cannery roq
...n every adventure that was undertaken and every episode that was described. Cannery Row certainly functioned on this hidden religion of mutualistic symbiosis throughout the novel. The idea of symbiosis was illustrated as Doc collected specimens from the sea in the Great Tide Pool with Hazel. “The sea is very clear and the bottom becomes fantastic with hurrying, fighting, feeding, breeding animals. Hermit crabs like frantic children scamper on the bottom sand. And now one, finding an empty snail shell he likes better than his own, creeps out, exposing his soft body to the enemy for a moment, and then pops into the new shell.” (31) The ocean floor is alive and thriving because each organism has a specific purpose and uses and is used by the others as a way of survival. There is a mutual dependence between all living creatures within the pool. Starfish feed on mussels and limpets, octopi murder crabs, anemones attract their unsuspecting prey then paralyze with their needles. Hermit crabs make new homes in eaten shells and the endless, incessant array of cycles occur in this tiny marine microcosm of Cannery Row. The relationship between Mack and the boys and Lee Chong was also symbiotic. Lee Chong possessed an empty warehouse that had no purpose or practical use for storage because its owner lived too far away. Mack composed a deal with Chong that allowed Mack and his boys to become caretakers of the building. Though Lee Chong charged rent, both parties knew no exchange of money would ever take place. However, what Chong did gain out of the transaction was a group of faithful grocery store customers and warehouse protectors. Both Chong and Mack’s boys prospered from the partnership they had created, exhibiting yet another example of symbiosis. An additional example of symbiosis occurred when Mack and the boys planned to throw a party for Doc. However, in this case, Mack and the boys took advantage of Doc’s generosity and never gave any useful returns. This relationship describes a parasitic symbiosis. Mack hunted frogs for Doc, took the money Doc gave him for the specimens, and used that money to throw Doc a party. In essence, Doc paid for his own party. In addition, Doc never managed to show up to his own party, and when he did eventually trudge home his laboratory was practically destroyed and his prized possessions were heaped in shambles. Mack and the boys, though having good intentions all along, completely revealed this notion of parasitic symbiosis through the consequences of the party. ...