Cannery Row

The grocery store and its proprietor, Lee, are the focus of this chapter. It lists the items for sale, from food to clothes. Lee grants customers credit until what they owe him reaches a high limit. The narrator describes Lee’s accent, his relationship to the “tong wars” (10) in San Francisco, and his physical features. He stands at the counter behind a case of tobacco products and in front of bottles of alcohol, while his relatives work in other parts of the store.

The narrator then describes a particular evening. A man named Horace Abbeville owns a building a short distance from the store. Horace owes Lee a large sum of money and offers up his building to pay off his debts so that his two wives and six children can have credit at the grocery store. Then, Horace dies by suicide. While he’s being embalmed, a man named Mack visits Lee’s store.

Mack and his friends live in pipes and under a black cypress tree near the building, He asks Lee if they can become his tenants and ensure that the building isn’t vandalized or burned down, subtly hinting that they might be the vandals if Lee doesn’t accept. Lee considers this for a while and then offers to rent the place to them for five dollars a week. Mack and his friends never pay rent, but they spend their money at Lee’s store and help him when troublemakers bother his business. The building becomes known as the Palace Flophouse and Grill. The residents bring in furniture and paint it red, and they watch the Doc buy beer.

The novel considers how language—naming and describing—affects places and people. Lee’s occupation as a grocer contrasts with how he collected the bones of his grandfather and sent them back to China. Mack and his friends are “the Virtues, the Graces, the Beauties” (18). Their lives contrast with those of people who work so hard they get ulcers and other health issues. The narrator sides with Mack’s group, characterizing them as blessed.

This chapter turns to the house run by Dora Flood, next to a lot that is adjacent to Lee’s grocery store. She calls it the Bear Flag Restaurant. It’s a respectable establishment because Dora’s prices don’t fluctuate, she doesn’t sell hard liquor (only beer), and she doesn’t allow customers to behave badly. Her features and behaviors endear her to other members of the community. She’s exceptionally charitable, making sure that the older sex workers (who rarely work) always eat, donating to various causes, and helping people pay grocery bills during the Great Depression.

Several men work for Dora at the Bear Flag—the cook, who is called the Greek, and the watchman, named Alfred. Alfred supports the people who work in the club, as well as well-behaved patrons and people in the neighborhood. He protects the sex workers from unruly customers and is generally selective in admitting customers.

In a flashback, Alfred’s predecessor, William, wants to befriend Mack and his group. However, Mack and his friends don’t like William. After they reject and insult him, he becomes sad. He tells Dora that he has thoughts of attempting suicide, and she tries to lighten his mood by joking; he confides in a sex worker named Eva Flanegan, who considers death by suicide a mortal sin. When William shares his thoughts with the cook, the Greek doesn’t think William will follow through with it. However, William grabs the ice pick, and the cook realizes—too late—that he’s wrong. William stabs himself in the heart with the ice pick.

The chapter ends by contrasting William and Alfred, clarifying that Mack and his friends are happy to hang out with Alfred.

Chapter 4 centers on a man from China who lives in Monterey and is defined by being a foreigner. He walks only during twilight and dawn, moving through the lot between the grocery store and the Bear Flag. The man resides somewhere under the pier. The narrator describes his clothes and appearance, noting the sound of his broken shoe on the ground. Some adults on Cannery Row refer to the man as God or Death, and children insult him behind his back.

One 10-year-old named Andy is the only child to insult this man directly. Walking behind the man, Andy makes rude comments based on the man’s race. The man turns to look at Andy, and Andy has a vision. The man’s eye is all Andy can see, and within that eye is a scene that includes a plain with mounds. Animals sit on the mounds, and the vision conveys a profound sense of loneliness. This unpleasant sensation causes Andy to close his eyes, and the vision is gone when he opens them.

This chapter is a description of the Western Biological Laboratory, across the street from the grocery, the empty lot, and the Bear Flag. There, many different kinds of live animals are available for purchase, and dead creatures are available for students. Doc, the proprietor of Western Biological, takes special orders. The basement storeroom connects to a backyard with a shed over the ocean, which holds larger tanks for larger animals.

Next, the narrator describes the office, interjecting a story about the safe being locked accidentally with cheese and sardines inside, which became pungent before the manufacturer sent the combination. This caused Doc to declare that food shouldn’t be put in the safe—only in the filing cabinets in the office. The room behind the office is a type of lab with aquariums and scientific instruments, and various smells emanate from this room.

Another room, the library, is to the left of the office. In addition to books, it holds records, a record player, prints of famous paintings, and a bed. Behind the library are the kitchen and the bathroom.

The chapter ends by describing the physical features and personality traits of Doc, who owns and operates Western Biological. Doc helps women, likes dogs, and only fears getting his head wet. He contributes to the community by introducing Dora’s employees to music, introducing Lee Chong to English translations of Li Po, and introducing Henri the painter to the Book of the Dead. Doc entertains children too, and everyone on Cannery Row loves him.

Chapter 6 moves away from the buildings to the Great Tide Pool, describing the diverse animal and plant life in it, as well as how the creatures prey on each other. The narrator details an octopus hunting and killing a crab and then describes the smell of the tide pool.

Next, the novel introduces Hazel, a resident of the Palace Flophouse, detailing Hazel’s naming—as his mother’s eighth child—and education in grammar school and reform school, as well as his personality. Hazel likes to hear people talk and helps Doc collect starfish from the tide pool. To keep Doc talking, Hazel asks questions about the starfish, and Doc tells him that the starfish will be studied at Northwestern University.

Doc changes the topic of conversation to other residents at the Palace Flophouse. A new guy, named Gay, is leaving an abusive relationship to live at the Palace. When the tide starts to come in, Doc notes that they’ve gathered enough starfish, and they talk about the illegal abalones that Hazel also collected. Then, Hazel diverts the conversation to the artist Henri, who has been building a boat for at least seven years. Hazel thinks this is madness, but the Doc explains that Henri is scared of the ocean.

As they reach land, Hazel asks why stink bugs raise their tails into the air. Doc says that he’s researched this but hasn’t found an answer. Doc speculates that perhaps the bugs are praying.