![]() But, alongside its questionable sexual politics of the time, a prevalent sadness and more than a hint of covert damning social commentary underscores the novel. Preceding classics such as The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck’s novel (his first commercial success), written (in 1935) at the time of the Great Depression, is predominantly light with sharply defined characters. But they all strive to live together in some sort of harmony, sharing the wine they may have come by. All look to score the advantage, usually linked to wine or food, occasionally women. The portion of the trail between Apache Junction and Tortilla Flat is a paved, two lane road that twists and winds through the Superstition Mountains to Canyon Lake. Danny, Pilon, Big Joe, Pablo and Pirate are the bibulous main characters, none totally honest, each with different levels of acceptable morality towards each other, friends, neighbours, acquiantances, strangers. Tortilla Flat is located just over an hour East of Phoenix and about 30 minutes from Apache Junction, which is where the Apache Trail begins. Titles such as How three sinful men, through contrition, attained peace or How Danny’s Friends threw themselves to the aid of a distressed lady give an indication of content and narrative. A fair rent is agreed but neither paid nor expected to be paid. Shared bottles of wine, brandy and a stolen chicken or two quickly lead various friends moving into one or the other of the houses. A drifter, more interested in the source of the next gallon of wine, Danny returns to California from army life post World War I to discover he has inherited two ramshackle homes up in the hills. ![]() Short and sweet, most a few pages long, the stories feature Steinbeck at his irreverent best. A collage of paisano adventures in and around the isolated and shabby Tortilla Flat district found in the hills overlooking Monterey and the Pacific Ocean. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |