Cannery Row

An old boiler that Mr. Randolph from the Hediondo Cannery disposed of sits in the lot between Lee’s grocery store and the Bear Flag Restaurant. Mr. and Mrs. Sam Malloy make this boiler their residence in 1935. In 1937, Sam rents larger pipes from the Cannery (which are also in the lot) to single men. One day, after adding some furnishings inside the boiler, Mrs. Malloy decides to buy some curtains. Sam disagrees, arguing that they don’t have any windows to curtain, and Mrs. Malloy begins to cry.

This chapter picks up where Chapter 7 left off, as Hazel and Doc return with their starfish. In the Palace Flophouse, Mack asks Hazel if Doc is in a good mood, and Hazel replies that he thinks so. Mack says hello to Sam, who is looking for a way to attach curtains to the iron boiler, and heads over to the laboratory. There, Doc is straightening out the curled starfish. Mack tells him about Phyllis May hitting a drunk in the Bear Flag and getting poisoned by his tooth.

Mack asks Doc if he and the boys can collect frogs to make some money. Doc agrees and asks for octopi too, saying that both are five cents apiece. Mack asks to use Doc’s car, but Doc must drive to La Jolla, so Mack says they’ll try to use Lee’s truck. Doc writes a note to get gas on his credit line for Mack. Doc remembers when Mack got tom cats, whose owners came to claim them later, and is wary.

Mack goes to Lee’s grocery store and asks to borrow his truck to get the frogs. Lee explains that it isn’t working, but Mack says that Gay can fix it in exchange for the temporary use of it. Lee, also wary, agrees to this exchange but refuses to give Mack a bottle of alcohol before he has the funds to pay for it.

An 11-year-old named Frankie ventures into the laboratory, and Doc asks why he isn’t in school, noting that the boy’s hands are dirty. Frankie washes his hands, says the school rejected him, and tells Doc about his uncles, who either abuse him or give him nickels. Doc calls the school, and they explain that Frankie was rejected because something is wrong with his coordination and he has trouble learning. Doc trims Frankie’s hair and buys him clothes to wear.

Doc tries to teach Frankie tasks, such as organizing crayfish by size, but Frankie continues to have trouble learning. He does learn how to light the Doc’s cigars and enjoys it when the Doc throws parties and plays records. At one party, Frankie brings a girl a glass of beer. Doc says that Frankie is a good helper, which inspires Frankie to try to serve beers to other guests at the next party. However, his coordination fails, and he drops the tray of beers on the same girl’s lap. Frankie then hides in a box of packing materials, and Doc doesn’t know what to do.

This chapter begins by discussing the previous owners of Lee’s Model T Ford truck, starting in 1923. Dr. W. T. Waters sold it to Mr. Rattle, an insurance salesman, who drove drunk and damaged the truck. Francis Almones, the next owner, struggled with money and exchanged the truck for groceries from Lee’s store. Lee didn’t maintain the vehicle, and it sat in disrepair behind the grocery.

Gay is an expert mechanic and orders Mack and his friends to fix the truck. When they need parts, Mack asks Lee for them, but Lee refuses all requests for parts. Gay says that he has parts in his cellar, but he won’t go because he doesn’t want to run into his wife. Eddie sneaks into the cellar without being seen and returns with the parts. Gay continues to work on the truck and eventually puts it in somewhat working order. They cover up the expired license plates and head out toward Red William’s gas station. There, Mack tries to get Red to give him money as well as gas from Doc’s note. However, Doc called earlier to warn him about this, and Red is willing to give the $10 only in gas.

Gay drives the group through back streets to avoid the cops. However, when they back the truck up Carmel Hill, which is very steep, it breaks down again. The narrator digresses into a discussion about Model T Fords being popular for several generations and then returns to the men discussing how they need a different part for the carburetor. Gay volunteers to buy it, and the other men wait by the truck.

Gay hitchhikes, and after a series of events including his fixing a different car, going to a birthday party, and breaking into Holman’s shoe store, he ends up in jail for 180 days. The men waiting by the truck eventually give up on him, not knowing what happened. Late that night, Eddie suggests checking other Model T’s at a construction camp.

This chapter focuses on literary figures associated with the area, including Robert Louis Stevenson, who lived in Monterey and Josh Billings, who after death was embalmed by a French doctor working in Monterey. A boy and his dog found a liver and intestines that the doctor threw into a gulch.

Mr. Carriaga, an old man, ran into the boy and dog before learning about the passing of Billings. Carriaga realized that the remains were human and began asking other residents about recent deaths. Eventually, the constable told Carriaga about Billings’s death in the Hotel del Monte. Carriaga, the doctor, and others found the boy and his dog, gathered the internal organs, and had the doctor bury them with the author, considering the act of embalming and disposing of organs in the gulch disrespectful to a literary figure.

Mack and his friends continue on their journey to collect frogs for Doc. Eddie steals a carburetor from a Model T and returns while the other men are still sleeping. In the morning, Eddie finishes the repairs, and they drive past Hatton Fields and into Carmel Valley. They hit a rooster along the way and take it to eat later, also picking up a sack of carrots from the road and stealing onions from a truck carrying vegetables.

The narrator lovingly describes the Carmel River, including the natural features it runs through and the animals that visit it. Mack and his friends stop at a pool at the base of a cliff. There, they build a small fire and begin to slowly cook the rooster. Mack tells them that the frogs won’t be out until nighttime, so they nap, except for Hazel, who oversees the cooking. The narrator describes the sun setting behind the cliff and the animal life in the pool.

When Mack and his friends wake up, they make coffee over the fire and talk about the chicken they’re cooking. Then, they drink from the jug of various alcohols. Jones comments on the mixture, and Mack changes the subject, describing a deep sea diver named McKinley Moran, who eventually became an alcoholic, sold alcohol during Prohibition, and got married. Mack speculates that Gay went back to his abusive marriage. After eating the chicken, vegetables, and broth, they drink more alcohol and coffee.

Mack confesses that he doesn’t like scamming Doc and describes how he returned money he got from Doc. He wonders if it would be better to get Doc a gift, such as a bottle of whiskey or cuff links, than to throw him a party.

As it gets darker out, a man approaches with a gun and a dog. He tells Mack and his friends that they’re trespassing and that they must leave. Mack apologizes and tells the man about their plan to collect frogs for a scientist. Then, Mack asks the man about his military service and his dog. The man, whom Mack calls Captain, admits that the dog has a tick on her shoulder. Mack takes a look and offers to help him with an Epsom salt remedy. This inspires the man to let Mack and his friends clean out noisy frogs from a pond by his house. As Mack’s friends clean up their fire and camp, they speculate that Mack could talk his way into being president.