How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
All Monterey began to make gradual instinctive preparations against the night. Mrs. Gutierrez cut little chiles into her enchilada sauce [...] A little group of men who had spent the afternoon in front of the post office, greeting their friends, moved toward the station to see the Del Monte Express from San Francisco come in [...] Little Miss Alma Alvarez, who was ninety years old, took her daily bouquet of pink geraniums to the Virgin [...] of the church of San Carlos. (5.7)
This description of the community getting ready for the evening tells us a lot about the people of Tortilla Flat and their culture. The food—chilies and enchiladas— shows us that there's a strong Mexican influence in this town. The old guys who spend their whole day at the post office and the train station show us that this is a small town that gets its news from outside, in the mail or by train. Finally, the woman who leaves her flowers with the Virgin shows us that this is a Catholic community.
Quote #5
Clocks and watches were not used by the paisanos of Tortilla Flat [...] For practical purposes, there was the great golden watch of the sun. (14.1)
Here we see the connection between the community of paisanos and the natural world. Clocks and watches represent order, civilization, and technology, but time is not so regimented in Tortilla Flat. People here would rather use the natural rhythms of the sun to order their days.
Quote #6
There is a changeless quality about Monterey. Nearly every day in the morning the sun shines in the windows on the west sides of the street; and, in the afternoons, on the east sides of the streets. Every day the red bus clangs back and forth between Monterey and Pacific Grove. Every day the canneries send a stink of reducing fish into the air. Every afternoon the wind blows in from the bay and sways the pines on the hills. (15.1)
Even though this is a description of the entire city of Monterey (not just Tortilla Flat), it also shows us something about the way people live in Tortilla Flat. The changelessness of this place is conveyed through the repetition of "every day" three times, followed by "every afternoon." You get the picture: things don't change much here. One day is pretty much like any other.