China and the West

Fang, Jie. Sitanbeike Mengtelei xiao shuo zhong di ren sheng zhe xue [ID D30672].
Fang Jie starts with Cup of gold, a book that had never been mentioned in China before, and argues that Merlin is the archetype of Steinbeck's dropouts in Tortillia flat, Cannery row, and Sweet Thursday. In all three novels, Steinbeck wrote with affectionale and compassionate understanding of the world's disinherited, the lovable and exotic 'paisanos' in Monterey. To Fang, Tortilla flat is neither an ordinary picaresque novel nor a mock-epic. Neither is it a modern version of King Arthur and his knights. The dropouts are at a disadvantage from the very beginning and unable to participate competitively in modern society. What is more, Danny's friends are no longer isolated loners but active members of their group. They are offered as a contrast to people obsessed with the pursuit of money, fame, and social position in a materialistic world. The novel is seen as a piece of serious literature severely criticizing mainstream culture in the United States. Fang thinks that Cannery row is Steinbeck's reaction to a world that enters World War II after eleven years of economic depression. It is about a transition from the old to the new, but unfortunately the new world is imperfect. The significance of the novel lies in its philosophy, the logos of Taoism. The grocer Lee is therefore of essential importance to the whole book, although he is never at the center of the story, because he understands the essence of the Tao and the spirit of American commercial society and knows how to find a balance between the two. Doc is another important character whose unworldly style of life is a representation of Taoist philosophy. This use of Taoism indicates that Steinbeck intends to find a new value system to replace that of the capitalist society. Taoist philosophy adheres to the non-teleology he had always advocated and thus becomes the mainspring in the world of Cannery Row. Although Sweet Thursday reflects changes in Steinbeck's thinking. Fang defends the work by saying that Doc's becoming a good husband and a responsible father in Steinbeck's attempt to find a compromise between individualism and social responsibility and is an expression of his belief and hope that human beings have the ability to cultivate and even perfect themselves. Thus, all three Monterey novels are representations of Steinbeck's reflections on man and society, his identification of the true value of man, and his critique of Americans' outlook on social values. While he had great sympathy for social dropouts, he criticized them for their escape from social responsibility.