges them for their endeavor, they once again decide to accompany him and go against the institution, further implying their admiration for him and his cause. Even though McMurphy knows that the nurse will likely punish the twelve other patients severely for lying and leaving the ward with a prostitute under false pretenses, he does so anyway, showing that he will risk great punishment to help his “disciples.” Finally, the patients support the party that McMurphy has in the ward with alcohol and the two prostitutes. The main reason behind this event was to ensure that Billy Bibbit, one of the patients on the ward who lacked self-confidence, got to have a date with Candy, one of the prostitutes whom Billy liked. This event is another example of how McMurphy would risk trouble for himself for the betterment of others and how they supported him in his actions.
Mcmurphy was the one who started making people laughing in the ward. When he first came into the ward he was cracking jokes and shaking everybody's hand. (p.16)
Mack and Harding, another patient on the ward, have been in a argument about the Nurse. Harding believes that the Nurse’s power should be respected, but Mack disagrees claiming that she has cut their balls off during her “pecking party”. Finally, Harding agrees with Mack and replies, “No one’s ever dared come out and say it before, but there’s not a man among us that doesn’t think it, that doesn’t feel just as you do about her and the whole business—feel it somewhere down deep in his scared little soul.” (37) Harding speaks for all the men when he says this, they all have been deceived by the Nurse’s power and true aspirations for the men and Mack is correct and the first to stand for them. Mack and Chief are roommates in the ward, Mack found Chief’s gum collection under his bed, so when they were sitting waiting at the Disturbed, Mack offered Chief gum. For the first time Chief responses, “And before I realized what I was doing, I told him Thank you.” (122) Mack has broke through to Chief, causing the deaf and dumb Indian to speak, after no one else has in almost ten years, just like Jesus healed a blind man. Mack later decides to take the men on a fishing trip, twelve get to go, for the first time the men actually bonded and did something on their
Also McMurphy is accompanied by twelve men on the fishing trip, same number as Christ’s disciples. On this trip he teaches the other patients how to fish but figuratively how to be themselves outside of the combine.
Once the groom kissed his bride, Betty was overjoyed to realize that they would be together for the rest of their lives. They walked outside to the front porch holding hands so gaily. Mack asked Betty to an expensive state dinner uptown for just the two of them. The response he got was “I really would just like to go home and watch the Fugitive on television. I can’t miss it.” Mack was smitten and had to do what she wanted.
“‘But if she hasn’t died, I wouldn’t be here now…’ ‘Mack, just because I work incredible good out of unspeakable truth doesn’t mean I orchestrate the tragedies. Don’t ever assume that my using something means I caused it or that I needed it to accomplish my purposes. That will only lead you to false notions about me.. Grace doesn’t depend on suffering to exist, but where there is suffering you will find grace in many facets and colours.’” Page 187/188
He loses his faith in God he don’t really believe in God how he should. He receives a letter from papa which is not his dad because he killed his dad at 13 years of age to protect his mom. Mack refer to God as papa. The letter is from God to restore his faith he doesn't know that is why he going back
Based on my plan they weren't gonna be too happy anymore. I knew that the pageant would go on for a while so I decided to walk over to the bar in town and get a few drinks.
used to think the party life was enjoyable and entertaining, but one night made me appreciate the leisurely pace of home. Every party I have gone to before this outrageous night was a fight between us and these other guys. That night I had noticed I was invited to a fake birthday party , I should of had listened to my gut but that night made me stronger.