--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Cannery Row is the gathered and…" description: "\"“Cannery Row is the gathered and scattered, tin and iron and rust and splintered wood, chipped pavement and weedy lots and junk heaps, sardine cannerie..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/120/john-steinbeck-71_quote_cannery-row-is-the-gathered-and-scattere_202073.jpg" --- # Cannery Row is the gathered and scattered, tin and iron… ![“Cannery Row is the gathered and scattered, tin and iron and rust and splintered wood, chipped pavement and weedy lots and junk heaps, sardine canneries of corrugated iron, honky tonks, restaurants and whore houses, and little crowded groceries, and laboratories and flophouses. Its inhabitant are…” quote by John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/120/john-steinbeck-71_quote_cannery-row-is-the-gathered-and-scattere_202073.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/120/john-steinbeck-71_quote_cannery-row-is-the-gathered-and-scattere_202073.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/120/john-steinbeck-71_quote_cannery-row-is-the-gathered-and-scattere_202073.jpg) > ““Cannery Row is the gathered and scattered, tin and iron and rust and splintered wood, chipped pavement and weedy lots and junk heaps, sardine canneries of corrugated iron, honky tonks, restaurants and whore houses, and little crowded groceries, and laboratories and flophouses. Its inhabitant are, as the man once said, "whores, pimps, gambler and sons of bitches," by which he meant Everybody.”” [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage depicts a chaotic, decayed community where diverse, marginalized people coexist amid junk and poverty. **In simple terms:** A rundown town full of varied, struggling residents. Key Takeaway Recognize humanity in all, regardless of status. Themes poverty community marginalization urban decay diversity Mood melancholy reflective critical Type descriptive social commentary literary When to use this quote - urban exploration - social work - historical study - literary analysis - community outreach Key Concepts social realism humanism economic disparity Questions to Reflect On - How does environment shape identity? - What responsibilities arise toward marginalized groups? A Different Perspective The description romanticizes hardship, overlooking systemic oppression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/cannery-row-in-monterey-in-california-is-a-poem-a-stink-a-grating/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/cannery-row-in-monterey-in-california-is-a-poem-a-stink-a-grating-2/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“Doc turned in the seat and looked back. The disappearing sun shone on his laughing face, his gay and eager face. With his left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/doc-turned-in-the-seat-and-looked-back-the-disappearing-sun-shone-on/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [ \[Cannery Row's\] inhabitants are, as the man once said, 'whores, pimps, gamblers, and sons of bitches,' by which he meant everybody. Had the man… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/cannery-row-s-inhabitants-are-as-the-man-once-said-whores-pimps/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“Doc was more than first citizen of Cannery Row. He was healer of the wounded soul and the cut finger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/doc-was-more-than-first-citizen-of-cannery-row-he-was-healer-of-the/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [He never forgot anything but he never bothered to arrange his memories. -Hazel, Cannery Row](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/he-never-forgot-anything-but-he-never-bothered-to-arrange-his/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [My mother was a very wonderful woman. When she and my dad divorced, she moved to California and worked two jobs in the cannery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolores-huerta/my-mother-was-a-very-wonderful-woman-when-she-and-my-dad-divorced-she/) [Dolores Huerta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolores-huerta/) > [“With your sheet-metal memory of Cannery Row, and your magazine-husband who one day just had to go. And your gentleness now, which you just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/with-your-sheet-metal-memory-of-cannery-row-and-your-magazine-husband/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) ## More by John Steinbeck > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Prayer never brought in no side-meat. Takes a shoat to bring in pork.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/prayer-never-brought-in-no-side-meat-takes-a-shoat-to-bring-in-pork/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“And now submarines are armed with mass murder, our silly, only way of deterring mass murder.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/and-now-submarines-are-armed-with-mass-murder-our-silly-only-way-of/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“I’d think there are degrees of greatness,” Adam said. “I don’t think so,” said Samuel. “That would be like saying there is a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-d-think-there-are-degrees-of-greatness-adam-said-i-don-t-think-so/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“He was forever inventing a new way of doing an old thing and doing it better and quicker, but he never in his whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/he-was-forever-inventing-a-new-way-of-doing-an-old-thing-and-doing-it/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“You come back a changed man. Samuel, you don’t change him. He changes you. I can see the look of him in your face.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/you-come-back-a-changed-man-samuel-you-don-t-change-him-he-changes/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I find out of long experience that I admire all nations and hate all governments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-find-out-of-long-experience-that-i-admire-all-nations-and-hate-all/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [At about 10 o'clock in the morning the sun threw a bright dust-laden bar through one of the side windows and in and out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/at-about-10-o-clock-in-the-morning-the-sun-threw-a-bright-dust-laden/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I have noticed that there is no dissatisfaction like that of the rich. Feed a man, clothe him, put him in a good house,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-have-noticed-that-there-is-no-dissatisfaction-like-that-of-the-rich/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“Who in his mind has not probe the dark water?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/who-in-his-mind-has-not-probe-the-dark-water/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Sometimes, a lie is told in kindness. I don't believe it ever works kindly. The quick pain of truth can pass away, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/sometimes-a-lie-is-told-in-kindness-i-don-t-believe-it-ever-works/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [People like you to be something, preferably what they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/people-like-you-to-be-something-preferably-what-they-are/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“Suddenly he knew joy and sorrow felted into one fabric. Courage and fear were one thing too. He found that he had started to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/suddenly-he-knew-joy-and-sorrow-felted-into-one-fabric-courage-and/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I am writing this from what we Americans call Yurrp. In Yurrp writers are taken as seriously as Lana Turner's legs are in America…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-am-writing-this-from-what-we-americans-call-yurrp-in-yurrp-writers/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I write because I like to write. I find joy in the texture and tone and rhythm of words. It is a satisfaction like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-write-because-i-like-to-write-i-find-joy-in-the-texture-and-tone/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) [Explore all 1,589 John Steinbeck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) ## More Cannery Row quotes > [Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/cannery-row-in-monterey-in-california-is-a-poem-a-stink-a-grating/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/cannery-row-in-monterey-in-california-is-a-poem-a-stink-a-grating-2/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [ \[Cannery Row's\] inhabitants are, as the man once said, 'whores, pimps, gamblers, and sons of bitches,' by which he meant everybody. Had the man… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/cannery-row-s-inhabitants-are-as-the-man-once-said-whores-pimps/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“Doc was more than first citizen of Cannery Row. He was healer of the wounded soul and the cut finger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/doc-was-more-than-first-citizen-of-cannery-row-he-was-healer-of-the/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“Doc turned in the seat and looked back. The disappearing sun shone on his laughing face, his gay and eager face. With his left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/doc-turned-in-the-seat-and-looked-back-the-disappearing-sun-shone-on/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [He never forgot anything but he never bothered to arrange his memories. -Hazel, Cannery Row](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/he-never-forgot-anything-but-he-never-bothered-to-arrange-his/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“With your sheet-metal memory of Cannery Row, and your magazine-husband who one day just had to go. And your gentleness now, which you just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/with-your-sheet-metal-memory-of-cannery-row-and-your-magazine-husband/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) Browse all 8 Cannery Row quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Cannery Row is the gathered and scattered, tin and iron and rust and splintered wood, chipped pavement and weedy lots and junk heaps, sardine canneries of corrugated iron, honky tonks, restaurants and whore houses, and little crowded groceries, and laboratories and flophouses. Its inhabitant are, as the man once said, \"whores, pimps, gambler and sons of bitches,\" by which he meant Everybody.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Steinbeck" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/cannery-row-is-the-gathered-and-scattered-tin-and-iron-and-rust-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cannery Row" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/cannery-row-is-the-gathered-and-scattered-tin-and-iron-and-rust-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/120/john-steinbeck-71_quote_cannery-row-is-the-gathered-and-scattere_202073.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/120/john-steinbeck-71_quote_cannery-row-is-the-gathered-and-scattere_202073.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/120/john-steinbeck-71_quote_cannery-row-is-the-gathered-and-scattere_202073.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Cannery Row is the gathered and scattered, tin and iron and rust and splintered wood, chipped pavement and…” — John Steinbeck", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John Steinbeck", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Cannery Row is the gathered and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/cannery-row-is-the-gathered-and-scattered-tin-and-iron-and-rust-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/cannery-row-is-the-gathered-and-scattered-tin-and-iron-and-rust-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```