Review of In Dubious Battle

 

Review of In Dubious Battle by John Steinbeck

Buy "In Dubious Battle" here

Author John Steinbeck is known for his "labor trilogy" books, Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath, and In Dubious Battle. While I did not enjoy The Grapes of Wrath as much as I wanted to, I enjoyed reading In Dubious Battle. This is the book that I thought The Grapes of Wrath would be, and it's the story that I wanted to read. The book is about the party organizers workers that want to unionize the labor workers on the farms. The main two characters are Mac and Jim Nolan.

The novel starts with Jim applying to be a part of the communist labor party organization. He then teams up with Mac, and they travel to Torgas valley. In the country, they try to get the labor workers to strike for higher wages. Most of the story takes place on a farm, where the strikers are allowed to set up camp. The whole story is about the workers' struggle to strike and fight for a fair working wage.

The book gets its title from John Milton's Paradise Lost. The quote is, "That durst dislike his reign, and, me preferring, His utmost power with adverse power opposed, In dubious battle on the plains of Heaven" (Milton). Steinbeck also references Milton's work by setting the novel in an apple orchard, symbolizing the garden of Eden. The Torgas Valley represents the figures of good and evil battling in Heaven (enotes.com).

A common theme in many of Steinbeck's works is the social injustice of migrant workers during the Great Depression. Steinbeck deals with the notion of a group of men banding together versus the individuality of men (enotes.com). Throughout the novel, Mac is constantly saying that if they could only rally the men together, changes can be made. At first, they have a hard time unifying the workers, but through some encounters with the local law enforcement, the men learn to work together. Unfortunately, the things that motivate the men the most are the deaths of key players fighting for organized workers. In the end, Jim dies when he was willing to dedicate the rest of his life to the cause. It's implied that his death will fuel the strike and could be the catalyst to winning the strike.

While the story is relatively simple, it's the characters that kept my interest. Some characters are similar to characters from The Grapes of Wrath, such as Jim, who could be almost a continued evolution of the character Tom Joad, jr., as well as Jim Casey. The main female character in this book, Lisa London, is reminiscent of Rose of Sharon from The Grapes of Wrath. She's a young, naïve mother that isn't happy with her situation but doesn't know what she can do to help. In the end, she connects with Jim and finds her place in the organization.

This is the book that I wanted The Grapes of Wrath to be, exploring the labor organization and the lives of migrant workers. It's not as long as The Grapes of Wrath, which helps with its concise story. The characters are well motivated, and the philosophical battle of how workers and men should be treated is a topic that is relevant to this day. Overall, I enjoyed this book much more than I expected, and it has become my second favorite novel/novella by Steinbeck. But will it say that way? I still have to review The Red Pony and Cannery Row, so come back for those reviews in the following weeks. Make sure to comment below. Thank you!

Works Cited

Sparknotes.com (2021), https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/In-Dubious-Battle/

enotes.com (2021), https://www.enotes.com/topics/dubious-battle/themes#,      https://www.enotes.com/topics/dubious-battle/in-depth#

Milton, John. 1608-1674. Paradise Lost. London ; New York :Penguin Books, 2000.

Review of Hills Like White Elephants

 Review of “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway

Read "Hills Like White Elephants" here

While I will admit I am not well versed in Ernest Hemingway’s work – I have only read “The Old Man in the Sea” (in high school) and this short story – I have enjoyed the simplicity in his writing. This short story is about a couple having a conversation about whether or not the girl will get an “operation.” It is a concise and simple story with only three speaking characters; the couple and the bartender. The story refers to the couple as the American and the girl. The man calls the girl Jig, but that appears to be a nickname.

“Hills Like White Elephants” takes place at a train station in a barren valley in Spain. The setting represents the crossroads that the couple is at in their relationship and the decisions that await them (Sparknotes.com). The story’s title comes from a comment the girl makes about how the hills look like white elephants. The girl changes her mind about the hills, which could represent her feelings about having the operation. It is never stated in the story, but it’s implied and widely acknowledged that the operation is an abortion. From the portrayal of the characters, I’ve interpreted the story to be about an older man’s fling with a younger woman and getting her pregnant. The girl appears to rely on the American, suggesting that she might be young and inexperienced in life. It is not clear if the man is married and having an affair, but he never mentions a wife and implies that he and the girl could still have a future together.

One of the main themes in the story is communication. The girl brings up the white elephants as a code for the unborn child, while the man does not understand her meaning (Sparknotes.com). The girl agrees with the man about the operation and then does not want to talk about it. The man continues to bring it up, showing that he is not taking her concerns seriously. When she asks what will happen to them if they have the operation, he suggests that things can go back to how they used to be, happy. However, the girl is not fooled; she questions his answer, knowing that with or without the operation, their relationship will never be the same. The man tries to hold on to this fantasy while the girl seems to understand the actual situation. The man does not comprehend what the girl is trying to tell him, and thus she tries to get him to stop talking.

It’s hard not to read this story through the modern lens. Without getting political here, the audience can read the story from the woman’s point of view about how she struggles with the choice of whether or not to have an abortion. It brings up the subject of female reproductive rights. The man treats the pregnancy as a condition that needs to be resolved. He blames their relationship problems on the pregnancy. However, the girl does not view it that way. She sees their future as being all about small chat and drinking. The last sentence of the story is her declaring that there is nothing wrong with her. She is implying that being pregnant is not the problem. The ending alludes to the idea that maybe the girl will keep the baby. Because in her mind, the relationship is over either way.

This is a great story and example about relationship communication and how men and women - specifically when the story was written – do not always understand each other. “Hills Like White Elephants” demonstrates the power indifference between an older man and a younger woman in a situation where he gets her pregnant and then wants to make it go away. At the beginning of the story, the girl feels that she has no choice in the matter, but she realizes that she is the one with the power towards the end.

Here is the link to a great infographic that breaks down the story. 

https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Hills-Like-White-Elephants/infographic/ 

Works Cited

Sparknotes.com, (2021) https://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/hills-like-white-elephants/section1/

Review of The Grapes of Wrath

Review of “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck

Buy The Grapes of Wrath here 

The Grapes of Wrath is a staple of classic American literature capturing the struggles of Americans during the Great Depression of the 1930's. The book has been assigned reading by many high school students in America, but I never read it in high school. We read other works of Steinbeck instead, like Of Mice and Men, Cannery Row and The Pearl. I enjoyed those readings, so now decades later I've decided to finally catch up on this classic novel. The title “the Grapes of wrath” is a reference to a Civil War song by Julia Ward Howe's, “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” The actual line is “He is trampling out the vintage where grapes of wrath are stored”. This also alludes to a biblical verse talking about wine and the wrath of god. In the context of the story the grapes represent the fields of fruit and cotton that the Joads are trying to get work at. The wrath is the struggles that the Joads encounter every step of the way.

Going into reading this I assumed the story would take place mostly in California and we would see the Joad family spend more time at the tent camps. What I didn't expect is the intermission chapters been the main family's story. Every other chapter is shorter and tells a similar experience to what happens to the Joad's but from unidentified characters. The third chapter center's around a tortoise trying to cross the road. The tortoise represents the plight of the farmers and overcoming obstacles and hardships in life (Sparknotes.com). During the dust bowl that plagued Oklahoma and other states in the 1930's. Steinbeck spent months and years doing research of the migrant farm workers. While the characters in the book are fictional, their circumstances were very real for thousands of people during that time.

About half of the story takes place on the road, the Joad family traveling from Oklahoma to California and their struggles along the way. They lose several family members before they even get to California. Their journey and constant optimistic outlook for what they hope they will achieve in California is what the story is really about. Unfortunately for me the writing is a bit dry and drawn out. Steinbeck's over use of descriptions feel unnecessary and continue for many sentences. While it sets the scene for the time period, it adds little value for the actual story.

The character of Jim Casy and his relationship with young Tom Joad starts off the story. He's a former priest that doesn't want to be a priest anymore, but can't help but preach and help people. He has a small but great character arc, becoming a leader for the worker's. Jim Casy talks about “decent folks trying to live a decent life and raise decent children” (pg. 250). Which is the theme that Steinbeck writes about, people trying to live “the American dream”. Casy ends up inspiring Tom Joad to continue his work, fighting for the right's of farm workers.

Another interesting character is Rose of Sharon (aka Rosasharn), Tom Joad, jr's newlywed younger sister. Rose of Sharon keeps talking about the life she and her husband Connie will make for themselves. It reminds me of George telling Lenny over and over about the farm they will someday buy, in “Of Mice and Men”. It's a repeated theme in Steinbeck's work, fantasizing about an optimistic future when reality is very bleak. It's not until the very end that her character finally shows some growth and is able to accept her circumstances.

The main reason to read the book is for the characters. Their development over the course of the book is subtle but real. There's some great speeches and moments throughout the book. Ma's speech “up ahead there's a thousand lives we might live, but when it comes, it'll only be one (pg. 124). Offers good insight into how she views her life and place in the world. This is in response to all of the speculation about their future life in California. Many things could happen, but in the end only one thing will happen and it's that decision that determines your life's outcome. The book provides a good struggle of migrant workers during the Great Depression.

While I didn't enjoy this book as I was hoping to, but I can see the value in knowing the history of people struggling during the Great Depression. So, I would recommend it as a read for people,, but not something that you should put high on your list. There are plenty of other Steinbeck novels that I would recommend reading first. Not done with Steinbeck yet, still have three more books to review! So, make sure to keep checking back.

Works Cited

Steinbeck, J. (2017). The grapes of wrath. Penguin Books.

https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/grapesofwrath/section1/

Review of Barn Burning

 Review of "Barn Burning" by William Faulkner

Read the story here "Barn Burning"

The story takes place in the Southern countryside in the late 1890's. The main character Colonel Sartoris “Sarty” Snopes and revolves around his struggle between his morality and his loyalty to his family. The story opens with Sarty's father, Abner in the local courthouse trying to defend himself from accusations that he burned down a man's barn. Sarty is called to testify but his apprehension gets him dismissed. His father believes that Sarty would have told the truth instead of lying to save his family, and Abner beats Sarty. When they get a new job in a different county, Abner is up to his old tricks again. He dirties the new employer's rug and when tasked to clean it, he purposefully beats it with a rock. When called out by the new employer for damaging the rug, Abner decides to burn down the barn, again. This time Sarty does tell on his father, preventing him from burning down another barn. Unfortunately, his father is shot dead, and the story ends with Sarty contemplating his actions and how they affected his family.

The Snopes family live in poverty and are sharecroppers for landowners. Throughout the story, Abner is depicted as being ungrateful and angered at his situation. “Faulkner uses setting to evoke the class distinctions that fuel Snopes’s deep resentment” (Sparknotes.com). Burning a barn is Abner's way of avenging the life that he has been dealt. Almost a way of “sticking it to the man”, unfortunately he doesn't ever think about how his actions affect his family. Instead, he asked his sons to lie in court for him. This leads to the confusion that Sarty has, when dealing with his father.

Loyalty to family and to the law is the main theme of the story. Who or what is Sarty supposed to be loyal to? The Snope's family “moral code is based on family loyalty rather than traditional notions of right or wrong” (Sparknotes.com). In the beginning Sarty was going to tell the truth in the courthouse and then after his father hits him. In the second courthouse Sarty tries to defend his father but instead ruins his father's case and the family has to pay back the rug damage in corn bushels. Even though he didn't get beat, the outcome was not positive. When his father decides to burn down the barn again, Sarty finally learns “that family loyalty comes at too great a cost and is too heavy a burden” (Sparknotes.com).

Faulkner's writing style incorporates long sentences held together by commas, similar to the use of the stream of consciousness. “This unique style lends Faulkner’s work a sense of scope and continuity” (Sparknotes.com). Crafting the sentences this way, allows the reader into the mind of the character. It show the frantic and uncertain thoughts of the character and reflects the struggles that average people have every day. Faulkner's sentence structure makes it a bit hard to understand the order of events, a second reading is recommended to better understand the story.

"Barn Burning" is an interesting tale about morality and family, set in the country. A simple story about betrayal and family. While the story relies a lot on the setting, the theme is something can can still be found to this day. Again, I would recommend reading this at least twice to fully comprehend what is going on. I have not read much of Faulkner's work and while not impressed with his writing style in this story, I am looking forward to reading more of his work.

An excellent visual breakdown of the story is available here  

Works Cited

https://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/barn-burning/section1/

Review Of Mice and Men

 Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck review

Read "Of Mice and Men" here

A classic staple of American Literature, I first read Of Mice and Men in high school, and then again in college. In high school I enjoyed reading the works of John Steinbeck, because he often focused on working class people and their aspirations to achieve the “American Dream”. This time reading Of Mice and Men, I pickled up on more subtle themes and realized that the story is a tragedy.

For those that are unfamiliar with this story, it's simple. Two grown men, George and Lennie go to work at a ranch after having to leave their last place when Lennie got into trouble. The plan is to work for a month to save up enough money to buy their own farm. They meet the other ranch hands and the boss's son, Curly, who is looking to pick a fight over his wife. After two days, Lennie accidentally kills a puppy and Curly's wife comes to console him. When she lets him touch her hair, he gets overly aggressive and when she tries to stop him, he accidently kills her. Now, in some trouble, George finds the only solution is for him to shoot Lennie rather than a mob kill him.

Firstly, something to keep in mind of the story's treatment of African Americans and women is that the novella is a product of its time. While it's not acceptable it is something that occurs regularly in classic works of literature. So, I'll acknowledge here that certain parts of the story are hard to read. Going forward I won't bring it up in other classic literature, unless it's a part of the actual story plot. In this book, the only female that we meet is made out to be a “tramp” and then dies for her curious nature in men or companionship. It's not a good look for women, but it plays into the idea that women corrupt men. Since, George has no plans for finding a woman in his plans to buy and live on a farm. The lack of women is to show the strong male friendship and bond between George and Lennie. Showing that George killing Lennie, meant him letting go of his only companionship.

On this reading I realized that the entire novella takes place over a weekend, despite George saying repeatedly that he and Lennie would be staying for a month. Throughout the book, George has to recite to Lennie their plan of owning a farm and how Lennie will get to tend to the rabbits. This plays on the idea of the “American Dream”, the boys want to own their land and not answer to anyone. For Lennie, he just wants a simple life of caring for the animals and George wants to keep Lennie out of trouble. Of course this vision is too idyllic to be realistic and at the end of the book I think that reality catches up to George.

As much as I root for the pair to achieve their dreams, there are some clues as to how the events play out. For instance the shooting of Candy's dog, foreshadows the death of Lennie. Candy tells George that he should have killed his own dog and not let someone else do the job. That pays off by having George, not Curly be the one to shoot Lennie. Lennie was George's responsibility, his burden, and when he realizes that Lennie will cause trouble for him no matter where they go, George makes the decision to shoot him. Instead of running away again, which is what he told Lennie they would do if he had got into trouble, George decided to end the fantasy and deal with reality.

The animals are also symbols. Lennie's puppy and the dead mouse in Lennie's pocket symbolize the weak and innocent. Lennie's strength and zealous for petting animals, results in a dead mouse and him accidently killing the puppy. But for all his strength, Lennie has the innocence of a small child or animal. Again, foreshadowing Lennie's ultimate death. The death of innocence.

I really enjoyed reading this novella, it's a short, breezy story that reads like a play. There's more thematic motifs and symbolism that I picked up on this time. The story plays out as a tragedy about two friends with grand ideas that will never come true. As I'm making my way through Steinbeck's work, I am noticing certain repeating themes, about working class men and striving for the “American Dream”. The idealism mixed with the flaws and fears of people make for compelling stories that I enjoy reading. Again, disclaimer for the racist and sexist views of characters, but I highly recommend any literary enthusiast read Of Mice and Men as well as other classic works of Steinbeck.

This is the second book in what is considered Steinbeck's “Labor Trilogy”, which also include In Dubious Battle and The Grapes of Wrath.

Buy "Of Mice and Men" here

Review of Winter Dreams

 Review of Winter Dreams by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Read Winter Dreams

Written before his classic novel "The Great Gatsby", "Winter Dreams" shares a lot of the same themes. The main character of "Winter Dreams" is Dexter Green shares a similar background with Jay Gatsby. Both comes from middle-class families and build their wealth to gain access to a girl from an upper class family. The love interest Judy Jones is a prototype of Daisy Buchannan (from "The Great Gatsby"). It's clear that she strings men along for attention and marries for money, despite not being in a happy marriage.

The title of the story refers to Dexter Green's dreams of creating his own wealth an achieving a social status higher than what he was born into. Even after Dexter achieves some financial success, owning laundry business', he still wants to seek the attention of Judy Jones. She's a young, rich woman with a multitude of revolving suitors chasing after her. After a year has passed, Dexter decides to move on from her and becomes engaged to a new woman. When Judy comes back into the picture, Dexter gives into her seduction and it ends his engagement. Years later when he is a wealthy entrepreneur in New York, he finds out that Judy's life isn't as lavish and happy as he thought her life might end up. It causes him to reconsider his past relationship with her, and he's sad that he never married.

While this story was written during an era where social class and wealth determined who you could marry, I still couldn't help but view this in modern times. Dexter continues to see Judy and kiss her for months, despite her seeing other men. Firstly, Dexter should have more self respect for himself, and not want to be with a girl that won't commit to him. However, Dexter can look past Judy's bad behavior because she represents a part of society that he desperately wants to be a part of.

Romance is a big theme in Fitzgerald's body of work. The idea of unrequited love and social class serve as a cautionary tale in "Winter Dreams". Dexter was on track to fulfilling the financial success and lifestyle that he wanted to achieve for himself when he met Judy. He wasted 18 months with her, and then when he did get engaged to another woman, he ruined that for one night and false promises with Judy. His efforts for social mobility “restricts Dexter's capacity for happiness” (Sparknotes.com).

"Winter Dreams" is a short, light read that evokes a familiarity to "The Great Gatsby". As a fan of "The Great Gatsby" and Fitzgerald, I enjoyed reading this story. I look forward to reading more of Fitzgerald's work. "Winter Dreams" was a part of collection that was a called, "All the Sad Young Men". You can buy it here https://amzn.to/3yJzMGK

Works Cited

https://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/winter-dreams/themes/ (2021).

Review of The Pearl

 Review of The Pearl by John Steinbeck

Read The Pearl online here

When I was a sophomore in high school, we read The Pearl and then chose a scene to re-enact on video. I believe we chose the scene where the doctor comes to the house. Needless to say, I am not good at acting. It was a memorable experience and one that has endeared me to the story. This time around, reading the story, I realized that I had only remembered the book's first half and did not remember the ending. So, it was a pleasant surprise for me as I was reading the story.

The story is about a poor fisherman, Kino, who finds a massive pearl in the sea. The pearl is worth a lot of money, and when Kino's baby son gets sick, he hopes the pearl could pay for an expensive doctor. The pearl itself becomes a curse on Kino's family, running him out of town being chased by bandits. He was trying to defend his family and keep the pearl resulting in the loss of his baby. Returning to his village, Kino and his wife toss the pearl back into the sea.

The tale of The Pearl is a parable about wealth and culture. “The novella is concerned with Kino’s moral obligation and not his civic obligation” when it comes to his responsibility for the pearl (Sparknotes.com). Kino's wife wants him to toss the pearl back into the water from the beginning, but Kino keeps hoping that it will bring fortune to his family. The community is also hoping to get some money from Kino's pearl. People even try to steal it from him in the middle of the night, causing a bit of chaos resulting in Kino and his family fleeing town.

Like other Steinbeck's works, The Pearl deals with the theme of the “American dream” even though the story takes place in Mexico. The idea of the “American dream” is still found in this story. Kino wants to use the pearl to help build his social status and pay for his son to go to school. “Kino’s gradual corruption and the story’s tragic conclusion hint at a fundamental flaw in the American dream” (Sparknotes.com). The story suggests that sacrificing virtue will result is ok if it results in material gain.

Eventually, the pressure of owning the pearl gets to Kino, and he becomes paranoid. For a good reason, because the community turns on Kino. Greed plays a role in the story, dividing the community and Kino and his wife. Kino's wife is constantly telling him to get rid of the pearl. By having Kino get rid of the pearl, “the novel suggest that the destructive forces of the world are too powerful to be overcome” (Sparknotes.com). Relinquishing the pearl represents Kino succumbing to the world instead of overcoming the difficulties and succeeding with wealth and materials goods.

A short read, The Pearl is a simple story about the corruption of wealth and how it can tear apart a tiny village and ruin a family. It's a classic staple of Steinbeck's work, even though it doesn't occur in California. Chasing the “American dream” is a theme that usually ends badly for characters in a Steinbeck novel. The moral is usually that living the dream life requires hard work and for Kino a pearl can't solve his problems. It's a moral quandary that I find fascinating every time I read this story.

Buy "The Pearl" Here

Works Cited

https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/pearl/central-idea-essay/parable-and-the-form-of-the-pearl/

List of Previous Posts

 Now that I have started up the blog again, don't miss out on previous posts or reviews. Here's a list of my posts and you might see a book on here that you like. 

Book Reviews

The Great Gatsby review

The Virgin Suicides review

Dracula review pt 1

Dracula review pt 2

Dracula review pt 3

Dracula review pt 4

Dracula review pt 5

Frankenstein review pt 1

Frankenstein review pt 2

The Joy Luck Club review

The Hunger Games review

Catching Fire review

Mockingjay review

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes review

Where the Crawdads Sing review

Tortilla Flat review

Short Story Reviews

Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allen Poe

Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs

The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe

The Gray Wolf by George MacDonald

The Damned Thing by Ambrose Bierce

Robbie by Isaac Asimov

The Star by H.G. Wells

An Express of the Future by Jules Verne

The Boogeyman by Stephen King

Pigeons at Daybreak by Anita Desai

Author Spotlight

Jules Verne and science fiction

Stephen King and IT movie

Philip K. Dick

Suzanne Collins

John Steinbeck

Literary News

The Hunger Games prequel news

Margaret Atwood Interview for Testaments

Amazon Prime-Forward short story

Editorial List

Wizard of Oz movie quotes

Ranking The Wizard of Oz songs

Horror Books top 50 list

NaNoWriMo

New Years Reading Challenge tips

The Lord of The Rings Movie Experience

The Fellowship of the Ring

The Two Towers

The Return of the King

Review of Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck

 Review of "Tortilla Flat" by John Steinbeck

While not his first novel, “Tortilla Flat” was a modest success for Steinbeck and led directly into his most famous literary works. The book takes place in Monterey, California. “Tortilla Flat” is an area settled by paisanos that live a simple life. The main character is Danny, although the book focuses more on his friends Pilon, Pablo, and Jesus Maria. Danny inherits two small houses from his grandfather and lets his friend Pilon "rent" out the smaller cottage. Unfortunately, Pilon never pays rent and accidentally burns the house down. The story then becomes about Danny taking in each of his friends into his small home. None of the characters work for a living, but it's implied Danny maybe had some money after just getting out of the U.S. Army. Instead of working, Danny's friends hustle, plot, scheme, steal and manipulate other people for food and, most importantly, wine.

The character of Pilon, in particular, is an interesting one. Besides Danny, he is the only one who understands what he is doing and how to manipulate his friends. In the beginning, he tries to get his friends to pay his rent for him. Pilon looks down on a man known as Pirate for living in an abandoned chicken coop with his dogs. Even though Pirate is the only one that works for food and saves up his money. Yet Pilon lives with Danny rent-free, and the thought of work is almost unfathomable to him. It is brought up several times that they can get some day jobs down by the docks, yet the friends only resort to it once or twice throughout the novel.

Shortly after moving in with Danny, Pilon has aspirations of paying Danny rent and comes to a somewhat crossroads at a church. At one point, he says to himself, “The soul capable of the greatest good is also capable of the greatest evil” (Steinbeck, 22). An interesting moral assertation from Pilon, given it's often stated that he is a very clever man that is good with people and words. However, instead of putting his talents to work, Pilon rather live off his friends and occasionally steal if he believes it's owed to him.


While reading this novel, I thought Pilon was a genuinely terrible person and that all of the men were alcoholics. Given that they buy jugs of wine most of the time instead of doing the right thing with their money, like pay rent to their friend that supports them. It's easy to forget that this novel was written in the 1930's during The Great Depression of American history and towards the end of the prohibition era. So, alcohol was something to be desired. Still, it's hard to imagine a group of grown men living together, and the only one working is the Pirate man, who's referred to as having the mind of a child.


Although I sound a bit negative, I actually enjoyed reading this book. Most of it revolves around these odd characters and their interactions with the townsfolk. Scattered throughout the book are these short glimpses into the lives of other characters with more exciting lives. For instance, the teenage soldier from Mexico with his newborn son coming to California looking for his wife. Or Danny's short relationship with the neighbor lady and buying her a vacuum cleaner, only to steal it back. It's these smaller stories that are spaced out well that kept me reading the novel.


The book has a sad ending but not unfitting for the story that is being told. One of the themes in the novel is that of treasuring the simple things in life. All of the friends seem happy to be living the “freeloader” lifestyle; because it is enough for them to simply enjoy the wine and watch the sunset from the porch. However, the book also shows that their lifestyles are not sustaining, and the men often struggle for food. The book also paints Danny as a pushover character, letting Pilon make all the decisions and not pay rent in exchange for their friendship. I think in the end, the story proves that his friends were really the downfall of Danny.

A short read, “Tortilla Flat” is a staple of Steinbeck's work, keeping with his tradition of writing stories in Monterey and around the Salinas valley. It portrays a different side of living in the 1930's but in line with Steinbeck's other works, such as “Of Mice and Men”. I recommend reading this book, but do keep in mind the time that it was written. I will say the portrayals of women in the book are terrible; most are seen as promiscuous or viewed as property of men. However, the town's lifestyle and charm invites the reader into these characters' lives and carries you until the end. As someone who enjoys Steinbeck's work style and settings, “Tortilla Flat” was a good book, but not as great as some of his other works.

Buy "Tortilla Flat" Here

Works Cited

Steinbeck, John. Tortilla Flat, Penguin Books, 1977, pp. 22