Doc in Cannery Row

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away; this keeping Lee Chong indebted to Doc. Lee Chong was very thankful for this and there so let Mack pay him frogs for groceries that would be used at Docs second party. Doc didn’t expect Mack and the boys or Lee Chong to throw a birthday party for him, because he is just doing what he thinks is right for Row. Doc is the only character in the novel that is not indebted with anyone, as is everyone else in the story.

Another example on how Doc is the “doctor” on the Row is when he helped people with the influenza outbreak. As stated in chapter 16, “The doctors of Monterey-and there were enough of them to take care of the ordinary diseases, accidents, and neuroses-were running crazy (93)”. Doc was called by the people he knew and was running around town helping the families with the outbreak. He would take temperatures, give physics, deliver blankets, and take food to the houses with sick mothers. Doc was the main reason the outbreak passed, as he helped in anyway he could, even if that was just giving them hope, blankets, and food. Another way he helped was by getting Dora and her girls to feed the children soup. This gave the ill families aspiration that they will get better and things will pass. Dora’s girls would sit with the children too, just to accompany them in their tough time.

In conclusion, across the whole book Doc has showed how he is the backbone of the story. Doc does as much as he can to help individuals with almost anything, from medical help to money help to advice. Although Doc is just a Marine Biologist, he is what keeps Cannery Row stable and together. Doc is the one that does something without expecting anything in return; he is selfless. His generous acts are shown through the characters of Mack and the boys, Lee Chong, Dora and her girls, and Frankie the unstable boy.