The spiritual graduations of two bottles of wine, according to John Steinbeck

Posted Monday morning, August 3, 2020.

Detail from Mick Wiggins' cover illustration of the Penguin Classics edition of John Steinbeck’s novel “Tortilla Flat”.

Probably best to stop at the third gradation on the first bottle. Pilon and Pablo should have stopped a thumb down on the second. As you might guess, they didn’t…

Two gallons is a great deal of wine, even for two paisanos. Spiritually, the jugs may be graduated thus: Just below the shoulder of the first bottle, serious and concentrated conversation. Two inches further down, sweetly sad memory. Three inches more, thoughts of old and satisfactory loves. And inch, thoughts of old and bitter loves. Bottom of the first jug, general and undirected sadness. Shoulder of the second jug, black, unholy despondency. Two fingers down, a song of death or longing. A thumb, every other song each one knows. The graduations stop here, for the trail splits and there is no certainty. From this point on anything can happen.

---from “Tortilla Flat” by John Steinbeck.