How is Cannery Row like a Tide Pool Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

How is Cannery Row like a Tide Pool - Essay Example As the discussion stresses the starfish prey on mussels whereas gulls break open the sea urchins and feed on the starfish. The black bears also sometimes feed on the intertidal creatures when the tides are low. However, as much as the organisms must avoid the strong currents, wave, sun and predators to survive, they also rely on the constant changes in the pools for food. The creatures that thrive in the tide pool cannot survive on their own. There is some kind of interdependence among the various organisms, where each relies on the other for survival according to Halpern. This way of life in the tide pools have attracted special attention of philosophical writers such as John Steinbeck, marine biologists and naturalists.  This paper outlines that the life structures in the tide pools directly relate to the social structures of the Cannery Row. The mussels and limpets occupy the lowest status at the bottom of the pool whereas the starfish that prey on them and the eels that hide in crevices occupy a status above them. Hermit crabs who are always on the look out for empty shells that might be bigger than the ones they have also occupy the bottom of the sea. However, this structure is often silenced when the tides come back in but begin all over again when the tides move back and the ocean draws back.  The story of the Cannery Row revolves around the people left behind when the Cannery had closed. Mack and his friends (the boys) occupy the lowest status at the bottom end of the social structure just as the mussels.