Literary Devices in Tortilla Flat
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Setting
Well, for once, we've got truth in advertising: Tortilla Flat takes place in—wait for it—Tortilla Flat, a real neighborhood in Monterey, California, and is all about its quirky inhabitants and...
Narrator Point of View
The narrator of Tortilla Flat is outside of the action but has access to pretty much every character's secret thoughts. Every now and then, the narrator will call him- or herself "I," with statemen...
Genre
Okay, okay: we know that besides the tragedy, some of these genres might seem like a bit of a stretch. So let's start with the easy one. Tortilla Flat is a tragedy because Danny, the protagonist, i...
Tone
In Tortilla Flat, Steinbeck uses words that reveal his intention to elevate his characters to the point of being almost mystical beings. They're really ordinary folks, sure, but the narrator thinks...
Writing Style
In Tortilla Flat, the characters bust out thees and thous like they're in the King James Bible or a Shakespeare play. It makes post-World War I Monterey seem like a weird, kind of exotic place. And...
What's Up With the Title?
What can we say? It seems pretty straightforward: Tortilla Flat is about, well, Tortilla Flat. Right?Well, yes, but it's not quite that cut and dried. By focusing on the name of a community, Steinb...
What's Up With the Ending?
The end of the novel isn't the end of Tortilla Flat, but it is the end of Danny, his house, and the friendships that formed there. After Danny's death, his friends go to the house one last time, an...
Tough-o-Meter
Tortilla Flat isn't too hard to understand: one thing follows the next, and nothing too philosophical comes up. However, the flowery language, as well as the early-20th-century Monterey slang, migh...
Plot Analysis
Danny's back after the War—World War I, that is—and finds that he has inherited two houses from his dead grandpa. He's not too excited by this prospect, but he has no choice but to become a lan...
Booker's Seven Basic Plots Analysis
Danny, our hero, is unfulfilled when gets back from the army, and he's not too happy about having to settle down and be a homeowner. He offers to rent one of the houses he's inherited from his gran...
Three-Act Plot Analysis
The first act really sets up the brotherhood at the center of Tortilla Flat. Danny has allowed his friends Pilon, Pablo, Jesus Maria, the Pirate, and Big Joe to move into his house, which he inheri...
Trivia
When it was published, Tortilla Flat generated lots of critical buzz, good and bad, but mostly good. A lot of people have talked about the ending and about Steinbeck's portrayal of paisanos (source...
Steaminess Rating
Five guys living in a house, running around like fraternity brothers getting drunk and chasing women? You've gotta expect at least some steaminess. The sex scenes in Tortilla Flat aren't too explic...
Allusions
King Arthur (Preface.2)Roland, a French epic hero (Preface.2)Robin Hood (Preface.2)World War I (Preface.7, Preface.27, 1.6, 8.4)