Previous
Dora Flood
A man who lives in the Palace Flophouse with Mack and “the boys.” Hazel comes from a poor family of eight children, and his mother named him after her great aunt, who supposedly had life insurance. By the time Hazel himself was born, his mother had already made up her mind and refused to change his name. After attending grammar school and reform school, Hazel emerged “innocent” and rather unintelligent, though he masks this by asking engaged questions. Indeed, this is what he does when he spends time collecting starfish with Doc, peppering him with questions and finding himself disappointed when Doc manages to dodge them. When Mack, Hazel, and “the boys” want to throw Doc a party for the second time, Hazel suggests that they should do it to celebrate his birthday, a suggestion that pleases Mack. Of course, Doc doesn’t tell them his actual birthday, but the birthday party is a success nonetheless.
Hazel Quotes in Cannery Row
The Cannery Row quotes below are all either spoken by Hazel or refer to Hazel. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 6 Quotes
Doc swung his heavy sack of starfish to the ground and stood panting a little. “Nuts?” he asked. “Oh, yes, I guess so. Nuts about the same amount we are, only in a different way.”
Such a thing had never occurred to Hazel. He looked upon himself as a crystal pool of clarity and on his life as a troubled glass of misunderstood virtue. Doc’s last statement had outraged him a little.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
During this conversation, Doc and Hazel discuss Henri’s attempt to build a boat. After pointing out that Henri keeps tearing apart his boat just before it’s finished in order to start anew, Hazel asks Doc if he thinks the painter is “nuts.” In response, Doc says that Henri probably is a bit nuts, but no more so than anyone else. In this manner, he suggests that both he and Hazel are also crazy in their own ways. Since Hazel isn’t someone who normally considers such matters, this is a rather troubling statement. After all, he sees himself as a “crystal Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Du
“The remarkable thing,” said Doc, “isn’t that they put their tails up in the air—the really incredibly remarkable thing is that we find it remarkable. We can only use ourselves as yardsticks. If we did something as inexplicable and strange we’d probably be praying—so maybe they’re praying.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
In this passage, Doc responds to Hazel’s question about why stinkbugs put their rear-ends in the air. Having looked down to see hundreds of the tiny creatures raising their butts, Hazel asks Doc what he thinks they’re doing, and Doc says he thinks they’re “praying.” This baffles Hazel, but Doc simply goes on, saying that the most “remarkable thing” isn’t that the stinkbugs raise their rear-ends, but that humans find this “remarkable” in the first place. “We can only use ourselves as yardsticks,” he says, emphasizing the idea that a person can never step outside of their experience. The best Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Volup
Chapter 30 Quotes
Hazel was so taken by the sound of the words that he had not listened to their meaning. But a little world sadness had slipped over all of them. Every one was remembering a lost love, everyone a call.
Mack said, “Jesus, that’s pretty. Reminds me of a dame—” and he let it pass. They filled the wine glasses and became quiet. The party was slipping away in sweet sadness.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
This passage appears after Doc reads a sad, nostalgic poem to the people at his surprise birthday party. The poem itself is an eleventh-century Sanskrit poem called “Black Marigolds,” which is largely about a man’s memory of a loved one on the eve of his potential death. When Doc finishes reading this aloud, everyone is stunned by how emotional they feel. Hazel, for his part, is deeply moved just by “the sound of the words.” Indeed, the cadence of “Black Marigolds” ushers in a “little world sadness” that settles over the party, but Steinbeck makes no indication that this is Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit.
Get the entire Cannery Row LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Hazel Character Timeline in Cannery Row
The timeline below shows where the character Hazel appears in Cannery Row. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 6
One day, Doc collects starfish with Hazel, one of the residents of the Palace Flophouse. Hazel loves hearing people speak, relishing “the...
(full context)
Hazel and Doc talk about Henri, who is building himself a boat. “He’s got it all...
(full context)
On the way back to the laboratory, Hazel notices stink bugs on the ground. “What they got their asses up in the air...
(full context)
Chapter 7
When Mack, Hazel, Eddie, Hughie, and Jones first move into the Palace Flophouse, they see it as “little...
(full context)
Chapter 13
...day,” he says. “Just kept it overnight and then give it back to him.” Interjecting, Hazel points out that Doc loves parties, but Mack says, “I don’t know, I’d just like...
(full context)
Chapter 23
...are ashamed of themselves. Hughie and Jones even start working at the Hediondo Cannery, and Hazel picks a fight and purposefully loses it just to “feel a little better.” Worst of...
(full context)
...becomes sick, and nothing Mack and “the boys” do seems to revive her. As such, Hazel and Jones go to Doc’s and ask for help. When he comes to the Palace...
(full context)
Chapter 29
...While he waits, Mack and “the boys” prepare to walk over to the laboratory. When Hazel asks how they should transport the cage of 21 cats to Western Biological, Mack says,...
(full context)
Chapter 30
...poem about lost love, memory, and the past. When he stops, almost everyone is crying. “Hazel was so taken by the sound of the words that he had not listened to...
(full context)
