Article: Works of John Steinbeck: Comment, Cannery Row

Steinbeck, John
Monarch Notes
01-01-1963
Comment, Cannery Row

A Moral Criticism

The critic Malcolm Cowley described Cannery Row as a "poisoned cream
puff," and the fact that John Steinbeck agreed with him should give pause to
any reader who sees the book simply as a literary confection. "Poison,"
however, seems a rather strong word for a book which is certainly no more
shocking to reader peace-of-mind than are other Steinbeck works. Perhaps
Cowley was warning that readers often react strongly to Cannery Row because
they are not quite prepared to find Steinbeck the moralist so stubbornly
implanted in Steinbeck the reconteur, storyteller, or genial (and apparently
pagan) philosopher.

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