Analyze how Steinbeck fuses field science with literary craft to produce a hybrid “log.” What does this form let him express or explore that a conventional scientific report would not?

How does Steinbeck use his observations of the natural world to reflect upon human society and/or the human condition? How does his time in nature influence his views of human urbanization, activity, and/or industrialization over the course of the narrative?

Explore the depiction of Indigenous communities and the Seri in particular. What aspects of Steinbeck’s text are instructive, and which aspects of his portrayal, if any, may be considered problematic or reductive?

John Steinbeck

Adult

Autobiography / Memoir

Nonfiction

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About The Log From The Sea of Cortez

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The Log From The Sea of Cortez Summary

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The Log From The Sea of Cortez Background

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Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Introduction-Chapter 8

The Log From The Sea of Cortez Introduction-Chapter 8 Summary & Analysis

Chapters 9-15

The Log From The Sea of Cortez Chapters 9-15 Summary & Analysis

Chapters 16-21

The Log From The Sea of Cortez Chapters 16-21 Summary & Analysis

The crew keeps track of days by Sparky’s Thursday and Sunday spaghetti. On Monday, they sail from San Francisquito to Angeles Bay, their last Peninsula station. Tides are large and Tony is “nervous” (180) about the distant tidal bore. At sea, they fuss with the big camera, argue over settings, and abandon the attempt. They enter Angeles Bay through the deep channel between Red Point and two small islets, anchor in eight fathoms, and note new screened buildings and a small airfield with a plane. Locals and three Americans show interest until they learn the party seeks marine animals, then withdraw. The mood of the place feels “sinister” (183). They collect first on a bouldery western shore. High rocks hold anemones, cucumbers, sea-cockroaches, and small porcellanids. Large crabs are absent and Heliaster is scarce. A soft marine pulmonate occurs in great numbers. They take Chiton virgulatus and Acanthochitona exquisitus, clusters of Salmacina, many flatworms, and two Octopus bimaculatus. Below the tide line they see bright yellow Geodia and vase-like colonies of Cliona celata, with a sharp algal shift from Sargassum johnstonii to Padina durvillaei. They move to the northern sand flats of compact mud. They dig Chione and Tivela, and take one weak amphioxus. Long turreted snails carry commensal anemones. Embedded small rocks host rock oysters, ornate limpets, small snails, tube-worms with pea crabs, and another octopus. Rising wind and flood send them back aboard. A large green schooner enters under power and anchors far off without a light. Buildings go dark and the plane sits idle. The crew keeps a restless night watch under an uneasy sense of secrecy.

The Log From The Sea of Cortez

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