Cannery row: an area of saints, angels, and holy men. Cannery row is a society all in itself. The richness of all the inhabitants and the history and meaning in the buildings themselves. This little town of the rejects has more richness than anyplace in America. A book that is basically about nothing really does have so much to learn from and comprehend. From Doc to Dora, you have the largest range of characters imaginable, each with their own contribution to it's inner society. The inhabitants know and understand their own values, even if the outside world can't.
The way that the inhabitants of cannery row view themselves is of saints, angels and holy men. From inside cannery row, you can see beyond the taboo's that most people are guilty of, to really understand the good that everyone does. Dora, the "whore house" owner, is respected extremely well from inside the row. Dora helps whomever she possibly can while retaining her business. She has amazing respect for her fellow neighbors and does her best to fulfill her role in the row. Dora is a business woman who would be socially respected in any other job besides her current one. She knows that she is an asset to the community and does her best to keep the row going smoothly. Mack and the boys are even respected to an extent. They are the backbone of the row. The "bums" have a role to fulfill and they do their best to fulfill tat role. They have a reputation to keep and they"re going to do their best to keep it. Out of all their misfortunes, they"re still able to find good to come. Each person from the row has their own history and their own role in keeping the row together. Each person can rely on each other and are like one big family.
From outside the row, the inhabitants are referred to as whore, pimps, gamblers and sons of bitches. These are the town people, intend ants accountants and owners who retreat to their offices upon arrival at their workplaces.