The paradoxes are everywhere: We shout that we are a nation of laws, not men--and then proceed to break every law we can if we can get away with it. We proudly insist that we base our political positions on the issues--and we will vote against a man because of his religion, his name, or the shape of his nose.
In this essay, Steinbeck examines the fundamental nature of America society and determines it is a construction of paradoxical desire and activity. This quote effectively sums up the bulk of the rest of the essay which is primarily exemplary on the subject of paradoxical America. The bottom half of the essay considers how paradox is also an essential feature of the American Dream.
It was the “Throt Europe” that won me.
This quote offers a lot more than it would seem. Just this simple little addendum to the process of hiring a driver to transport Steinbeck to remote fishing village on the coast of Italy. He locates a driver who hands him his card: “Signor Bassani Bassano, Experienced Guide – all Italy – and Throt Europe.” Some people will immediately understand what Steinbeck means by the quote above while a great many more will likely be utterly confused. For those who do get it, the reasoning behind Signor Bassani getting the job is like a psychological X-ray into the author’s mind. For those who don’t, it is simply a dark picture with an unidentifiable gray blob in the middle.
I have owned all kinds of dogs but there is one I have always wanted and never had…a white English Bull Terrier.
This is an apt title for this essay as it randomly moves from one dog-related topic to another. He starts out by explaining how domestication of dogs is on the same level as the discovery of fire to human development, how the function of dogs has evolved, the changes in breed popularity and the unique lifestyle of “apartment dogs.” But he saves the best for last: confessing that his ideal dog is the English Bull Terrier. Anyone who has shared Steinbeck’s unsatisfied desire to enjoy the company of this breed can fully appreciate the somewhat melancholy nature that characterizes the entire paragraph.
We expect Negroes to be wiser than we are, more tolerant than we are, braver, more dignified than we, more self-controlled and self-disciplined.
The Grapes of Wrath has consistently been banned (or was the victim of an attempt) in some communities ever since it was published. The banning was based upon the premise that it is radical communist propaganda. It is not, of course, but there is no denying that Steinbeck at one time or another held what at one time or another were considered extreme progressive political ideals and opinions. One of those idealistic opinions was that African-Americans were deserving of all the rights extended to white Americans—and without being forced to their worthiness. He wrote a number of articles on the subject of white oppression of the black minority and was, of course, perceived by some—especially in the 1950’s—as promulgating communist propaganda for doing so.
