Steinbeck Studies: Cannery Row

(California Literature)

Instructor: P. Barraza

Fall 2019-2020

Culminating Writing Assignment

Cannery Row Culminating Essay Choices

200 Points: No rewrites for this paper will be allowed. However, you are encouraged to see me during office hours and during Flex Time in order to discuss the development of your paper. Please note that you will be given two class periods during the week of October 21-25 to work on this essay.

Choose one of the following prompts as your final response to John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row. The essay will be due at the start of class on Monday, October 28th. Your essay should result in a 3-5-page paper utilizing textual evidence in line with proper MLA format. Please do not submit a paper that results in simple summary. Your task is to make some critical argument via textual evidence and sophisticated reasoning.

2019-2020 Cannery Row Essay Choices:

1. John Steinbeck and his friend Ed Ricketts were profoundly influenced by eastern philosophies(ers), and these principals are embedded in many of his works. In Cannery Row, however, they seem to be, in many ways, the very essence of this world. Not only will you attempt to become more of an expert on one or more of these philosophies (ers), your task will also be to explain and analyze the philosophical perspective that applies to the novel. Make sure to use specific examples textual evidence.

Philosophies (ers):   Laozie (Lao Tze)

                                    Carl Jung

                                    Siddartha Guatama

                                    Taoism

                                    Confucianism

                                    Tibetan Buddhism

                                    Zen Buddhism

2. From The Outer Shores, Part One edited by Joel Hedgpeth. Publisher: Mad River Press, 1978 (out of print):

Here is an excerpt of Ed Ricketts’ writing from 1940:

“Who would see a replica of man’s social structure has o­­nly to examine the abundant and various life of the tide pools, where miniature communal societies wage dubious battle against equally potent societies in which the individual is paramount, with trends shifting, maturing, or dying out, with all the living organisms balanced against the limitations of the dead kingdom of rocks and currents and temperatures of dissolved gases. A study of animal communities has this advantage: they are merely what they are, for anyone to see who will and can look clearly; they cannot complicate the picture by worded idealisms, by saying one thing and being another; here the struggle is unmasked and the beauty is unmasked.”

Consider what this might mean when analyzing Cannery Row. For this essay, you are to connect ideas that are being conveyed in this quote to the larger analysis of characters, scenes, and resolutions found in Steinbeck’s novel. Consider ideas of “worded idealism,” “individual is paramount,” or anything that sticks out at you from this Ed Ricketts quote.

3. Cannery Row itself represents the “edge of the west,” a place where all roads dead-end into the Pacific Ocean. Each character in Cannery Row illustrates those who live along these margins. What characters has Steinbeck introduced that fit into this marginalization? What is he saying about society and its inhabitants through these characters? How does his perspective differ from a “typical” point of view? (Discuss at three or more characters)
4. Which characters, if any, serve as registers of emotional and moral value? In whom do we find love, honor, loyalty, strength?
5. While it has been clear to you that John Steinbeck is a regional writer, often with California as a literary landscape, consider the ways in which he is a universal writer that lead readers to accept the inescapable truths of the human condition. Below are a few essential ideas to consider:

(A) For example, consider the non-teleological approaches to life conveyed in Cannery Row, this being the opposition to “teleological” or moral approaches to life. Through Doc’s character we learn that non-teleological thinking equates to being concerned more with what actually is versus what should be, could be, or might be.

(B) Steinbeck also felt that the modern world was a world of loss—of heroes, gods, and authority. This leads us to consider the codes that people live by in Cannery Row.

(C) On a more simple level, consider the more basic observations that Steinbeck illuminates in his literature, such as the celebration of friendships, the marginalization of people, or the deconstructing of Edenic possibilities (dreams and realities).

After choosing one or a combination of the guiding considerations (A, B, or C), produce a clear and well-constructed response that discusses how Steinbeck is a universal writer. You must refer to the text, using direct quotes when appropriate. Also, please keep in mind that your audience is very familiar with this work; thus, your goal is to convey your critical thinking versus simply summarizing the texts in an elegant fashion. Your response should have a controlling idea, textual references to support your assertion(s), and a strong sense of your own voice.

6. Write an essay in which you identify some of the intricate patterns of the novel, and then analyze their effects on the novel as a whole.
7. In what way is the novel structured in a musical, compositional, or symphonic way? Should you choose to answer this question, please note that the novel must be the root and the river of the paper, meaning that the text should drive the analytical conversation, regardless of the music-related sources you might choose to utilize.
8. In her introduction to Cannery Row, Susan Shillinglaw writes:

“As ecologists, both Ricketts and Steinbeck thus rejected a man-centered universe and stressed the interconnectedness of humans with nature, of humans with others “ (xii).

Based on Shillinglaw’s statement, in what ways is Cannery Row an ecological text?

9. Analytical Playlist (as discussed and modeled in class). Basic requirements:

• Introduction (with clear and well-constructed thesis)
• At least four songs=four body paragraphs that will analytically connect with textual evidence in the novel
• Reflective conclusion (not a “recap” of what you accomplished in the essay, but rather continuing thoughts, contemporary connections, or unanswered questions)

10. As an opportunity to validate your own reading and critical engagement of this novel, consider the findings or contemporary connections you’ve been able to make. Write an argumentative essay that derives from your own critical attention to a particular aspect (or aspects) of the novel.

A Final Note:  Papers must move beyond simple summary. The key to your success with this paper is having a clear purpose in your argument. Remember, content and form matter; thus, your paper should be organized, cogent, analytically developed, balanced, full, and clean in terms of mechanics and syntax. Please note that any papers plagiarizing external sources will result in a 0 grade.