Tortilla Flat: The Rationalizations of Desperate Paisanos
Throughout the book Tortilla Flat, by John Steinbeck, there are several cases where the paisanos rationalize the things they do to make them seem better to themselves, and to make other people see things their way. The rationalizations vary, but most are made by Pilon, and are used in some way to benefit Danny, or seem to. The rationalizations come in very early in the book. Pilon finds himself in need of food for himself and Danny. He therefore goes to the neighbor's yard and looks at some chickens, to which he gives an explanation, and rationalization, of what he is about to do. "Poor little bare fowl. How cold it must be for you in the early morning, when the dew falls, and the air grows cold with the dawn...Life is too hard for you, little bird"(15). He then kills the chicken for food. He did, however, feel it necessary to justify the death of the chicken. In his eyes he showed the chicken that it was better off dying for a person's food, than suffering in life. This is an obvious rationalization
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 678
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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