Tortilla Flat part 3

Though the last section of Tortilla Flat deals with suffering from monotony in Monterey, it too provides its readers with a broader view of the paisano lifestyle. Again, this section includes the typical oppression described in “Steinbeckean” societal lessons; however, it is a surprise to see that Steinbeck cleverly incorporates some humorous aspects within them. Finally, but sadly, there are no new additions to the flat that enrich the eccentricity of the group’s actions and reasons for their adventures. In the last sections, I agree with some of critics’ viewpoints that resemble the loyalty within this group of paisanos to the knights in King Arthur’s court. The tragedy that ends the novel allows the band of brothers to realize the significance of responsibility that forces them to discard a life of ruthless behavior and indulgences. I believe Steinbeck’s intended message that he is trying to convey pertains to a man’s legacy and how he should be remembered.

The stories in Monterey that Danny reminisces are very sad, but have minor additions that completely transform their mood that typically results in a laugh. As expressed in my earlier blog entries, I again believe this book does not have the characteristics of a typical Steinbeck novel. The reader cannot feel bad for the band of brother’s misdeeds because most of their actions can be attributed to alcoholic influences. Danny narrates the stories to his friends in hopes of easing his mood because he misses his previous lifestyle that was free of burden. His story-telling instigates a series of short anecdotes from his friends Pablo and Jesus Maria. The subject within these stories involves the mishaps of attempting to fake a suicide to gain the attention from society or to improve self-image. Though the subject is very serious, the tone in which the characters choose their words subtly further amplifies a chilling dark humor effect. For example, in the tale of Petey Ravanno, he fell in love with a temptress, but she rejected his marriage proposal. Feeling dejected, Ravanno tried to hang himself but was saved. The temptress realized how cruel she had been and decided to marry him. Seeing how successful Petey had been, his father wanted to replicate his son’s fake suicide ploy with the temptress’s sister. However, he died because the people he had hoped would save him took a different route.

At the end of the novel, Danny becomes depressed because he misses his old lifestyle. As a result, he goes on a ruthless crime spree and vandalizes, steals, fights, and has many indiscriminate affairs with women all over Monterey. His loyal friends realize that Danny is destroying himself and take the initiatives to help their paisano (comrade) by throwing him a memorable party. They hope that this party will restore Danny’s rationality so he does not appear to have acted as a miscreant in Monterey. The group’s true friendship finally emerges when his friends slowly set aside their drinking habits to galvanize the support from the whole town and earn enough income through legitimate work to host a party for their lost friend.

Danny becomes a legend from that night of revelry. Because of his friends, his behavior has changed, which, in turn, changes the way people will remember him. Although he had died from a tragic suicide because alcohol impaired his rationality, his legacy constantly reverberates throughout Monterey. I think the group’s decision to let the house burn down is reasoned to prevent another person from leaving a better image and legacy than Danny’s in Monterey. Their separation also symbolizes their loyalty and respect to Danny, in that none of them will become the leader like Danny.

I enjoyed reading this Steinbeck novel that casts a different tone while incorporating few of the traditional Steinbeck elements in the Tortilla Flat. Unlike other Steinbeck novels, I am surprised that it is still interesting to read about the paisanos’ adventures instead of them struggling to live happily. In short, I still feel as if I still received Steinbeck’s intended message of Danny’s legacy that he left behind for his paisanos to revere. (683)

Tortilla Flat Part 2

I have realized that Tortilla Flat is about Danny’s house that seals the relationships for a band of brothers. It is almost like a reality show in which people are forced to live with each other; however, the characters within the flat are more genuine and amicable. Danny is not only a friendly, but also a very selfless character. He cares very much about his friends because he would not have what he has had his friends not been there for him. At times it seems like his friends are freeloading on him by inviting their new guests to his house; however, Danny cannot bear to kick them out of the house for each new character brings an eccentric aspect to their friendship. I am not even kidding, but almost every other chapter brings a new character to the house. For example, Pilon found his friend Jesus drunk on the beach and courteously offered him residence at the house for compensation because he is determined to pay off the rent. Two chapters later, the most bizarre character is introduced to the Tortilla Flat. This character, the Pirate, lives a Spartan lifestyle (poorly dressed and lives with his dogs in a chicken house), yet his wealth possibly surpasses $200. Sadly, he is offered residency to the flat because Pilon wants to scam him of his money.

This week’s update in Tortilla Flat finally reveals the traditional “Steinbeckean” viewpoint in his address to society that is typically intertwined in nearly all of his novels. I dread for characters to suffer in the novel; however, it is interesting how realistically Steinbeck is able to incorporate natural tendencies, behavior, and emotions that transcend typical human reactions into words. This week’s dramatic scene may stir as much emotion and may be as memorable as the final scene in The Grapes of Wrath that involves Rose trying to save a dying father with her breast milk who had sacrificed his portions of food for his son. It is a similar fashion, in which the group of paisanos in Tortilla Flat tries to save a baby from death. It eases the mind that they are not just sloth men, who normally indulge in wine and scam people. They finally show their true, inherent human instincts and kindness as they invite the Mexican corporal and his sick baby to their flat. For example, Big Joe and Pablo, who earlier were arrested for being drunk and ruthless, set aside their drinking indulgences to build the baby a crib to make their scanty environment more bearable for the sick child. Sadly, the men tried their best and provided all they possessed; however, the baby died. Steinbeck’s intention of implementing the father’s sincerity and his story into that chapter is to invite our sympathy. The father’s acceptance of the baby’s death further depresses us, as we understand that all he wanted was for his son, “…Manuel to have more good things than I had.”

Thus far, I am concluding that Tortilla Flat is about the characters that live within the house. The house acts as a collection of short stories from its characters that help create a vivid description of a paisano lifestyle and struggle in Monterey. (536)

Sources

“Tortilla Flat”: The Shape of John Steinbeck’s Carrer by Howard Levant. MLA (Jstor)

The Conflict of Form in Tortilla Flat by Stanley Alexander. Duke University Press (Jstor)

Tortilla Flat Re-Visited by Arthur F. Kinney. Modern Critical Views: John Steinbeck. (Book)

Traveling through the Dark

“Traveling Through the Dark” is a very graphic poem that readily captivates the reader’s attention. As the images from the poem leave a lasting impression, the reader now empathizes or vicariously contemplates about the speaker’s actions. Through these images, William Stafford intended to raise the reader’s consciousness regarding the justification behind one’s own actions and doing the proper deed. “Traveling Through the Dark” may seem like a poem that simply describes the seemingly random progression of nature; however, interpreting Stafford’s vivid descriptions, imagery, and symbols will reveal a deeper meaning.

Stafford’s deliberate descriptions and choice of word usages are fundamentally basic and well placed. With the use of imagination, the reader can easily piece together the dramatic scenes the narrator recounts in the poem. Stafford’s prose is capable of casting such dramatic images into the reader’s mind because he uses the meaningful and cogent expressions to present his work. Since he does not bombard the reader with gratuitous words and strenuous vocabulary, the reader’s imagination is readily channeled to focus and visualize on the dead carcasses and the speaker. Stafford wants the readers to concentrate more on the speaker than the deer because it is the speaker’s actions that readers are supposed to judge.

Moreover, word order in Stafford’s sentences heavily influence how the reader is supposed to understand this poem. In the first two lines, the reader, like the speaker, encounters a deer. Stafford purposely avoids telling the reader that the deer is dead in the first line, for he separates the words “deer” and “dead” for a particular reason. In the opening line, the reader is to infer that the deer is alive and in a split-second the deer is dead in the following line. However, the deer is not the subject of that sentence; thus, it is the speaker who killed the deer with his car. As the reader continues this poem, one finds that the sensory perceptions of sight, touch, and hearing are affected. Thus, by incorporating the first person perspective with these senses, the reader feels as if he is struggling in the situation and can depict the dead pregnant deer laying in front of him. Stafford’s use of the first person to describe the scene brings home the reality such imagery that helps the reader easily illustrate the poem. With the first person perspective, the reader not only experiences the savagery of nature, but also feels the same sense of the speaker’s hesitation over an unexpected dilemma, as the speaker must reconcile these conflicts that lead to the final fate of the doe’s fawn. For example, in the third stanza, Stafford does not clearly annunciate that the deer is pregnant, but “large in the belly” and that “her side was warm; her fawn lay there waiting; / alive, still, never to be born.” By forcing the reader to fathom the meaning of his descriptions, the image of an unborn fawn becomes implanted in our minds, giving a fatalistic perception that is an indispensable element in nature’s circle of life.

Stafford’s poem leads the reader to rethink critically those real life issues about moral judgments on one’s actions and consequences. However, with further analysis on symbolism, the reader can apply Stafford’s theme to not only himself, but also towards the dynamics of society. As such, life is a ride on the road. People typically have a set route for goals and are headed in a chosen direction in life; however, unexpected occurrences like the dead deer will force the person to decide whether to wait and deal with the situation or to deviate from its original path and take a detour in making the life journey. In this poem, the surroundings and road are cloaked in darkness. This element of uncertainty not only retards the reader’s temerity from digressing his attention in the face of the unforeseen hurdles of dead carcasses, but also resembles a mysterious, dangerous, and ominous suspense that adds instability to the normal course of life’s progression. As described in the poem, it is darkness that also represents the unpredictability of our daily lives. Like the headlights of the car that emit a glimpse guidance, humans, who have the ability to analyze their actions, can expect the unknowns within them as they follow the winding road into the uncertainty and darkness ahead of life’s journey.

“Traveling Through the Dark” casts images that are emotionally stirring in the reader’s mind. Importantly, the speaker does indeed feel remorseful and responsible not only for the death of the doe, but also for the demise of the new hope in the fawn. By depicting his hesitant behavior, action of lowering the parking lights, and compassionate thinking, Stafford leads the reader to understand that the speaker is not heartless. One must realize the consequences if he had delivered that fawn. The fawn may struggle to survive or may die miserably because it does not have its mother to nurture and raise it.

This poem’s well-crafted and highly structured sentences create meaningful images that leave the reader with a sense of righteousness to rationalize his decisions on choosing between rights and wrongs. Stafford’s terse writing style achieves its intended goal of weaving scenes of images in the minds of its reader by reflecting on the reality of the moral elements and their consequences that pervade in our society. (890)

My First Thought and Impression on Tortilla Flat

Having read and digested many of John Steinbeck’s novels, I am assured that Tortilla Flat will not disappoint my continuing desire to enjoy his insightful works of literature. Steinbeck adopted a common theme in writing his novels, from which I discover his approach for presenting a disadvantaged and almost helpless protagonist who is repressed by an immoral world always captivates my interests. I have not had the misfortunes endured by those suffering souls in his works; however, it is through Steinbeck’s themes and expressions that provide me a better understanding of being fortunate. Although many of his novels such as, Of Mice and Men, The Pearl, and The Grapes of Wrath, are replete with depressing overtones because the protagonists are being exploited, I still enjoy reading them because I become inspired on how determined the protagonists persevere and become triumphant in the end. The most important life-lesson Steinbeck instilled in me is to never lose hope and give up for “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”*

It surprises me, however, that Tortilla Flat bears little resemblance of Steinbeck’s traditional tragic plot. In the early chapters of the novel, Danny, one of the disadvantaged and underprivileged protagonists, inherits his grandfather’s two estates and slowly assimilates into a new lifestyle rather than having a conniving and sly antagonist cheat him of his possessions. At this point of the novel, the only tension Danny encounters is with his friend Pilon, which may be attributed to the characters’ heavy indulgence with wine. Steinbeck’s intention of integrating Danny’s acquisition of his grandfather’s house is to exemplify and test the strength of the characters in relation to an upgrade in economic gains. Danny had inherited his grandfather’s house, but he does not have money to live a luxurious lifestyle; thus, he still must remember and retain his roots of struggle as he tries to grasp a new lifestyle.

At first glance of the novel, the unique characteristics of the cast of players leave a humorous impression that easily appeals to me. The first incident in which we are introduced to these characters sparks our interests because of their impetuous decisions. For example, in Tortilla Flat's opening anecdote, Danny and his friends are enjoying a bottle of wine when they have a patriotic epiphany that urges them to enlist in the military. However, neither Danny nor his friends are sent to the front lines. Danny is assigned to herd livestock, while his friend is arrested for a petty crime. In another incident, Danny is imprisoned, but the prison guard gets drunk with him until they run out of alcohol and go to the local bar to continue their indulgences. Humorously, the drunken Danny stumbles out of the bar and wanders into the forest to sleep and the guard reports him as an escaped convict. With animated characters, it is fun and interesting to continue reading to anticipate their next scenario.

All of Steinbeck's novels have an insightful lesson to influence their readers. In the early section of Tortilla Flat, we experience the effects of alcohol clouding its victims’ minds and impairing their rationality. Steinbeck has also approached the issue of spending money impulsively. Instead of saving the money for future investments, characters decide to spend the money because they have recently acquired it and justify their spending with trivial excuses. Because it is hard for Pilon to save money to pay his rent due to Danny, he finds a scapegoat (Pablo) to serve as an excuse for his money spending problems.

At this point, I enjoy reading Tortilla Flat as it has given me a different perspective of Steinbeck’s departure from his traditional call for social justice in the struggles between the haves and the have-nots. Tortilla Flat possesses hardly any of Steinbeck's trademark stories about the tension from economic disparities in our society; however, the plot resembles a bildungsromanesque style like Catcher in the Rye and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn–both of which I enjoy reading. (673)

*Winston Churchill