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Tortilla Flat

 John Steinbeck
 

Key Facts

 
full title ·  Tortilla Flat
 
author · John Steinbeck
 
type of work · Fictional Novel
 
genre · Novel of the California Experience
 
language · English
 
time and place written · California, 1935
 
date of first publication · 1935
 
publisher · Covici, Friede, Inc.
 
narrator · Authorial narration
 
point of view · Omniscient
 
tone · Comical, playful, straightforward
 
tense · Past
 
setting (time) · Primarily post World War I, with the preface occurring before the war—during prohibition
 
setting (place) · Tortilla Flat, California, above the town of Monterey
 
protagonist · Danny
 
major conflict · Free living versus comfort and age
 
rising action · The paisanos partake in several adventures in which they help the poor, rob the rich, and drink lots of wine; Danny's melancholy grows throughout
 
climax · Danny's Party
 
falling action · Danny's Funeral
 
themes · The beauty of simple things; immersion in the landscape; spirituality
 
motifs · Justified theft; wine; helping those in need
 
symbols · The machine gun; the black bird; the Pirate's stash; the vacuum cleaner
 
foreshadowing · Danny's growing melancholy and restlessness is hinted at throughout the paisanos' early adventures
 
 
 
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