So far this book has started rather strangely. Danny seems to be a very kind person but considering he and Pilon fight so frequently I’m not sure. Pilon though I feel is both good and bad. He seems to have good intentions in all of his actions although the intentions appear to get lost or misguided rather quickly. I’m guessing that the relationship between these two characters will be rather major later in the book though I am not quite sure how that relationship will fare. Both Pilon and Danny seem to be care-free spirits, and unless I’m mistaken they don’t really fit the mold of the nineteen forties or fifties, which should be when this book takes place. That reminds me, I’m amazed at how poor they are and that either of them could possibly have survived in the military with the lives that they lead. Their heritage also confused me. If anyone else is reading this book and would like to explain that to me I would greatly appreciate it.
This book is continuing to move in a strange manner. All of the characters, other than Danny, seem to have little thought and are instead rather brash. Another character introduced was Jesus Maria Corcoran. He, following the trend things very little and is hasty but instead of being selfish like Pablo and Pilon he is very generous and kind. He is also taken advantage of by these other two characters. Danny having faded into the background is playing little role in any of the action going on. This leads me to believe that the main character is going to be Danny through the whole story, though the story will often branch off to follow other characters. the group of characters is also growing. Every couple of chapters a new character is added to Danny’s group of friends. I am thinking that, with a little help from the back cover, Danny’s group of friends will do something important and selfless by the end of this novel.
The characters are continuing to baffle me. During this reading they all appeared to be very selfless and took in a new member to their group. He is the Pirate although he is not a pirate. He only resembles one by his beard. He appears to be a selfless person as a whole but for the other characters to want to help him and then to not steal any of his money shocked me. The Pirate, like all the other characters in the book so far, is very odd to say the least. He lived with his five dogs in a very meager life not really trusting anyone. He also has a strange love of dogs that fascinates me. Pilon, Jesus Maria, and Pablo are quite different than he is while they are all different from Danny. Danny seems to be the father figure of this book where the other three are children with some independence and the Pirate is just an infant. If they continue to add to the circle of friends I am predicting that they will all fill in as pseudo children of Danny or possibly as a spouse.
Another character was added, Big Joe the Portagee. He still seems to be an outsider to the group although he lives in the same house. Big Joe is an unintelligent man who appears to me to be a strong man, though it never directly says so. Other than that nothing has really changed except Pilon appears to be a great deal more righteous. I’m not sure what has happened really but he has begun acting in the best interests of his friends; especially Danny. Danny has also met a fine young lady, Dolores Engracia Ramirez. She is also called Sweets on a regular basis. That relationship doesn’t last very long but it when it ends it shows Danny’s loyalty to his friends. The reason I say that is because for a time it looked as though Danny would forget his friends and live with Dolores Engracia Ramirez, also known as Sweets.
The Pirate achieved his goal. He was able to donate a golden candlestick to the church for Saint Francis of Assisi. All of the other people living in the house, except Joe, were very proud of their friend and their ability to protect his treasure. This speaks to me. I first thought they were selfish and only looked out for number one, though now it seems that the new family looks after each other as well. Earlier though another character was introduced, the Corporal. He was only a temporary character but I believe he helped stir the change in the others. He had loved his son so much that I believe some of his love rubbed off on the others, especially the Pirate. Big Joe however appears to learn nothing of goodness and remains a thief until his friends beat him. I doubt anything really changed though. I am willing to bet he will come back and steal something else later.
This book has no plot at all. It appears to just be a collection of stories that have to do with this group of friends. Mostly they are stories of them doing something good or of a change in their character, such as when Danny inherited two houses early in the book or when they helped Señora Cortez in chapter thirteen. The most recent chapter (fourteen) is stupid though; it is a story of them telling stories. Anyway, they tell the story of Tall Bob and then another of Petey and his father, Old Pete. They talk of how the stories would be funny except that you feel bad for laughing because of Tall Bob’s catastrophe and Old Pete’s accidental suicide. I think this is a good topic to bring up in a book although I think it was brought up in an unusual way. For Steinbeck to dedicate a chapter of his story for his characters to tell stories is rather dull. I don’t think I really learned anything about the characters via this wonderful story time and the plot, if there was one, would not have been furthered. At any rate, this book as a collection of stories is ranges from mildly decent to rather good depending on the story so far but I’m still hoping there is some kind of plot revealed at the end.
In chapter fifteen Danny went, as his friends concluded, mad. He moved quickly through the city thieving, fighting, and drinking. His friends were unable to keep up with him and unable to keep track of him. They tried to capture him and talk sense to him but alas it was to no avail. After Danny’s incident he came back and apologized and became depressed and lived in what appeared to be a depressed haze until his friends jerked him out of it. They concluded through most of the three two chapters that he was sick and was not himself. Personally I disagree. I think Danny was missing the freedom he had when he owned no house and so he went and lived as he would have. Then when he realized that he couldn’t live freely like he had before he inherited the property, because his house and his friends were depending on him he came back. He then was depressed and in my unprofessional opinion missed his freedoms and the good times he was missing until his friends threw him a party and showed him he could still enjoy life as he had before. Then he regained his vitality and partied wildly, which eventually led to his death and the end of the narrative.
Didn't the passage of background information say that Antigone was a victim of Creon's hubris? Some of you are suggesting that Antigone is the tragic hero. Thoughts on that.
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Tortilla Flats
Chapters Preface-III
So far this book has started rather strangely. Danny seems to be a very kind person but considering he and Pilon fight so frequently I’m not sure. Pilon though I feel is both good and bad. He seems to have good intentions in all of his actions although the intentions appear to get lost or misguided rather quickly. I’m guessing that the relationship between these two characters will be rather major later in the book though I am not quite sure how that relationship will fare. Both Pilon and Danny seem to be care-free spirits, and unless I’m mistaken they don’t really fit the mold of the nineteen forties or fifties, which should be when this book takes place. That reminds me, I’m amazed at how poor they are and that either of them could possibly have survived in the military with the lives that they lead. Their heritage also confused me. If anyone else is reading this book and would like to explain that to me I would greatly appreciate it.
Tortilla Flats
Chapters IV-V
This book is continuing to move in a strange manner. All of the characters, other than Danny, seem to have little thought and are instead rather brash. Another character introduced was Jesus Maria Corcoran. He, following the trend things very little and is hasty but instead of being selfish like Pablo and Pilon he is very generous and kind. He is also taken advantage of by these other two characters. Danny having faded into the background is playing little role in any of the action going on. This leads me to believe that the main character is going to be Danny through the whole story, though the story will often branch off to follow other characters. the group of characters is also growing. Every couple of chapters a new character is added to Danny’s group of friends. I am thinking that, with a little help from the back cover, Danny’s group of friends will do something important and selfless by the end of this novel.
Tortilla Flats
Chapters VI-VIII
The characters are continuing to baffle me. During this reading they all appeared to be very selfless and took in a new member to their group. He is the Pirate although he is not a pirate. He only resembles one by his beard. He appears to be a selfless person as a whole but for the other characters to want to help him and then to not steal any of his money shocked me. The Pirate, like all the other characters in the book so far, is very odd to say the least. He lived with his five dogs in a very meager life not really trusting anyone. He also has a strange love of dogs that fascinates me. Pilon, Jesus Maria, and Pablo are quite different than he is while they are all different from Danny. Danny seems to be the father figure of this book where the other three are children with some independence and the Pirate is just an infant. If they continue to add to the circle of friends I am predicting that they will all fill in as pseudo children of Danny or possibly as a spouse.
Tortilla Flats
Chapters VIII-X
Another character was added, Big Joe the Portagee. He still seems to be an outsider to the group although he lives in the same house. Big Joe is an unintelligent man who appears to me to be a strong man, though it never directly says so. Other than that nothing has really changed except Pilon appears to be a great deal more righteous. I’m not sure what has happened really but he has begun acting in the best interests of his friends; especially Danny. Danny has also met a fine young lady, Dolores Engracia Ramirez. She is also called Sweets on a regular basis. That relationship doesn’t last very long but it when it ends it shows Danny’s loyalty to his friends. The reason I say that is because for a time it looked as though Danny would forget his friends and live with Dolores Engracia Ramirez, also known as Sweets.
Tortilla Flats
Chapters XI-XII
The Pirate achieved his goal. He was able to donate a golden candlestick to the church for Saint Francis of Assisi. All of the other people living in the house, except Joe, were very proud of their friend and their ability to protect his treasure. This speaks to me. I first thought they were selfish and only looked out for number one, though now it seems that the new family looks after each other as well. Earlier though another character was introduced, the Corporal. He was only a temporary character but I believe he helped stir the change in the others. He had loved his son so much that I believe some of his love rubbed off on the others, especially the Pirate. Big Joe however appears to learn nothing of goodness and remains a thief until his friends beat him. I doubt anything really changed though. I am willing to bet he will come back and steal something else later.
Tortilla Flats
Chapters XIII-XIV
This book has no plot at all. It appears to just be a collection of stories that have to do with this group of friends. Mostly they are stories of them doing something good or of a change in their character, such as when Danny inherited two houses early in the book or when they helped Señora Cortez in chapter thirteen. The most recent chapter (fourteen) is stupid though; it is a story of them telling stories. Anyway, they tell the story of Tall Bob and then another of Petey and his father, Old Pete. They talk of how the stories would be funny except that you feel bad for laughing because of Tall Bob’s catastrophe and Old Pete’s accidental suicide. I think this is a good topic to bring up in a book although I think it was brought up in an unusual way. For Steinbeck to dedicate a chapter of his story for his characters to tell stories is rather dull. I don’t think I really learned anything about the characters via this wonderful story time and the plot, if there was one, would not have been furthered. At any rate, this book as a collection of stories is ranges from mildly decent to rather good depending on the story so far but I’m still hoping there is some kind of plot revealed at the end.
Tortilla Flats
Chapters XV-XVII
In chapter fifteen Danny went, as his friends concluded, mad. He moved quickly through the city thieving, fighting, and drinking. His friends were unable to keep up with him and unable to keep track of him. They tried to capture him and talk sense to him but alas it was to no avail. After Danny’s incident he came back and apologized and became depressed and lived in what appeared to be a depressed haze until his friends jerked him out of it. They concluded through most of the three two chapters that he was sick and was not himself. Personally I disagree. I think Danny was missing the freedom he had when he owned no house and so he went and lived as he would have. Then when he realized that he couldn’t live freely like he had before he inherited the property, because his house and his friends were depending on him he came back. He then was depressed and in my unprofessional opinion missed his freedoms and the good times he was missing until his friends threw him a party and showed him he could still enjoy life as he had before. Then he regained his vitality and partied wildly, which eventually led to his death and the end of the narrative.
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