Cannery Row vs. Modern Day Society

Kristin Hauck

Mrs. Daugherty

English 12AP

18 August 2011

Cannery Row vs. Modern Day Society

            Throughout the Honors English track from sixth grade to senior year, I have had the opportunity to read a wide variety of novels. Some are enjoyable and engaging; some, however, are difficult to get through.  When reading difficult novels, I try to look for similarities between characters in the novel and my own life. This is typically challenging seeing as most of the stories are older classics. However, as I read Cannery Row, I was able to find many parallels between modern day society and the society present in the novel.

             First, I found that it was easy to compare the setting of Cannery Row to a small town.  Although it is extremely unlike Rocky River, Ohio, I have seen and heard of small towns similar to the setting of the novel.  The piece of information that initially drew me to this conclusion was Lee Chong’s Grocery store. The fact that shoppers were extended credit for their purchases reminded me of small southern towns that I have visited in the past; in these towns, all citizens know and seem to trust one another. While this method of payment is not always one hundred percent effective, the thought of the honors system throughout the town is comforting.  Although the store is unlike stores in my hometown, the relationships between citizens are not.  Here in Rocky River, it seems almost as if I know more about the lives of my classmates than I do about my own family. This also proves to be true throughout Cannery Row. The citizens know the business of everyone in the town and seem to pride themselves on this.  Even though there are fewer characters in the novel, I feel that the parallel between Rocky River citizens and Cannery Row citizens is effective.

            Furthermore, I was able to draw a connection between the first party that was thrown for Doc, and parties thrown by typical teenagers. These days, when teenagers decide to host a party, it is typically done in a last minute and un-thoughtful style.  When Mack and the boys finally arrive home from the frog collecting adventure, they scramble to find decorations and bake a cake. If that was not enough confusion already, they trade virtually every frog that they collected for food and beer from Lee Chong’s store. Now, not only are the boys underprepared for the party, they no longer can celebrate their success when Doc arrives home. As the party planning continues, things take a turn for the worse. Like many teen parties I have heard about, the party planned by Mack and the boys gets out of hand. Because the boys began the party long before Doc had arrived home, the guest become irritated with waiting and begin to drink excessively. This is not only unfortunate for the boys, but also for Doc; he is left to clean up the mess in the end. This is similar to teenage parties because often, a parent or host is left to clean up the mess of many guests, some unwanted. Mack and the boys can be compared to irresponsible teenagers when it comes to party planning and hosting.

            Finally, the behavior of Mack and the boys can be compared to the behavior of young children in present day society.  It is very common, throughout today’s society, for children to want to impress their parents and other adults. It is also common for children to do almost anything to accomplish this.  In the novel, Mack and the boys are similar to these young children.  For example, when Doc says he needs frogs, Mack and the boys immediately volunteer themselves to take the long journey to find them.  Like modern day parents, Doc is happy that the boys are willing to help, but also thrilled that they boys will be occupied and out of the way for a few days.  As the novel continued, I was able to see more similarities between the boys and children.  After the disastrous party, Mack and the boys feel defeated and they still are hoping to impress Doc by throwing and even better celebration. This part of the novel reminded me of myself as a child because I constantly wanted to impress my parents. When the boys take time to plan and delegate, they succeed. This was exciting because it proved that hard work pays off in the end. Although childlike at times, Mack and the boys are able to succeed when they work together for an attainable goal.

            Cannery Row, although not an easy read, was easy to relate to both my life and the lives of others throughout modern day society. When challenged with novels in the future, I am going to continue to look for similarities between contemporary life and the historical settings of most novels. Even though I do not always enjoys the novels that the Honors English track challenges me with, I look forward to reading and drawing comparisons in my future studies.  

Feelings Throughout Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Kristin Hauck

Mrs. Daugherty

English 12AP

26 July 2011

Feelings Throughout Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

               Being a child that has grown up reading fairy tales and other fantastic stories, hearing the title Frankenstein frightened me.  Upon learning that the AP English classes would study this novel, I immediately began to think that I was going to be reading a horror story about the uncontrollable monster whose green face flashed before my eyes each time I heard the title of the novel.  However, after reading the novel Frankenstein, my predetermined feelings about the story were changed. Throughout Mary Shelley's novel, I felt sympathy for the monster created by Victor Frankenstein.

               In the beginning of Shelley's novel, after Frankenstein had created the monster, I immediately felt sympathy toward the poor creature that had unwillingly been brought into the world. Merely a science experiment, the monster was completely unaware of it's own body and surroundings following the monster's abandonment by it's creator. After creating the monster, Victor states that he was, "unable to endure the aspect of the being that [he] created" (Shelley 43). Without even giving the monster a chance to get to know his creator, Frankenstein flees the room, leaving the poor being to fend for himself. The sympathy that I felt for the monster continued to grow. As time passed, Frankenstein became more and more cowardly. He, "issued into the streets, pacing them with quick steps, as if I sought to avoid the wretch whom I feared" (Shelley 45). The monster is left alone in the laboratory while it's creator wanders the streets in fear.  If Frankenstein had tried to meet the monster and get it know it, the story could have had a completely different ending, making life much easier for both characters.

               Furthermore, I felt much sympathy for the monster throughout the re-telling of the time that the monster spent with the cottagers. After meeting up with Frankenstein, the monster explains his story from the beginning, shortly after his creator leaves. The monster says, "It was dark when i awoke; I felt cold...I knew, and could distinguish, nothing; but feeling pain invade me on all sides, I sat down and wept" (Shelley 90-91).  The monster is completely alone and terrified. At this point in the novel, I began to dislike Victor Frankenstein; he created the monster by choice, and failed to pursue it following creation.  Also, I felt sympathy for the monster in its attemp to make friends with the De Lacey family, the father in particular. After the monster observes and learns from the family, he decides to enter the home one day, following the departure of the children. When the monster enters the blind man's (Mr. De Lacey) home, he is greeted pleasantly and is even feeling courage for the first time. However, my sympathy for the monster begins to "kick in" when the children return home and are frightened by the monster's appearance. The monster is chased out of the village for good. His time with the cottagers caused me to think about his melancholy life and to feel more hatred toward Victor Frankenstein.

               Finally, I felt sympathetic toward the monster throughout the final few chapters of the novel.  The monster, after dealing with hardships throughout the entire novel, requested one favor of Frankenstein: to have a female companion created for him.  After promising to do this, Victor Frankenstein states that he, "could not collect to courage to recommence [his] work" (Shelley 139).  I sympathized with the monster at this point because after all of the trouble that Frankenstein caused, the least he could do is create a companion for the monster. In addition to this scene, I sympathized with the monster and the very end of the novel. After learning that Frankenstein is never going to create a female companion, the monster begins to kill the loved ones of Victor. While many people would feel sorry for Victor here, I sympathize with the monster because he is merely lashing out based on the melancholy and difficult life that he has been forced to lead.  The creator causes much sadness for the monster throughout the end of the novel.

               My premeditated feelings about the novel Frankenstein were completely altered during my reading. Although I believed that I would be afraid of the monster in the novel, I proved myself wrong when sympathetic feelings began to engulf me throughout my reading. I felt sympathetic toward the monster upon his creation, when he observed and learned from the cottagers, and at the end of the novel when he is left alone with no companions.  The novel Frankenstein proves that predetermined feeling may not always end up being accurate.