In addition to gathering his grandfather’s remains and sending them back to China, Lee attends the two parties that Mack and his friends organize for Doc, and brings gifts to the second party.

He supplies the community with a variety of goods, extends lines of credit, and accepts trades (such as real estate, a truck, and animal specimens) in payment for grocery bills. Lee and his store are described in great detail and appear in many chapters. The novel uses the point of view of an omniscient third-person narrator. The novel’s major plotlines center on Doc, a marine biologist Mack and his friends and Lee Chong, a Chinese immigrant who runs a grocery store. The story is set during the time of the Great Depression, and most of the characters struggle to make ends meet, relying on community and their wits to survive. In addition, it contains several outdated, offensive terms for Chinese immigrants, which this guide cites only in direct quotes from the novel.Ĭannery Row is an ensemble piece that follows numerous characters in Monterey. This guide cites the 1994 Penguin Classics edition, which includes an introduction by Susan Shillinglaw.Ĭontent Warning: This novel contains depictions of death by suicide, infanticide, and alcohol abuse. The novel explores several main themes: The Function of Community, Questioning the Nature of Success, and Sense of Place. Hall wrote a theatrical adaptation, which was first performed in 1994. Cannery Row and its sequel, Sweet Thursday, were made into a film, directed by David S. Steinbeck focuses on portraying the lower-class community, or people on the edges of respectable society, as well as the local landscape and animals. Considered literary fiction or classic literature, Cannery Row is realistic and was written close to the time in which it’s set-the era of the Great Depression.

Cannery row novel