Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a… — John Steinbeck

"It has always seemed strange to me," said Doc. "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, acquisitiveness, meanness, egotism and self-interest are the traits of success."