Previous
William
The cook at Dora Flood’s brothel, the Bear Flag Restaurant. When William—the bouncer who precedes Alfy—comes to the Greek and tells him that he’s thinking of committing suicide, the Greek doesn’t take him seriously. Instead, he says that people who talk about killing themselves never actually do it, a statement that prompts William to grab an ice pick and thrust it into his own heart.
The Greek Quotes in Cannery Row
The Cannery Row quotes below are all either spoken by The Greek or refer to The Greek . 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 3 Quotes
And William saw the change, saw first how the Greek knew he could do it and then the Greek knew he would do it. As soon as he saw that in the Greek’s eyes William knew he had to do it. He was sad because now it seemed silly. His hand rose and the ice pick snapped into his heart. It was amazing how easily it went in. William was the watchman before Alfred came. Everyone liked Alfred. He could sit on the pipes with Mack and the boys any time. He could even visit up at the Palace Flophouse.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
This is a description of the moment in which William commits suicide. Having tried to ease his sense of loneliness by visiting Mack and “the boys,” William retreats when they refuse to include him in conversation. He then goes to Dora, who makes fun of his desire to kill himself. At this point, William visits one of the prostitutes in the Bear Flag Restaurant, but she offers no relief, either. Finally, William goes to the Greek and tells him that he’s thinking of committing suicide. Unfortunately, though, the Greek doesn’t know he’s serious, so he remarks that people who talk 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. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam
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.
The Greek Character Timeline in Cannery Row
The timeline below shows where the character The Greek appears in Cannery Row. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3
William seeks out the Greek —the house’s cook—and tells him he wants to kill himself. “I hear like the fella...
(full context)
