Cannery Row: Social Classes In the novel, Cannery Row, by John Steinbeck, Mack and the boys are treated differently because of their social class, when really they should not be. In society people judge others by their appearance and social standings. Steinbeck is trying to say that all people are created equal and that social class does not matter. "Mack [is] the elder, leader, mentor, to a small extent the exploiter of a little group of men who [have] in common no families, no money, and no ambitions beyond food, drink, and contentment" (13). By this Mack and the boys are classified as bums in s