Index Suicide Lines in 'Cannery Row': Survival of the Fittest Conclusion References Imagine being in the throes of mental illness and being told that the the only way to get rid of depression was with shock therapy or immersion in cold water to "shock" the disease. This seems far-fetched today, but it is a true representation of what treatments for mental illness looked like in the 1930s. The theme of survival of the fittest in the essay "Cannery Row", by John Steinbeck, Steinbeck gave insight into what mental health was like in that time period. “Cannery Row” is a novel set in the 1930s that captured the feelings and people of Monterey, where it followed a cast of characters and gave the reader a true depiction of what everyday life was like. Part of this portrayal centered on the lack of mental health and suicide which appeared numerous times in the novel. Suicide was prevalent in Steinbeck's novel, 'Cannery Row,' and is still prevalent, but what has changed today is better access to mental health facilities and services in Monterey. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Suicides Lines on “Cannery Row”: Survival of the Fittest In “Cannery Row,” there were three suicides. The first is Horace Abbeville. Horace had two wives, six children and many debts. In the novel, Horace goes to Lee Chong's shop, who is the local grocer, to pay off his debt. Once Horace paid off his debt by giving his shack to Lee, he went into the shack and shot himself. There were some insights that Steinbeck offered the reader after this suicide. He wrote: "It was deeply part of Lee's kindness and understanding that man's right to kill himself is inviolable, but sometimes a friend can make it unnecessary." This alluded to the fact that human connection is extremely precious and you never know the impact they have on another human being's life. Another suicide in this novel was William, who was the keeper of the town's "brothel". Steinbeck described William as dark and reclusive, and went on to talk about how he had "dark and brooding" thoughts. One day, in the depths of depression, William went to three different people to talk about his suicidal thoughts. First he went to Dora, who thought she could get him out of her thoughts with a joke, and said to William: "Well, do it in your free time and don't ruin the carpets." Then he went to Eva, who was a prostitute for Dora, and told her his thoughts. Eva yelled at William and told him how selfish and dirty suicide is. William left Eva's house and went to see Il Greco, because he said he could rest in his presence. William told The Greek what he planned to do, and The Greek handed William and the ice pick and told him that usually people who talk about suicide are just talk. William then took the ice pick and stuck it into his heart. There were three different people who could have intervened, but no one did. Another suicide was Joey's father. Joey was talking to Willard, who asked him where his father was. Joey stated that his father couldn't find a job for a year, so he took rat poison and died that night. Joey talked about the irony of it, because he said the next day someone came by to offer his dad a job. Steinbeck was conveying the message to the reader to never give up hope. Loneliness, poverty, and depression were prevalent throughout the novel. While this was the case, there were no real solutions to the feelings of hopelessness felt by.