Kaitlyn Akel 1

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8/24/14
Key Passage Analysis
Passage: (pg. 129-130)
In the kitchen the spilled grease had turned white on the floor. Docs eyes flamed red
with anger. He sat down on his couch and his head settled between his shoulders and his body
weaved a little in his rage. Suddenly he jumped up and turned on the power in his great
phonograph. He put on a record and put down the arm. Only a hissing roar came from the
loudspeaker. He lifted the arm, stopped the turntable, and sat down on the couch again.
On the stairs there were bumbling uncertain footsteps and through the door came Mack.
His face was red. He stood uncertainly in the middle of the room. Doc he said I and the
boys
For the moment Doc hadnt seemed to see him. Now he leaped to his feet. Mack shuffled
backward. Did you do this?
Well, I and the boys Docs small hard fist whipped out and splashed against Macks
mouth. Docs eyes shone with a red animal rage. Mack sat down heavily on the floor. Docs fist
was hard and sharp. Macks lips were split against his teeth and one front tooth bent sharply
inward. Get up! said Doc.
Mack lumbered to his feet. His hands were at his sides. Doc hit him again, a cold
calculated punishing punch in the mouth. The blood spurted from Macks lips and ran down his
chin. He tried to lick his lips.

This passage is central to the overall understanding of the novel because it provides the
drive and focus for many of the characters the next half of the book. Docs lab is horridly
trashed, many of his treasured objects in disarray, and the party has gone terribly wrong.
Furthermore, because many of the main characters, primarily Mack and his boys, feel so awful
about the state of the party and how it had turned out, the guilt they feel drives them to want to
make it up to Doc, which they eventually do.
It goes without saying that this passage is very pivotal in context with the rest of the
novel, not just plot-wise, but also with regards to Doc. Throughout Steinbecks work, Doc is
portrayed as a benevolent, gentle, yet melancholy man, whom everyone in the Row loves and
appreciates, which is the primary reason why this party is occurring in the first place. This
passage is a complete one-eighty of that character description, evident by the colorful diction
used in the section, Docs small hard fist whipped out and splashed against Macks mouth.
Docs eyes shone with a red animal rage Doc hit him again, a cold calculated punishing punch
in the mouth. The connotations of the words used are very angry, and ultimately, quite
surprising because no character in the book expected the cold calculating punishing punch to
come from Doc. The whole passage is an antithesis to Docs character portrayal, because no one
has seen that side in him.
With that in mind, it is important to note why Steinbeck writes this section the way he
does: to highlight the central themes concerning people not always being as they seem, as well as
conflict between human intent and human action. No one considered this side of Doc to come
out and its unsettling to Mack and the other guests to see such rage stem from him.
Additionally, none of the events wouldve taken place, had the party not taken such a bad turn,
which was for the most part, out of the people of the party planners hands.