"And George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie's head. The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger. The crash of the shot rolled up the hills and rolled down again. Lennie jarred, and then settled slowly forward to the sand and he lay without quivering. George shivered and looked at the gun and then he threw it from him, back up on the bank, near the pile of old ashes." This excerpt from and the climax of Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is one which demonstrates the complexity and power of a moral and social force over an ordinary man. Throughout Steinbeck's novels and stories, he generally portrayed working-class characters who were controlled or manipulated by forces beyond their understanding or control. He isn't saying that an ordinary person does not have a chance but is stating that people or rather the lives of people can be influenced, thereby shaping the outcome !.
of their life whether for the better or the worse, by circumstances over which they have limited knowledge or control. For example in Cannery Row an enemy that Steinbeck attacks is a destructive force, one which manipulates people into acting a certain way to attain a sense of security by disregarding feelings for others (French 120). By analyzing Steinbeck's writing style and influences on it, forces and themes present in his writing, and the portrayal of characters in his stories, one can understand how and in what ways John Steinbeck represents his characters as common people who are driven by forces which they cannot comprehend.
First, let's look at Steinbeck and any influences on him and his writing style and as a consequence, how they contribute to the concept that his characters are manipulated by pressures which they do not understand or are able to control. Steinbeck was positively fond of people, more than any other writers were and especially fond of men who work for bread in the open air in the fields or mountains (Beach 1).
