cannery row question

[mister_noel_y2k]

at the end of chapter 28 when frankie the little boy who gets arrested for stealing an onyx clock, the police and doc talk a bit about his "illness" and that they ought to put him away in a cell or hospital because when he becomes a teenager he will get worse. i got the impression that frankie had some mental illness but im not sure what kind. can anyone help? i know its a bit vague but just read the last page of chapter 28 and if you have the answer, please post it, cheers


:banana:

[Scheherazade]

It has been so long since I read Cannery Row... about 15 years I think so I can't remember in detail (only that he was not mentally stable) and I don't have the book at home but Sparknotes says:


Frankie -
A mentally handicapped boy who is neglected by his mother and taken in by Doc. Frankie is incapable of doing any work; he just seems to do everything a little bit wrong. He loves Doc, though, and frequently tells him so. Frankie is institutionalized after breaking in to a jewelry store to steal a gift for Doc. Frankie can be compared to Benjy in Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury or to Lenny in Steinbeck's own Of Mice and Men.

You might like to check the chapter summaries here: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/canneryrow/section7.rhtml