What are the distinctive characteristics of Steinbeck's style in - page 1
Keywords: John, Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, Lenny, George, Slim, Style, Curley, Curley's Wife
By Vikram on 30/12/2008
Level: GCSE Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11)
Page Number: 1 of 2 pages: 1 2
What are the distinctive characteristics of Steinbeck's style in "Of Mice and Men"?
When Steinbeck wrote "Of Mice and Men" he conceived it both as a novel and as a stage play, and this affected the style in which he wrote the text. Many of the descriptive passages fulfil the role of detailed stage directions, and the information about different characters almost always comes through dialogue, as it would in a play. The working title of the book also indicates Steinbeck's concerns when writing it; as a narrator it is as if he wishes to record "Something That Happened," not offer commentary on it.
The text opens and closes with evocative descriptions of the beautiful Californian countryside. The description of the Salinas river and the "narrow pool on one side of the ... golden foothills,” creates a peaceful and idyllic scene, with the "willows fresh and green" and the sycamores "mottled white" with limbs that "arch over the pool." This kind of description contrasts markedly with the poor, basic bunk house and the rough and physically harsh nature of the men's lives. In the midst of America, a new land, the richest country in the world, man's society is brash, rough and uncaring.
The nature of the men's lives becomes clear through the description of their clothes and few possessions, but is further emphasized through their conversation. Dialogue is used extensively throughout and it is through what characters discuss and their opinions of each other that the reader learns what is going on and why. It is through Candy's revelations to George, "Curley's like a lot of little guys... He hates big guys," that the reader comes to understand Curley's character, whereas Curley's wife informs the reader herself that she is "lonely" in her discussions with Lennie. Dialogue, then, is a marked feature of Steinbeck's style.
Within the dialogue Steinbeck uses a broad range of dialect which helps to create the setting and atmosphere of the text and gives it an added realism. The dialect also helps the reader to focus on the concerns of the men's lives. They talk of getting the "can," of "pant rabbits" and "bucking barley" and after work "raisin' hell" in a whore house where a "flop" costs "two and a half."
In a move away from the neutral stance of the observer, Steinbeck does develop Lennie and Slim's characters through the use of metaphor and simile. These
Last 5 comments…
There have been no comments posted for this article, but you need to register if you want to be the first!