Unnamed section, p. 13 Summary and Analysis

While their vessel is being outfitted, Steinbeck and Ricketts spend time in Monterey Bay, observing the boats of the fishermen and commenting on how the boats reflect their owners. If a fishing vessel is rusting and disorderly, with paint peeling off, the owner is likely to be equally disheveled and careless. If the boat is well-cared for and lovingly maintained, the owner will also be organized, efficient, and in good shape. This leads Steinbeck to expand on his belief that a boat is beyond all other objects in its ability to capture man's soul and shape his mind. The relationship is reciprocal—the boat is a product of the man and visa versa. He then observes that there appear to be some ancestral memories at work in the building of a boat and how man responds...