How do the context Steinbeck lives in and the use of language contribute to the world he created in his novel Of Mice and Men?

摘要

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a story from the very core of the toughness and harshness of real life, it is a story of no censure, it is the reflection of the world of Great Depression and American Dream from the eye of Steinbeck. In this essay, the reflections of Steinbeck’s plain language and all its features on the world he has created in the novella are investigated, how the language gradually forms up the social pyramid, how it, through the carefully chosen adjectives and adverbs, build the characters, and the social structure of the ranch are examined.udSteinbeck takes the reader on a journey to the world of American Dream along with two contrasting characters, George and Lennie, and through this journey, the reader sees both the top and bottom and middle of the social pyramid in the society, which creates all the unfairness. The social pyramid resembles to a caste system, as shifts through classes are nearly impossible, as the bottom layers, in this case women and black man, are destined to be crushed under the conventions of the society, as the layers depend on money and strength, as the boss stands on the top, and as Lennie, the misfit, do not have any place in the pyramid. While Steinbeck aims to show the reader how this misfit will be ultimately destroyed entirely from the society, he uses the plainest language he could use. He chose to stay away from any kind of ornamentation, or embellishment, he used natural elements, metaphors and similes and gave out detailed descriptions of characters and setting but obeyed no grammar rules, did not grant any complicated diction. The essay acknowledges the compelling effect of the language, as it is the perfect match to tell this earthy story.