Selflessness In John Steinbeck's Tortilla Flat

1346 Words3 Pages

When one sees a person who is concerned with the well-being of others without expecting anything in return they are witnessing altruism. In order to possess altruistic values ones must be selfless. To be selfless one must have more concern about another person than themselves. Throughout John Steinbeck’s Tortilla Flat, a group of paisano friends show this altruism. The paisanos express their selflessness in the altruistic actions of aiding the Caporal in the health of his son, assisting the Pirate with his goals, and helping Senora Teresina Cortez provide food for her children. Jesus Maria expresses his selflessness to the Caporal. He is seen as a true humanitarian among the town of Tortilla Flat. Jesus Maria appears to have a knack for finding …show more content…

After Pilon informs his friends of this stash they invite the Pirate into Danny’s house with the stash and the amount of wine it can buy in mind. After finding out more about the Pirate, Danny shows the first glimpse of selflessness about letting the Pirate stay in his house saying, “Poor little lonely man. If I had known, I would have asked him long ago, even if he has no treasure,” (Steinbeck 69). The additional statement about the treasure foreshadows the altruistic actions to come. The Pirate feels very welcome in the home of Danny. He does not know that for weeks the friends are being selfish in the attempt to steel the stash. After putting fear of theft into the Pirate’s mind, he brings his stash to the group of paisanos allowing them to protect it. He tells the friends the importance of the money leading them to realize they can no longer steal from the Pirate (Steinbeck 67-75). The terrible act of selfishness soon turns into selflessness for the paisanos. From that moment on, the paisanos helped the Pirate in collecting the money he needed. They never touch the money that becomes a symbol of their friendship and trust with the Pirate. If the Pirate does not collect the money for the day,

Show More
Related

  • How Does Steinbeck Overcome Homelessness In The Grapes Of Wrath

    716 Words  | 2 Pages

    Steinbeck strikes at the fear in every man’s soul, with his portrayal of the poverty stricken life of the Joads as they travel from one stage of abandonment and what would seem like a helpless state to a journey of enduring perseverance. The Joads, Steinbeck’s creation in the Novel Grapes of Wrath is a large close-knit family living in Oklahoma during the “Dust Bowl” era. Steinbeck documents their journey beginning with their homelessness due to the crop failures to them surviving in a box car at the end of their journey. I think Steinbeck’ intention is to illustrate to the reader that being poor doesn’t always equate with being helpless. The Joads demonstrate this by their resilience to overcome homelessness, death, and prejudice.

    Read More

  • The Ultimate Sacrifice In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    942 Words  | 2 Pages

    Difficult decisions are made by everyone, in fact, they are a factor of life. Within John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men one of the characters, George, was pressured to quickly decide on a life changing event. That decision being too kill his friend Lennie or, as a result, let him die at the hands of somebody else, someone who wanted to harm him. As George knew, Lennie’s requisite death was needed in order to protect him. George’s decision was the appropriate decision considering that Lennie was a danger to himself and others; furthermore, George acted out of love.Therefore, by killing his friend George protected his companion as well as numerous others.

    Read More

  • Loyalty and Sacrifice in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men

    556 Words  | 2 Pages

    John Steinbeck was born in 1902, in California's Salinas Valley, a region that would eventually serve as the setting for Of Mice and Men, as well as many of his other works. He studied literature and writing at Stanford University. He then moved to New York City and worked as a laborer and journalist for five years, until he completed his first novel in 1929, Cup of Gold. With the publication of Tortilla Flat in 1935, Steinbeck achieved fame and became a popular author.  He wrote many novels about the California laboring class.  Two of his more famous novels included Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath.  Steinbeck got the title for Of Mice and Men from a line of Robert Burns, a Scottish poet, “The best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry."  In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck includes the theme of loyalty and sacrifice between friends.  Steinbeck illustrates the loyalty and sacrifice between friends through the friendship of Lennie and George.

    Read More

  • Compassion In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    265 Words  | 1 Pages

    Compassion might not seem like a big deal but it’s something that everyone one wants and needs. When Curley's wife repeatedly tells Lennie it's ok for him to talk to her. This shows that because Curley doesn’t talk to his wife very much, so shew wanted someone to talk to. Curley is the boss’s son so everyone is afraid to converse with his wife. Another example would be Candy is heartbroken about his dog being killed. It shows that dog's or pets can show love and compassion, just as a relationship with a human. While everyone is in the bunk room Candy says " I ought to shoot that dog myself, George. I shouldn't ought to let no stranger shoot my dog (Steinbeck 58). The quote shows Candy had sympathy and compassion for his dog. Now the quote

    Read More

  • John Steinbeck Outline

    811 Words  | 2 Pages

    I. John Steinbeck used his personal experiences as a laborer to write many of his novels like Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath.

    Read More

  • Parrallels in the Life of John Steinbeck and the Characters in his Works

    2511 Words  | 6 Pages

    John Steinbeck was perhaps the best author of all time. He was the winner of a Nobel Prize, and among other accomplishments, Steinbeck published nineteen novels and made many movies during his lifetime. All of his experience and knowledge are shown through his novels. A reader can tell, just in reading a novel by Steinbeck, that he had been through a lot throughout his life. Also, Steinbeck worked very hard to accomplish everything that he did during his lifetime. Nothing came very easily to him, and he had to earn everything he owned. This helped him in his writing, because he was able to write about real people and real experiences. John Steinbeck got his inspiration from life experiences, people he knew, and places he had gone.

    Read More

  • Self Control In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    1063 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the novella Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck, one of the most important themes is how the lack of self-control can have unfortunate consequences. George and Lennie, two best friends, are striding to salvage enough money to buy themselves a farm in the middle of nowhere with rabbits, dogs, and chickens. George, a man who was burdened with taking care of a man-child, is Lennie 's brother but in a way his primary caretaker. He has to stop Lennie from doing simpleminded actions for Lennie does not know the power of his own strength. Every Time they get a job and try to settle down, Lennie messes up, and they have to move on to the next town. Lennie has no self control whatsoever. He

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Selfishness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    1246 Words  | 3 Pages

    The first focus of living is surviving. Therefore, it does not follow logical reasoning to explore other aspects and enhancements of life until one establishes a sense of security in one’s ability to survive. Survival starts with an individual’s ability to endure, and ultimately progresses to an entire species’ ability to subsist. Selfishness is often viewed as morally wrong, however it may be necessary for individuals to think of themselves before others, in order to put them in a position to be able to help the others. In John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, this selfishness is demonstrated by the characters who are struggling to better their own lives; therefore, helping to better the lives of others is a secondary thought if it exists

    Read More

  • Loneliness, Sympathy, and Remuneration in John Steinbeck's Cannery Row

    680 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many themes were portrayed in Cannery Row.  These themes give the play depth and fascination.  The three most significant themes thought are Loneliness, Sympathy, and Remuneration, allowing the story to reach many areas in life.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of John Steinbeck's Starvation Under The Orange Trees

    730 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the article, “Starvation Under the Orange Trees” by John Steinbeck, the author argues that the government is responsible for the well-being of the people. The author effectively built his argument by displaying a personal anecdote to get his point of view across, selective word choice, and asking rhetorical questions.

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Ethical Egoism

    728 Words  | 2 Pages

    Altruism regards the individual life as something one may be required to sacrifice for the sake of

    Read More

  • Steinbeck’s quest for friendship, dreams, and personality in Of Mice and Men

    659 Words  | 2 Pages

    Curly and Lennie, two men that traveled together everywhere they went. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck describes friendship, dreams, and personality to describe Lennie and Curly adventures.

    Read More

  • Tortilla Flat Morals

    1098 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the novel, many excuses are made by the paisanos to validate their selfish actions. They are fully aware that what they are doing is wrong; however, in order to make themselves feel better, they often find loopholes to justify their wrongdoings. For example, early on in the novel Pilon finds himself in debt to Danny after neglecting to pay him money for rent. As Pilon is on his way to deliver the money to his friend, he has a realization. He knows that both he and Danny love wine, so instead of paying Danny the money directly, Pilon instead uses it to buy wine. Even though Pilon is most likely aware that this is not the right thing to do, he justifies his actions by insisting that hard money does not express his gratitude towards Danny. Therefore, Pilon’s selfish desire for wine is fulfilled, and he does not feel as guilty about what he has done (20). Another notable example of this is when Teresina and her family run out of food. After learning from Jesus Maria that a bad bean harvest had left the Cortez household without food, the paisanos rush to her aid. They began stealing chickens, goats, vegetables, and other foods without a second thought (151). To them, these actions were completely justified. After all, it was okay if they were helping out someone in need, wasn’t

    Read More

  • The Importance of Respect in John Steinbeck's Cannery Row

    1550 Words  | 4 Pages

    Cannery Row is a novel John Steinbeck wrote after World War I. At first, the novel almost seems like a humorous book, written in a style commonly used by Steinbeck. The book has its main plot, but also has side chapters that periodically interrupt the main idea, which adds to the story. One would think that these side chapters are there to universalize the book, but in fact that is not true. The side chapters tell their own story, and they have a message that Steinbeck was clearly trying to show through his book. The novel has a main point about respect. In Cannery Row , Steinbeck is trying to say that respectability is the destructive force that preys on the world. Steinbeck uses his characters to tell this story about respect and its effect on society. The central figure of the whole book, Doc, better explains this point by saying, "It has always seemed strange to me . . . The things we admire in men, kindness and generosity, openness, honesty, understanding and feeling are the concomitants of failure in our system. And those traits we detest, sharpness, greed, acquisitive, meanness, egotism and self-interest are the traits of success. And while men admire the quality of the first they love the produce of the second" (131).

    Read More

  • Psychological and Ethical Egoism

    1876 Words  | 4 Pages

    For someone who believes in psychological egoism, i t is difficult to find an action that would be acknowledged as purely altruistic. In practice, altruism, is the performance of duties to others with no view to any sort of personal...

    Read More

More about Selflessness In John Steinbeck's Tortilla Flat

Open Document