Danny

Tortilla Flat is a small district in Monterey, California where a small group of friends led by a man named Danny (and playfully labeled the “paisanos”) carry on with mischievous activities, albeit possessing good natures. After World War I breaks out, the paisanos decide to enlist in the military, and although nobody actually fights, they gain a sense of sudden patriotism. They soon return to Monterey, and Danny discovers that his late grandfather has left him two houses.
 * __SYNOPSIS __**

Danny initially allows the paisanos to rent one of the homes, but is frustrated when they burn it down after a drunken night of partying. After a few weeks of pleading, however, Danny allows the paisanos to move in with him in his one home. With the incoming of his comrades comes the rebirth of their original camaraderie and boyish mischievousness. They begin to engage in quests (Steinbeck alludes heavily to King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table) many of which are questionable but all which are glorious and exciting. Soon one of the friends, Pilon, meets and brings on a new paisano named “Pirate”. Pirate has a large stash of gold that becomes the literal and figurative centerpiece of the friendship.

Over time, the exploits of the paisanos become more noble and even slightly philanthropic. Indeed, in one incident, the paisanos house and feed a member of the Mexican Army and his baby who are in need of shelter. Although they continue to engage in drinking and partying, the paisanos develop an even tighter sense of brotherhood amongst one another. Once Pirate reaches his goal of one thousand quarters, for example, the friends have a party with lots of food and wine. All the while, however, Danny begins to sway away from the intense friendship of the group and questions their worldly pursuits. He believes that his responsibility and obligation to property has diluted his vigor in life and decides to relive his youthful days by engaging individually in a reckless crime spree. Danny leaves the paisanos and begins stealing from everyone in town till the point that they become fed up with his actions and call to arrest him. At this point, Danny returns to the paisanos, having fulfilled his ephemeral pleasures.

The paisanos, however, are distraught at their friend’s volatile state. They decide to throw him a grand party and begin working in the squid yards to make money for the event. Word of the event spreads rapidly, and soon, people from around the town seem to forgive Danny and support preparations for the event. Eventually the day of the party arrives and Pilon and Pablo find Danny sitting lonely on the Monterey pier. They let him know of the party and he leaps up and decides to attend. The party could be considered a success, if it weren’t for its tragic conclusion. Danny drinks three gallons of wine and dances all night. However, in his drunken state, he challenges everyone to a fight, and when no one replies to his challenge, he runs outside and falls off the forty-foot drop outside his house to his death.

Danny’s funeral is a public, ornate event. The paisanos do not attend because their poor clothes would disgrace the sanctity of the event, but they watch from a distance and cry together. That night, they drink wine together and decide to burn down Danny’s house as they believe it should die with him. At the end, they each depart separately.

__**CHARACTER ARCHETYPE ANALYSIS **__ In Steinbeck’s Tortilla Flat, Danny plays the role of the tragic hero, resistant to the whimsical way of life of his paisanos. In the novel, he repeatedly seems to be on the search for something greater than what life affords him. Although he is a direct product of his environment, Danny does attempt to attribute greater meaning to his existence by reliving his previous glory days. Indeed, the shift in dynamic between the original lifestyle of the paisanos and the later one does instigate this degree of change in Danny.

After their return from the war, Danny’s progression differs greatly from that of his comrades. While the rest of his group resorts to developing a new style of leading the virtues of the paisanos, Danny does not fully accept this shift and remains tied to his original way of life. The fact that he inherits property is only testament to his disconnection from the world; he not only is somewhat indifferent to the significant acquisition but even allows the paisanos to seek refuge with him. This not only reinforces his fidelity to the paisanos in an intrinsic sense but evidences his yearning for a greater kind of knowledge and understanding. Regarding his house, he says to Pilon, “I wished you owned it and I could come live with you" (Steinbeck 38). Thus, he treats his obligation to property as a burden and expresses inclinations to embrace a lifestyle free of worldly limitations. However, it also soon becomes apparent that Danny becomes detached from the day-to-day operations of the group. As they scout and eventually pick up Pirate, Danny plays a minimal role in the verdict of the paisanos, even when the group is deciding whether to allow Pirate to seek refuge in Danny's house. At this point, it is apparent that Danny no longer plays a role as the leader of the group, but is a member seeking different objectives. However, Danny does make a clear point on his view on Pirate, saying that “if I had known, I would have asked him long ago, even if he had no treasure” (Steinbeck 69). Thus, Danny’s separation from property and material ownership becomes even more obvious, and furthermore, it underscores the dichotomy between him and the views of the other paisanos.

Danny's separation becomes especially apparent as the paisanos gain local recognition and fame. They gradually transform from a band of petty criminals to a nearly philanthropic group of supporters. They begin to support families in need and advance the infrastructure of Tortilla Flat. Amidst this ideological shift, Danny begins to staunchly question the actions of the group. He wonders if reliving his youthful days will reinvigorate his spirit, and although it does seem to tame him, it has a short-lived effect. Danny soon realizes that the rush delivered from the petty crimes he chooses to commit does not provide him with any greater meaning. His failed attempt to understand the cause of his restlessness is characteristic of the tragic hero archetype, a person who tries time and again to solve his problem but is unable to understand its roots. Danny’s last words symbolize his unfulfilled journey for mental and spiritual attainment. He says, “I  will go out to The One who can fight. I will find The Enemy who is worthy of Danny” (Steinbeck 218). In this drunken state, Danny somehow reveals the crux of his personal complex. He is a restless soul in search of a greater cause and greater purpose in life, unsatisfied from the petty pursuits and simple lifestyle of the paisanos in Tortilla Flat. To Danny, Tortilla Flat is exactly that, a one-dimensional, bland town that paints only one perspective of the world despite the millions of other shades and hues that exist. Although the other paisanos are able to extract extreme levels of internal peace and satisfaction from their lives in Tortilla Flat, it is finally revealed that for Danny, this wasn’t enough. Congruous to Danny’s passing, the paisanos finally take separate paths, perhaps honoring Danny’s personal wish to move beyond the frivolity of being overly dependent and seek internal peace.


 * __SPEAK LIKE DANNY __**
 * 1) Focus on introspective elements of conversation that are not obvious to anyone else
 * 2) Example: <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif;">“Thy mode of living keeps all thy friends uneasy” (Steinbeck 15).
 * 3) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif;">Commentary: In the middle of his conversation with Pablo, Danny complicates matters with this line that is actually an expression of his thought that he verbalizes.
 * 4) <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif;">Belittle the pursuit of material property and wealth.
 * 5) <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif;">Example: <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif;">“When one is poor, one thinks, ‘If I had money, I would share it with my friends.’ But let that money come, and charity flies away” (Steinbeck 23).
 * 6) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif;">Commentary: In this dialogue, Danny discusses how wealth is truly a crutch in personal development and freedom. He tries to show his comrades that their petty exploits for material possessions will not amount to anything intellectually substantial.
 * 7) <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif;">Add in contradictions and oxymorons in speech as much as possible.
 * 8) <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif;">Example <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif;">: “It is a fact verified and recorded in many histories that the soul capable of the greatest good is also capable of the greatest evil” (Steinbeck 43).
 * 9) <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif;">Commentary: Here, Danny states that the human soul is both good and evil, implying that it must be controlled and tempered. However, in the process, he further complicates the discussion he holds with his paisanos who are questioning the righteousness of specific actions of theirs.

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif;">Danny is by far the most introverted and rounded character in the novel. He is initially presented as the rambunctious leader of the paisanos but transforms to a rather transient and contemplative seeker of knowledge, nearly in an ascetic sense. His personal development juxtaposed with the paisanos continued reliance on one other evidences his maturity and complex thought process despite a traditional, familial type of society. He is a tragic hero because his ardent search for satisfaction ultimately leads to his death. However, he does instill a sense of responsibility in his comrades who choose to part ways after his death and attempt to make lives for themselves.
 * __<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif;">CONCLUSION __**

__**<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif;">REFERENCES **__ []

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