Tortilla Flat Friendship Quotes

In the Preface to Tortilla Flat, John Steinbeck lays all his cards on the table, explaining what he's trying to do in the novel. He lets us know that Danny's house is far more than just walls and a roof: it's the men who live in it. We also get the idea that the good parts (sweetness, joy, and philanthropy) are just as important as the sad, sorrowful ending to defining the friendship.

Steinbeck wants to make sure his readers understand his characters. He's trying to paint a portrait of a community (Tortilla Flat), but he's also trying to paint a portrait of a particular group of friends. He also compares these guys to legends like King Arthur, Roland, and Robin Hood, which gives Danny's friends some historical weight they might not otherwise have. Steinbeck doesn't want us to just write these guys off as immature nobodys in some random California neighborhood.

When Danny rents his second house to Pilon and Pablo, he changes the dynamic between them. They're not equals anymore, because he is above them economically. When they burn down the house (accidentally) Danny is relieved instead of angry, which shows that he values their friendship between equals more than money or social status.

Pilon is playing fast and loose with the term "friends" when he approaches the Pirate to try to find out where he keeps his stash of money. What's ironic is that the Pirate is so pure and gullible that he doesn't even suspect Pilon's real motives. He ends up moving in, dogs and all, and becoming part of the group of friends.

When Danny starts getting cozy with Sweets Ramirez, the rest of his friends realize that she is a threat to their gang. For one thing, if she were to get Danny to marry her, they'd be out of a house in a second. Also, he's spending more time and energy on her than on them, so they unite to destroy the threat to their friendship.

It's kind of funny that, even though Danny cares much more about his friendships than about money, it's a sack of quarters that comes to symbolize that friendship. But this money isn't just any ordinary money: it's dedicated to a saint, which makes it kind of holy. So this suggests that Danny's friends form kind of a holy union. On top of that, these guys have to trust each other not to steal from the bag, which makes their bond that much stronger.

When the Pirate finally has saved enough to buy the candle for Saint Francis (in Spanish, San Francisco de Assisi), the friends show how generous they are. They get organized so that the Pirate will have good clothes to wear to the church on the day of the presentation, and no one feels selfish or possessive over his own clothes. This friendship is characterized by a "what's mine is yours" kind of a mindset.

Even with all this communal sharing, there's one thing that lets Danny continue to be the leader of the gang. It's his house, but no one really seems to care too much about that, and no one ever pays him rent. However, Danny sets out a rule from the start that no one can share his bed. This shows that Danny is still the symbolic ruler of the group, even if he doesn't get much initial respect.

This weird language is part of the special style of Tortilla Flat, and it indicates an intimacy between the speaker and the protagonist (see our "Writing Style" section for more on this). In the end, this direct address from the narrator to Danny shows us how important Danny is to his friends—they need him to come to life so that the group itself can stay alive.

Even after Danny dies, his friends still respect his bed as his and continue to sleep on the floor. The simile comparing the bed to a military officer's horse shows Danny's position as the respected leader of the band of friends, even after he is dead.