Cannery Row

This chapter describes the early morning on Cannery Row. At dawn, the street is deserted, and the ocean can be heard. The narrator describes animals like cats, dogs, and seagulls. A woman who works at the Bear Flag returns from visiting a client at his house, and Lee comes outside with garbage cans, but few other people are outside at this time.

One morning, two soldiers and two women walk down the street from La Ida. The narrator describes their clothes and how they switch hats. They greet the bouncer outside the Bear Flag and laugh at the snores from the residents of the pipes in the lot. At the end of the street, they walk along the railroad tracks and then go to a beach in front of Hopkins Marine Station. They sit down there, drinking beer, and the men put their heads in the women’s laps.

A watchman from the station and his dog approach the group, declaring that they’re trespassing. At first, the soldiers ignore him but eventually tell him to get lost. He walks off without the group even noticing.