Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck

“Hey That’s How we Talk!”; The Impact of Realism on the Reader in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men

Realism, how does this element of literature make the reader feel like they can connect to the situations that the characters encounter throughout the story? Of Mice of Men, written by John Steinbeck, is the story of two struggling migrant workers named Lennie and George. These two work on a California ranch where they continuously fantasise about owning a home where no one can tell them what to do or tell them to leave. However, this goal is impossible to reach for the reason that Lennie is unable to handle a majority of situations. Of Mice and Men uses elements of Realism by capturing the dialogue the characters actually used, placing the characters in situations that could actually happen to the average person, and forcing characters to make complicated decisions based on the situations they encounter.

Of Mice and Men takes place in the 1930’s. John Steinbeck does a wonderful job of incorporating the dialogue that people actually used in that time period. There are many instances in which the author displays the conversations that the people of the 1930’s had. For example, George tells Lennie how easy his life would be if Lennie was not around. He says “Whatever we ain't got, that's what you want. God a'mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an' work, an no trouble. No mess at all, and when the end of the month come I could take my fifty bucks and go into town and get whatever I want” (11-12). From this the reader can conclude that the characters tend to slur words together to make speech flow at a quicker rate. They also have a habit of leaving articles out of their speech, such as “the.” In ch...

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...happen to the average person, and forcing characters to make complicated decisions based on the situations they encounter. The ways in which the characters communicate is accurately depicted in the novel by John Steinbeck. The characters often slur words together to accelerate their speaking rate. George, Lennie, and Candy encounter situations that can be reasonably placed into reality. George and Lennie struggle to find a consistent job and Candy is bound to put his dog down. George is compelled to make an extremely tragic decision based on the fact that Lennie will be tortured if he is left alive. After observing all of these aspects of realism in Of Mice and Men, a reasonable question is raised; do all stories contain some bit of realism that everyday people can relate their life to?

Works Cited

Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York: Penguin, 1993. Print.