John Steinbeck, American writer and author, said that “in utter loneliness, a writing tries explain the inexplicable.” Steinbeck focuses his writing on society and all its virtues and vices, as seen in The Pearl and Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck depicts verism by focusing on events that occurred in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. He also uses the lessons learned from tragedies to portray verism.
Steinbeck emphasizes the adversity of such problems as poverty and Great Depression. Lennie and George struggle with poverty and embark on a California journey to find any work they can. Steinbeck’s description of George, when he said, “Guys such as us, who work in ranches, were the loneliest men in the world, is a good one. They don’t have a family. They don’t have a home. Homelessness and extreme poverty in America during the Great Depression impacted millions of lives between the 1920s-1940s. Steinbeck, who lived where the story was set in America at the time, accurately described the poverty of the country 90 years earlier.
The Pearl, Steinbeck’s novella, is another example. Kino, who is a poor, Mexican pearl-diver, and his wife struggle to survive on the resources that they do have. The novella portrays the problems of poverty, famine and socialism. Steinbeck uses visual descriptions to describe the poor living conditions of Kino’s family. “Chinks of the brushhouse…corn for the morningcakes” (2-3). Steinbeck uses verism to portray the issue of underdevelopment for common people in this story.
Steinbeck is more interested in the tragic events that he writes about and what can be learned from them. George, in Of Mice and Men kills Lennie, his best friend for life. George always did the right thing for Lennie. Steinbeck captures the reader’s emotions in this scene when he writes “George looked at his gun and shivered. Then he threw the gun away, up on the bank next to the old ashes.” Steinbeck states in his novel that George had no intention of killing Lennie. Instead, he acted out of love. This excerpt helps to bring the concept of adapting knowledge into reality. George was able to gain knowledge by adapting his life.
Steinbeck used a similar focus in The Pearl. Kino’s inability to see the truth leads him to be responsible for Coyotito dying. Steinbeck describes the feelings of Kino and Juana after Coyotito was viciously shot. Steinbeck uses this to capture the audience’s attention and explain how tragic events can lead to knowledge.
Steinbeck is a world-renowned author because of these techniques. Steinbeck’s stories are strong and he uses them to show tragedy. John Steinbeck’s novels, such as Of Mice and Men and The Pearl, reflect the life of ordinary Americans.
