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.
