The cartoons and anecdotes scattered throughout John Steinbeck's Cannery Row may, at first glance, seem marginal. Yet they are fundamental to the novel, also because the plot - organizing a party for Doc - would be insufficient to support a story, let alone an entire novel. However the episodes also serve many purposes other than advancing the plot. They shed light on the customs of Cannery Row, provide information on the "war between the sexes", and contribute to the dark and violent undercurrent of the novel. Steinbeck also uses these episodes to explain suicide, lifestyle, married couples' arguments, and relationships. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay One of the first cartoons, for example, tells the story of William. His suicide occurs early in the book, almost immediately after Horace Abbeville's suicide. William is a caretaker at the Bear Flag Restaurant. An outcast from Cannery Row, he seems to be universally despised. Mack and the boys refuse to talk to him and rebuff his attempts to get close to them. In fact, "the conversation stopped and an uneasy and hostile silence fell over the group" (18) when he entered the room. As his threats to kill himself are met with challenges to do exactly that, his suicide seems inevitable. Indeed, Steinbeck writes, "as soon as he saw this in the Greek's eyes, he knew he had to do it" (21). This short vignette poignantly reveals how despised people are treated on Cannery Row. William is shunned by Mack and the boys. His attempts to confide in Dora, Eva and the Greek are met with coldness or outright disapproval. The violence of his suicide (plunging an ice pick into his chest) illustrates the underlying current of violence that runs through the novel. Without this undercurrent, the story would be a two-dimensional tale of carefree, jobless individuals, not a mature piece. Likewise, the vignette about Mr. and Mrs. Sam Malloy does nothing to directly advance the plot. In fact, it is only at the end of the book that Steinbeck describes a single interaction between the Malloys and any of the book's main characters. However, the Malloys' story is important; it provides both a counterpoint to the novel's violent undercurrent and an example of the war between the sexes. Their story also provides local color and comic relief, sandwiched as it is between the stories of the aforementioned suicides and Frankie's failure to serve the women at Doc's. The reader laughs as the Malloys begin to put on airs after acquiring squatter rights to a large boiler. Steinbeck tells us that they become "landlords" and extort compensation from tramps who sleep in small pieces of pipe found near their boiler. Living in a boiler seems comically similar to Peter's wife living in a pumpkin shell and seems funny when Mrs. Malloy immediately begins decorating the boiler with "a rug, then a wash-tub, then a lamp with a colored silk shade" (48) . In an almost cartoonish manner, Mrs. Malloy displays the frugal virtues of a housewife as she tries to convince her husband of the value of the curtains for sale at Holman's. However, unlike many minor characters, Steinbeck conveys the genuine compassion and tenderness that the Malloys feel for each other. Steinbeck gives them a special dignity by calling them Mr. and Mrs. throughout the cartoon. It is only after the husband refuses to buy curtains for the windowless hovel that we hear a name mentioned; Steinbeck writes, “Sam lay down next to her and rubbed her back for a long time before she went to sleep” (49). At the end of the book, the couple's passion for the objects of.