Steinbeck BLOG 1

In many of Steinbeck’s works the lives of the working class citizens are portrayed using their daily lives. In Tortilla Flat, the main characters have no wealth, yet the novel is stuffed with eloquent tales of friendship, joy and sorrow. Steinbeck’s main intent is to give the wealthier classes a true glimpse into the lives of the less “fortunate” classes and help dissolve certain stereotypes surrounding the more poverty stricken citizens. I personally have had uncertainties with the homeless people that live around my hometown. My intuition tells me that they have little friendship and happiness, but with help from Steinbeck’s literature I have been able to slip myself into their shoes and dissolve the stereotype.

“Money can’t buy you love” seems to be a reoccurring theme within Tortilla Flat. Steinbeck communicates this by bringing several previously homeless men together to a small house one of them has inherited. The friendships and bonds they create cannot be surmounted by economic concerns. This is clearly depicted when one of the houses burns down and they have to share the remaining one. All the characters, including Danny who owns the house, each secretly feel a great tension release when the house goes up in flames. Danny uses the situation to make up an excuse to not charge rent, thus freeing them all from the troubles of money. The tone throughout this whole passage contains no trace of true sorrow. Danny’s friends physically exhibit stress when they have to break the news to Danny, but their true feelings are relaxed and happy—quite the opposite.