John Steinbeck's novel Cannery Row Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

John Steinbeck's novel Cannery Row - Essay Example As the discussion highlights Doc is a man of scientific approach, but at the same time, he is interested in enjoying the luxuries of day to day life. He is not the one to chase the perfect disciplines in life, but is willing to carry on happily with the available levels of discipline. The readers first see him leaving his Western Biological Laboratory for purchasing five quarts of beer. He is not interested to tread the beaten and routine tracks of life and exhibits defiance towards the vested interests that take control of the society and his approach is evident in his suggested â€Å"method for getting revenge on a bank if anyone should ever want to: `Rent a safety deposit box, then deposit in it one fresh salmon and go away for six months.† Thus Doc is an individual who accepts and lauds the contradictory facets of life and his Western Biological is a kind of experimental laboratory for the living things as per their levels of progression. This study outlines that a true philosopher (the realized soul) knows the past, present and the future and they are one with the, the great leveler of humankind, the Time. They are unaffected by the day to day agitations, ups and downs occurring in the world outside. The author compares Mack and the boys, the ordinary folks, to such philosophers as they have the capacity to survive in this world of pluralities and pairs of opposites, like happiness and sorrow, light and darkness etc. There are others, the simple types of people, to whom ignorance is bliss and they also remain happy, like philosophers, in all circumstances. The intelligent, successful and competitive people remain upset always; their mind is full of agitations over the business and secular challenges they face and the author categorizes them as men with â€Å" bad stomachs and bad souls† but Mack and the boys are fit physically and mentally. They are carefree people, eat what they like, and do what they wish.