The Analysis Of The Connotations Of American Naturalistic Literature In Steinbeck’s Of Mice And Men

The rise of naturalism was in the later half of the19th century in France and was spread to the rest of the world as a literary tendency, which exerted a profound influence on writers from other countries. Naturalism was spread to the United States in the late19th century and once became the main literary mainstream. On one hand, American naturalistic literature was influenced by French Naturalism. On the other hand, because there exist different cultural backgrounds and social environment, American naturalistic novels showed its own characters. The thesis selects John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men (1937) to analyze the connotations of American naturalistic literature. The thesis argues that although American naturalistic literature does include a slight hope, the latter is still surrounded by pessimism. Under the influence of social environment at that time, people at the bottom of the society could not escape from their fate of failure and sadness, no matter how they made great efforts. The full thesis is divided into five chapters.The first chapter is an introduction, which includes the origin of the study, the literature review and the framework of the paper.The second chapter explains the connotations of American naturalistic literature. First of all, a brief context of American naturalistic literature is given. The specific historical backgrounds and cultural context determine the differences in the expression of American and French naturalistic literature. Then the thesis analyzes that the pessimistic elements in American naturalistic literature are still deeply rooted even under the influence of American spirits and romanticism.The third chapter examines Steinbeck’s naturalistic thoughts, which are influenced by American naturalistic literature. His thoughts include the pessimistic feelings, which are closely connected with his own experience and social environment at that time. There exists a hope in naturalistic works, but people at the bottom of the society have to face their tragic endings.The fourth chapter discusses American naturalism in Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. It can be divided into two parts. Firstly, under the influence of social Darwinism, Steinbeck emphasized the vitality and free wills of man, at the same time he thought man was bound to be miserable and enslaved by his desires owing to the theory of economic determination. Secondly, Steinbeck was greatly affected by the economic theories in the1930’s Great Depression. He thought man was constrainted by powerful economic structure, especially for those who were abandoned by society. People at the bottom, no matter how they struggled, could not escape from the fate of failure.The fifth chapter emphasizes the context of Steinbeck’s naturalism and the sources of his thoughts. Through Of Mice and Men, the thesis aims to help readers understand the connotations of American naturalistic literature in the1930’s Great Depression.