California imagery
This story features the flora and fauna of California, especially the Salinas Valley. This imagery extends to include humans, their lives, their occupations, their shenanigans, their issues—all are part of the collections portrait of life in California. There is perhaps no writer more closely attached to this region than Steinbeck. Many of his books feature this setting and imagery.
Animal death and religion
Although there is no animal sacrifice, per say, there is a lot of animal death. For instance, in "The Chrysanthemums," there is a cow purchased for slaughter. "The White Quail" is shot in an act of marital betrayal. "The Snake" features a woman fascinated by the chain of being, wanting to watch a snake eat a mouse. The imagery is thorough, and it is paired with human death.
Secrecy and the clandestine
In the dark, characters sometimes meet in the woods, like the narrator and Mae in "Johnny Bear," or the fugitive murderer, Pepe escaping to the wilderness in "Flight." Then there are the affairs, the murders, the fights—all pointing to the dynamic relationship between individuals and community. Although community is not optional, the cast of this story collection is constantly resorting to darkness to accomplish tasks they are not proud of. The darkness is imagery suggesting privacy and secrecy.
Religious imagery
The religious imagery of this collection is fairly obvious. There is the venerated pig, "Saint Katy the Virgin," which describes the formation of petty religions from scratch in local communities. There is "The Raid," which partners a discussion of Christian martyrdom with the persecution of Communists. There is "The White Quail," which might be seen as a sign for religious adoration because it is white, and it is a bird, and the wife adores it.
