Sample Student IOP Prep.

Notes
The following notes were made by a student in' preparation for a presentation on John Steinbeck's use of language, structure, and style in his novel Of Mice and Men. These notes represent the first stage in the student.. preparing ideas that will ultimately be included in the final presentation. Read them carefully and think about the following points:' the range of ideas they contain the way they are structured how effectively they convey their ideas. Commentary: Language, structure, and style in John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men One of the striking features of Steinbeck's story is the realistic way in which it I is presented. His writing shows an interest in the lives of the poor and of the socially deprived. There are certain aspects of the way that he uses language that the reader becomes aware of when reading his novel. For example: 1 The story is written in the third person. In other words, the writer seems "invisible" but readers can see everything that goes on and even what is inside people's minds. The writer of a third-person account can describe characters' thoughts, speech, and actions to the reader. In this story, however, Steinbeck does not use the technique of looking into people's minds very much. In fact, only once do we see directly into people's thoughts. Steinbeck uses simple language and straightforward vocabulary, which means that his story is told in a direct, plain, and uncomplicated fashion. The dialogue is written as it would have been spoken, and Steinbeck makes use of dialect forms. He uses a different kind of speech for different characters. For example, Lennie's sentences are very childlike in character. Curley's language tends . to be full of pent-up aggression and anger. Slang, or colloqUial language, is used in the novel, again to reflect the way that real people speak.

Style Here are some important features of the style in which "Of Mice and Men" is written: The story is a blend of description and drama. When Steinbeck uses description, which is most notable in the first and last scenes, he creates a vivid picture of nature and the natural world, Although not vital to the development of the story, these descriptions form a background against which the story is set and also contain a symbolic importance, The events at the ranch, on the other hand, are written very economically with very little description. Everything there is designed to develop or reveal a theme or a character trait, most of which indicate the fate which is to befall Lennie and George. The dramatic style that Steinbeck intended from the outset consists mainly of dialogue and of short exchanges, and the story is developed through these exchanges. Originally, Steinbeck intended the story to be easily adapted for the stage, and so the writing is very similar to the way in which a play would be written.

Sample Student IOP Prep. Notes

lmagery lmagery is the use of words to create pictures or images in the reader's mind J and is used by a writer to make his or her words more effective and powerful. Although "Of Mice and Men" is written in simple and straight forward language, Steinbeck uses several images as symbols. A symbol is something which is used to represent or indicate something else. For example, he begins with the description of the river and the path and the campsite. Wildlife is referred to only in the opening and closing scenes, which are set by the river. Perhaps here Steinbeck is drawing a contrast between the ongoing cycle of nature and a human being's temporary appearance in this scene, which typifies the transient lifestyle of the itinerant workers. Although animals feature prominently in the plot, the images of them often emphasize the harshness of the workers' lives. They also feature in the descriptions of people, particularly Lennie. He is compared to a bear and a horse, and later in the first scene Steinbeck likens him to a terrier when he shows reluctance to give up his pet mouse to George. Imagery to do with hands is also used in the novel. For example, Lennie's hands are referred to several times as "paws", and the gloved fist of Curley plays an important part in the story. The use of light Steinbeck often refers to light and dark, or sunshine and shadow, and frequently these are used to create atmosphere. The structure of the story When we talk of the structure of the story we really mean the way that the story is put together. This is quite a short story but it nonetheless has a very tight and clearly defined structure and within the structure everything comes full circle. For example, the action ends in the same place as it began. Six central scenes comprise the story Scene One: sets the scene and introduces the main characters Scene Two: we meet Curley and there is the shooting of Candy's dog Scene Three: the damage to Curley's hand Scene Four: the confrontation with Curley's wife Scene Five: her death Scene Six: Lennie's death.