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Similes
Chapter 5
Explanation and Analysis—Liza's Drunkenness:
In the following passage from Chapter 5, the narrator uses situational irony to describe an important—and hypocritical—development in Liza Hamilton's religious mores:
When Liza was about seventy her elimination slowed up and her doctor told her to take a tablespoon of port wine for medicine. She forced down the first spoonful, making a crooked face, but it was not so bad. And from that moment she never drew a completely sober breath.
Liza Hamilton, known for her strict Presbyterian morals, begins to drink regularly after being exposed to alcohol for the first time. Ironically, she participates in an act that for much of her life she would have regarded as morally reprehensible.
This passage highlights important concepts that tie into Steinbeck's critique of Christianity and moral absolutism. Principally, the irony in this excerpt reveals the hypocrisy of religious people who claim moral superiority. When given an excuse to deviate from her morals, Liza does so almost immediately, becoming what essentially amounts to a functioning alcoholic. Liza harshly judges those who break the Christian moral code, yet gives herself a great deal of leniency when it is her turn to deviate. Her sense of morality is not absolute, but rather capable of being modified to suit personal needs.
Related Themes:
Chapter 6
Explanation and Analysis—Charles's Shyness:
In Chapter 6, Steinbeck describes Charles's life during Adam's absence. Without his brother or father for company, Charles turns to sex workers for human companionship, though he barely views these women as human. Using situational irony, Steinbeck elucidates the nature of these relationships:
There is great safety for a shy man with a whore. Having been paid for, and in advance, she has become a commodity, and a shy man can be gay with her and even brutal to her.
There is irony in the statement that shy men feel "great safety" with sex workers, particularly when it is this "great safety" that makes them comfortable enough to be "brutal." Such men may feel safe from judgement, but the sex workers certainly are not safe from the men.
As a shy man, Charles may be anxious about romantically or sexually propositioning a woman; thus, to satiate his needs, he must pay for companionship. The transactional nature of these relationships negates the sex workers' humanity, in Charles's eyes. They become nothing but "commodities," bought and paid for. And when a person "owns" something they view as property, they often see fit to treat that property how they choose, with no regard for the property itself. Sadly, Charles's loneliness and shyness result in a problematic and harmful attitude towards women.
Related Themes:
