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William
The cook at Dora Flood’s brothel, the Bear Flag Restaurant. When William—the bouncer who precedes Alfy—comes to the Greek and tells him that he’s thinking of committing suicide, the Greek doesn’t take him seriously. Instead, he says that people who talk about killing themselves never actually do it, a statement that prompts William to grab an ice pick and thrust it into his own heart.
The Greek Quotes in Cannery Row
The Cannery Row quotes below are all either spoken by The Greek or refer to The Greek . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 3
Quotes
And William saw the change, saw first how the Greek knew he could do it and then the Greek knew he would do it. As soon as he saw that in the Greek’s eyes William knew he had to do it. He was sad because now it seemed silly. His hand rose and the ice pick snapped into his heart. It was amazing how easily it went in. William was the watchman before Alfred came. Everyone liked Alfred. He could sit on the pipes with Mack and the boys any time. He could even visit up at the Palace Flophouse.
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Explanation and Analysis:
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The Greek Quotes in Cannery Row
The Cannery Row quotes below are all either spoken by The Greek or refer to The Greek . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 3
Quotes
And William saw the change, saw first how the Greek knew he could do it and then the Greek knew he would do it. As soon as he saw that in the Greek’s eyes William knew he had to do it. He was sad because now it seemed silly. His hand rose and the ice pick snapped into his heart. It was amazing how easily it went in. William was the watchman before Alfred came. Everyone liked Alfred. He could sit on the pipes with Mack and the boys any time. He could even visit up at the Palace Flophouse.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
