How Is Naturalism Depicted English Literature Essay

Naturalism is an artistic movement that rose a great controversy between artists and writers. One of them was John Steinbeck, however many authors dared categorize him as realistic writer. Even he asserted that he did not care about genre. I have therefore decided to answer this research question : How is Naturalism depicted in the character Lennie from the short novel Of mice and men of John Steinbeck?

This qualitative descriptive extended essay belongs to the category of literature. In this essay, I examine Naturalism and explain its origin and characteristics. From amongst those characteristics, I then analyze Lennie’s characterization and demonstrate the influence of Naturalism on it. For that reason, I divide my analysis into six parts, which do not solely comprise a literary analysis of narrative resources and literary devices, but also they include a deep stylistic analysis that uses the peculiar language usage to explain Lennie’s characteristics.

Thus, I demonstrate Lennie is a character that mirrors many naturalistic ideas. One of them is the realness of Lennie, which depicts the objectivity naturalistic writers are supposed to have. Moreover, I explain how Lennie is a token of the naturalistic statement that regards humans as primitive beings. Likewise, I then argue that Lennie has no free will and acts after being influenced by his environment or his own primitive instinct, showing once more a naturalistic idea of determinism. Finally, after evidencing that George does not attribute any responsibility to Lennie for his bad actions, I prove another naturalistic statement that forbids authors from showing any kind of moral judgment.

INTRODUCTION

No doubt John Steinbeck was a hard-to-categorize author. Many authors have regarded him as a realistic and a sort of romanticism writer whereas others state that he is a naturalistic writer. Steinbeck emerged from a world of Experimentalism in which new forms of aesthetics and themes were being created and mixed. Moreover, this author stated, in one of his letters, as cited by Fredik Eliasson [1] , that he did not care about genre and, in another one, that a writer ought to do all work himself, avoiding taking advice from others.

In the meantime, American Naturalism was a literary movement rising a great controversy between scholars. Darwin’s ideas caused a large disceptation, in which many people adopted and argued in favor of Naturalism. Then, in a world heading for globalization, why would John Steinbeck avoid being influenced by others?

Given the context, I have formulated the following research problem : How is Naturalism depicted in the character Lennie from the novel Of mice and men of John Steinbeck? Throughout all this work I will try to answer this question. Therefore, it will be very important to stress that this qualitative-descriptive extended essay will not only focus on discovering what naturalistic characteristics are depicted in Lennie, but also on what devices Steinbeck used to let Lennie convey those features. Moreover, I would label this research as important because this work will not only focus on imagery and descriptions in the novel, but also there will be a stylistic analysis, which will be much better than a merely isolated literary analysis.

In this essay, I will show how Steinbeck conveys some naturalistic ideas through the character of Lennie of his novel Of mice and men. In the first chapter, I will examine what Naturalism is and what its characteristics are. After this brief definition, I will discuss how John Steinbeck conveys naturalistic ideas in the characterization of Lennie, for which I will divide this analysis into six parts. After that, I will make some conclusions about it.

CHAPTER 1: Background to Naturalism

Naturalism is a literary movement that took place between the late 19th century and the middle 20th. It stems, according to the “The Oxford companion to American literature” [2] , from French literature, in which Émile Zola was the outstanding figure. This author wanted to form a literature ruled by science, that is, a literature that was not going to be an art anymore, but a science. He explicated his theory, as cited by Fredik Eliasson [3] , in his vast study “Les Rougon-Macquart”, in which human beings are regarded as “human beasts” and he asserts that they can be studied through their relationships to their environment.

The previous ideas were on the basis of the philosophical doctrine of biological and social determinism [4] . On the one hand, the former derived from Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. Although he never applied his theories to human behaviour, they were used to examine how one’s situation was determined by biological aspects [5] . On the other hand, the latter was influenced by the ideology of Marx, which canvased the social and political situation of American urban life [6] .

As set before, naturalistic works were basically defined by determinism. It stated that people are controlled by their instinct, their passions and their social and economic environment [7] . Therefore, humans should be considered as if they did not have free will. Furthermore, determinism, as established by Kathryn VanSpanckeren, “denies religion as a motivating force in the world and instead perceives the universe as a machine, godless and out of control” [8] .

Then, due to the lack of free will, it would make no sense to judge human behaviour, for humankind does not made decisions by itself. Zola, in his essay “The experimental novel”, related the scientific method to literary works. He said: “the experimental novelist is therefore the one (…) who does not interpose his personal sentiments” [9] . Thus, novels had to be as objective as possible because naturalistic writers were supposed to offer a scientific view of reality, in which neither an illusion nor a moral judgment had to be included [10] .

Among themes in Naturalism, the literary critic Walcutt could recognize four themes: Determinism, survival, violence and taboo [11] . The theme of determinism has already been explained. The theme of survival stems from the application of determinism to biological competition, which points out men can, due to their origin in animals, behave like them. The theme of violence is related to survival, because as everybody tries to survive, they have to damage each other in order to outlive. Finally, the last theme is taboo, which includes sex, disease, bodily functions, obscenity and depravity.

On the whole, Naturalism regards humans as beings fated to obey their natural instinct and environment, depicting a reality in which they can not be criticized. Taking the information given into account, in the next chapter it will be seen that realism, which is result of objectivity, primitive and animal characteristics, environmental influence and the lack of free will and moral judgment will be used to analyze the characterization of the character chosen.

CHAPTER 2: Naturalism in the character Lennie from “Of mice and men”

Of mice and men is a playable novel of John Steinbeck published in 1937. This author was the winner of a Nobel Prize in literature thanks to his novel The Grapes of Wrath. Of mice and men is known on account of its themes of friendship and American dream. The two main characters are Lennie and George. In the following sub-chapters, I will focus on Lennie, a round and static character that is mainly characterized by indirect characterization.

Realistic characteristics of Lennie

One of the main and notable characteristics is the representation of reality. John Steinbeck takes advantage of descriptions and speech in order to present how the people of those times were. Thus, he is also stressing the objectivity of Naturalism, which states that everything has to be described as it is in real life.

First of all, since the third-person narrator is omniscient, the novel becomes more objective. Furthermore, the use of a description of Lennie’s dress, given in the opening chapter, depicts some characteristics of real workers. It can be seen in the narrative discourse: “Both were dressed in denim trousers and in denim coats with brass buttons. Both wore black, shapeless hats and both carried tight blanket rolls slung over their shoulders” [12] . Here, the fact that they carry their blankets let us know, since the beginning, that they have no place to live. What is more, the use of the pronoun “both” extrapolates these characteristics to every person who is in the same situation, that is to say, any other rancher who is working hard to survive misery.

Secondly, there is a great contrast between the language used in the voice of the narrator and the speech of Lennie and all characters in general. The former contains a Standard English whereas the latter presents a Vernacular English. As stated by Johanna Seppälä, in her short study “Vernacular English in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men” [13] , this kind of language shows extensions of the s-ending to all verb forms, omissions of the auxiliary verb in the present perfect, double negation, reduction of words and use of colloquial phrases and words. Thus, we can see that Lennie is uneducated like the way workers of that period were. Therefore, this another reason to believe that this novel has a great deal of realism, which is a naturalistic characteristic.

Primitive behaviour of Lennie

Another characteristic of Naturalism in Lennie is his primitive behaviour. Clearly he is a childlike person and it will be demonstrated through the analysis of his actions, his speech and what other characters think and say about him.

To start with, one of the most repetitive narrations, that will let readers know Lennie is like a child, is the act of smiling and its synonyms such as “grin”, “giggle”, “chuckle”, and “laugh”. By analyzing the setting and the situation in which Lennie feels pleased, happy or is being friendly, one can infer Lennie laughs because of pride. For instance, he smiles when he is able to remember what happened in Weed, the previous ranch in which he worked, and what George had told him about not saying any word. Also, when he feels proud to strike Curley, the son of the owner’s ranch, and when he hears George saying that he was as strong as bull. Definitely, Lennie fits the description of a child that feels pride when doing something correctly and being congratulated.

Continuing, Steinbeck used suspension points when he wrote Lennie’s speech. This device creates a pause which can endure more than a single period or comma. Therefore, this pause could mean he stops for a while until he remembers what he has to say. Here are some examples: “I remember some girls come by and you says . . . you says . . .” [14] , ” “I . . . I ” Lennie thought. His face grew tight with thought. “I . . . ain’t gonna say nothin’ (…)” [15] , “Because . . . . because I got you (…)” [16] and “I . . . I ain’t gonna . . . say a word” [17] . Suspension points are also seen by the time Lennie is constructing the ideas that he wants to express: “I was jus’ playin’ with him . . . an’ he made like he’s gonna bite me . . . . an’ I made like I was gonna smack him . . . an’ . . . an’ I done it. An’ then he was dead” [18] . As it can be seen, Lennie stops when he finishes telling a sentence and then he continues talking. This is similar to the way children learn to talk and, therefore, it is another reason why Lennie should be labelled as a child.

Finally, one peculiar characteristic he has is forgetfulness. When George is talking to Lennie in the beginning of the novel he says: “I gotta tell you again, do I? (…) O.K-O.K. I’ll tell ya again” [19] . Here the adjunct “again” forms an iterative narration and, thus, it let us know that it is not the first time he forgets something. As he can not remember things, he also takes trouble to learn them. When George says: “You say that over two, three times so you sure won’t forget it” [20] and “(…) Say it over to yourself, Lennie, so you won’t forget it” [21] he shows that Lennie needs to repeat words in order to interiorize them, which seems to be a sign of subnormal intelligence. Likewise, because of his retardation, Lennie is regarded as a child. Indeed, he is compared to kids and babies. For instance, when he cries, George tells him: “Blubberin’ like a baby!” [22] . It is also seen when Slim asks George: “He’s jus’ like a kid, ain’t he?” [23] and then George replies: “Sure he’s jes’ like a kid” [24] . Moreover, even Curley’s wife uses the adjective sonny to call him: “What you got there, sonny boy?” [25] and then she says: “Jus’ like a big baby” [26] . As it can be seen, the abundance of viewpoints from different characters states that Lennie unquestionably behaves like a child, which should be considered as primitive behaviour.

Animal Behaviour of Lennie

Edmund Wilson holds, as cited by Susan Shillinglaw [27] , that Steinbeck’s characters were more nearly animal than human. No doubt, this assertion is valid when discussing Lennie’s characterization because, in the next argument, it will evidenced that Lennie, by means of imagery, a peculiar diction and foreshadowing, is presented as if he had animal features.

Throughout all the novel, the narrator compares Lennie to a bear and a horse three times. His motion is compared to “(…) the way a bear drags his paws” [28] in both the beginning and the end of the novel. Moreover, there is a comparison to a horse because, as the narrator says: “[Lennie was] snorting into the water like a horse” [29] . The latter differs from the former because it points out that Lennie has not good manners. Nevertheless, they have two things in common: they symbolize strength and great size. Hence it can be stated that the most outstanding characteristics in Lennie are physical, whereas the intellectual ones are subnormal.

The comparison to animals is mirrored by diction. In the first chapter, a simile compares Lennie to a ” terrier who doesn’t want to bring a ball to its master” [30] . Moreover, when he fights against Curley, the narrator describes the scene using the following words: “Lennie covered his face with his huge paws and bleated with terror” [31] . Here the noun “paw” and the verb “bleat”, which means to make the sound of sheep and goats, convey Lennie’s similarity to animals. Finally, he is also referred to as a cuckoo by Slim. “Cuckoo” is synonym of “mad and senseless” [32] but, at the same time, as defined by the Encyclopædia Britannica, it represents”any of numerous birds of the family Cuculidae” [33] . The polysemy of this word could have been used to label him as a mad person and simultaneously compare him to an animal. Thus, Steinbeck presents, again, Lennie with animal characteristics.

Another device used for describing Lennie is foreshadowing. As cited by Byung-Chull Bae and R. Michael Young [34] , S. Chatman defines it as “hints of what is to come”. That is exactly what can be seen in the novel when Candy’s dog is shot at its head because the workers regard it as a dog that does not deserve to continue suffering. Lennie is implicitly compared to this animal when in the end of the novel George shoots at him, for otherwise he would be murdered cruelly.

Influence of the environment on Lennie

Naturalism states that human beings are the product of their social environment. Next, it will be shown that Steinbeck conveyed this idea by means of diction, the symbolism of George and his speech.

First of all, one should understand what George symbolizes. According to the definition given by Steven Croft and Helen Cross in their book “English for the IB Diploma”, “(…) a symbol is simply a feature whereby a word or phrase represents something else (…)” [35] . If George is to be considered as a symbol, one should say that he symbolizes Lennie’s social environment because George has been like Lennie’s family for a long time and has been looking after him since they met.

When the narrator introduces Lennie and George, he uses a peculiar language when referring to their position. The voice of the narrator starts saying: “one stayed behind the other” [36] , by which readers do not know neither who is behind nor who is forward. Immediately, George’s appearance is described, letting readers know he is small. At first sight, one can imagine the small one must be following the other. However the narrator says: “Behind him walked his opposite” [37] and readers, thus, can imagine he is bigger than the other and nothing similar to the first one’s appearance. In this situation, despite his size, Lennie is the follower and, therefore, here a hint appears to point out that Lennie is certainly dependent upon George.

That dependence upon George can also be seen in the imitation. When George “replaced his hat, pushed himself back from the river, drew up his knees and embraced them” [38] , Lennie did the same and the author used the adjunct “exactly” and the same lexicon for describing both George and Lennie’s actions. What is more, he does not just do it , but he also watches George again to see whether he is doing it right. The adjunct “immediately” is used when Lennie imitates George at their arrival at the bunk house. Hence, it can be stated that humans beings, symbolized by Lennie, imitate and copy what they see in their environment, symbolized by George.

Moreover, George’s speech reveals that Lennie “(…) sure can take orders” [39] . When he is talking to Slim, he says: “[Lennie] can do anything you tell him” [40] and “jus’ tell Lennie what to do an’ he’ll do it if it don’t take no figuring” [41] . George knows Lennie can do everything he asks him to and that is why he “turns to Lennie and says, “Jump in.” An’ he jumps” [42] . After that, Lennie is very grateful, for George saves him from drowning, and forgets he had told him to jump. Here Lennie shows that he would not criticize any order he receives from George. Therefore, we can conclude that, according to this novel, environment has a determining influence on human beings.

No free will in Lennie

George says in one of his speeches: “[Lennie] can’t think of nothing to do himself (…)” [43] . It shows the idea of determinism which states that humans beings have no free will. In this sub-chapter, it will be demonstrated how Steinbeck conveyed this idea by means of mainly peculiar use of language.

To start with, when Lennie was asked to give a mouse away, “his hand went into the pocket (â€¦)” [44] in order to do what was being asked. However, Lennie did not want to do it and “held his closed hand away from George’s direction” [45] . Nevertheless, despite his effort, “Lennie’s closed hand slowly obeyed” [46] . By looking at the subjects and the objects, it can be seen that his hand is doing the actions, in the first and last quotation. It tries to hand it over to George, but, when Lennie acts as the subject and his hand is the object, it seems that he has to order it to be away from George. As Lennie’s hand surrenders the mouse over to George, one could infer that however much Lennie tries to avoid doing something against his will, he can not refrain from that.

A similar situation is seen when Lennie has the mouse for the second time. Before handing the mouse over, Lennie makes “an elaborate pantomime of innocence” [47] trying to find mercy in a situation in which he can not do anything to avoid the loss of the mouse. Then he looks cornered and Steinbeck uses the following words: “Lennie hesitated, backed away, looked wildly at the brush line as though he contemplated running for his freedom” [48] . Here Lennie clearly shows that he does not want to obey George. After that, the adjunct “reluctantly” is used to describe the way he is trying to leave the mouse. Lennie, still indecisive, is in a great dilemma in the following extract: “Lennie approached, drew back, approached again” [49] . As it can be seen, by means of an antithesis, the author shows that Lennie doubts as to the two totally different options he has: “to approach” and “to drew back”. Nevertheless, “George snapped his fingers sharply, and at the sound Lennie laid the mouse in his hand” [50] , showing once more that he can not follow his will, because he has to do what his surroundings (George) tell him to do.

Moreover, his body can be characterized as that of an entity that acts following its primitive instinct. It is evidenced when Lennie kills Curley’s wife. This event started when “Lennie’s big fingers fell to stroking her hair” [51] . Then she asked him to stop, but “Lennie’s fingers closed on her hair and hung on” [52] . She started to shout, but “Lennie’s other hand closed over her mouth and nose” [53] . The fact that Lennie’s fingers and hand are the subjects in these sentences shows how he loses control of his own body. Afterward, “he looked down at her, and carefully he removed his hand from over her mouth” [54] , realizing, thus, that she was dead. In the previous sentences, Lennie is the subject, showing that he regains control of his body, but it is too late, for “his hand” had already killed Curley’s wife.

No moral judgment on Lennie’s behaviour

Likewise, as stated previously, human behaviour can not be criticized, for it is the product of the environmental influence. Next, it will be demonstrated that this idea is presented by Steinbeck by means of George’s speech.

When George and Slim talk about Lennie, they say, repeating many times, that he is not mean. For example, after killing Curley’s wife, Lennie flees the ranch and then George says: “Lennie never done it in meanness (â€¦)” [55] , “He never done this to be mean” [56] and, finally, “He di’n’t know what he was doin’ ” [57] . In fact, they say he does not act by malice but by unconsciousness of what he does. Another example is given after striking Curley, when George directly tells Lennie: “You done jus’ what I tol’ you to (…) You ain’t done nothing wrong” [58] . Thus, it is stated that somebody is not responsible for what they do because they just act unconsciously in response to their environment.

CONCLUSIONS

Taking everything into account, I can confirm the initial assertion which stated that John Steinbeck conveys some ideas of Naturalism. Use of similes, spoken language, peculiar diction, iterative narrations, descriptions and the voice of the narrator aid to characterize Lennie and, therefore, let readers see the naturalistic ideas conveyed in this character in the short novel Of mice and men of John Steinbeck.

Steinbeck introduces Lennie as a realistic character that depicts a portrait of human beings who behave senselessly and show primitive features that approach the Darwinian idea which states that we all humans and animals had an origin in common. Although Lennie can not do things by himself and is almost always waiting for orders, he follows his natural instinct, which is demonstrated by his division into two entities: himself and his body. Moreover, Through the relationship between George and Lennie, Steinbeck conveys the main theme of Naturalism: determinism, which is evidenced in George’s influence on Lennie to act. Finally, as George said, Lennie has not free will and is not conscious of what he does. Therefore, he can not be criticized by other people. All in all, the previous characteristics of Lennie convey naturalistic themes that simultaneously bring the influence of Naturalism on Steinbeck out into the open.

Having concluded this extended essay, I bid researchers to continue studying this topic. As it could be seen, I limited the scope to one character, which permitted me to reserve space for an exploration of it in considerable depth. Then, other essays could formulate some research questions from the following questions: How is Naturalism depicted in other characters from this novel?, is there any trace of moral judgment in this novel?, how is friendship, label of the relationship between George and Lennie, related with Naturalism? and how is Naturalism depicted in other novels of John Steinbeck? By answering these questions there will be a deeper understanding of the author and the themes he intended to transmit.

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