How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
During the previous winter I had become rather seriously ill with one of those carefully named difficulties which are the whispers of approaching age. When I came out of it I received the usual lecture about slowing up, losing weight, limiting the cholesterol intake. It happens to many men, and I think doctors have memorized the litany. It had happened to so many of my friends. The lecture ends, "Slow down. You're not as young as you once were." And I had seen so many begin to pack their lives in cotton wool, smother their impulses, hood their passions, and gradually retire from their manhood into a kind of spiritual and physical semi-invalidism. In this they are encouraged by wives and relatives, and it's such a sweet trap. (2.1.1)
Although it's not like Steinbeck comes off as John Wayne or anything, he does kind of give us a sense early on that his manhood is pretty important to him. You'll notice throughout the book that he talks about ways in which American culture (in terms of religion, psychology, and—as here—health) has gone "soft," and he's totally against that whole trend. This is the first moment he really clues us into that theme.
Quote #2
Who doesn't like to be a center for concern? A kind of second childhood falls on so many men. They trade their violence for the promise of a small increase of life span. In effect, the head of the house becomes the youngest child. (2.1.2)
Although we're sure older women don't enjoy being treated like babies either, Steinbeck makes it a masculinity issue—and he is not down with going gently (and unmanly-ly) into that good night.
Quote #3
I've lifted, pulled, chopped, climbed, made love with joy and taken my hangovers as a consequence, not as a punishment. I did not want to surrender fierceness for a small gain in yardage. My wife married a man; I saw no reason why she should inherit a baby. (2.1.2)
Just in case we weren't absolutely clear on where Steinbeck stands on this whole issue, he says outright here that he has no intention of giving up being "a man" for a tiny bump in lifespan. His motto seems to be "Live fast, die manly."
Quote #4
Somehow the hunting process has to do with masculinity, but I don't quite know how. (2.2.54)
Here, Steinbeck seems to kind of be making fun of the whole notion of expressing your masculinity through an enthusiasm for guns. Mind you, he's definitely not anti-gun or anti-hunting, but he does make fun of hunters who exercise poor judgment or don't have skills (which, in his opinion, is a lot of them).
Quote #5
My wants are simple. I have no desire to latch onto a monster symbol of fate and prove my manhood in titanic piscine war. (2.5.86)
Apparently, Steinbeck is also a little judgy about using fishing to prove one's manliness. For someone who made a big show about how important manliness is to him at the beginning, Steinbeck seems to be against big, showy demonstrations of masculinity. Interesting...
Quote #6
He said bitterly, "If anywhere in your travels you come on a man with guts, mark the place. I want to go see him. I haven't seen anything but cowardice and expediency. This used to be a nation of giants. Where have they gone? You can't defend a nation with a board of directors. That takes men. Where are they?" (3.7.6)
Steinbeck's journalist friend is also kind of concerned about the state of masculinity in America. According to this guy, there aren't any real men to be found—and by that, he means men with guts. Hmm—we wonder what "guts" entails.
Quote #7
"Well, you try to root a few out. We need them. I swear to God the only people in this country with any guts seem to be Negroes. Mind you," he said, "I don't want to keep Negroes out of the hero business, but I'm damned if I want them to corner the market. You dig me up ten white, able-bodied Americans who aren't afraid to have a conviction, an idea, or an opinion in an unpopular field, and I'll have the major part of a standing army." (3.7.8)
Ah, now we start to understand what Steinbeck's journalist friend means by "guts": the ability and willingness to express a strong opinion, even when it's "unpopular." Of course, he realizes that those fighting for civil rights (many of whom are African American) are doing just that, but apparently that's not enough—he wants white men to reclaim that manliness for themselves. Well, alrighty then.
Quote #8
His obvious worry in this matter impressed me, so I did listen and look along the way. And it is true I didn't hear many convictions. I saw only two real-man fights, with bare fists and enthusiastic inaccuracy, and both of those were over women. (3.7.9)
Steinbeck listened to his friend and decided to take him up on the challenge to find a real man... and struck out. Apparently, he only saw a couple of "real-man" fights—and, even then, they were over women, rather than a "conviction," which is really what the journalist friend was looking for.
Quote #9
I drank Charley's health in straight whisky as he ate and licked up the syrup. And then we both felt better. But there was the Narváez party—eight years. There were men in those days. (3.13.26)
Steinbeck is comparing himself and his journey to that of the explorers in the Narváez group, who spent eight long years on their expedition. You get the feeling that Steinbeck doesn't think slurping up whisky and syrup really compares to that kind of long-haul journey.
Quote #10
The doctor gave me pills to give at intervals while traveling so that the ailment never came back. There's absolutely nothing to take the place of a good man. (4.1.28)
This is Steinbeck's comment when he finally finds a kind, helpful vet who cures Charley's bladder issue. Even though he's probably not a "real man" in the sense that the journalist was talking about when he asked Steinbeck to be on the lookout for one, at least this guy is a "good" one.