A Study Of The Naturalistic Features In Of Mice And Men

This thesis aims to explore the naturalistic characteristics of John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men. Although it is a short novel, it is often regarded as a novel with deep meanings, and it has attracted the attention of many researchers. The naturalistic view of the author can be seen clearly in many places of the novel. The characters are always described as persons subject to the powerful forces of the outside world. They could neither control nor change their destinies and their wishes matters little in a social environment which often seems hostile and destructive.As a successful and prolific social writer, Steinbeck has received much attention from many critics, and his works have been analyzed from various perspectives. Some critics regard Steinbeck as a political writer, and they are mainly concerned about the social and political aspects of his novels. Some other critics trace the development of Steinbeck's arts and narrative techniques. Still others study the Biblical allusions of his works. There are also some new trends which apply Ecocriticism and Feminism to the analysis of Steinbeck's works. However, we can see that current criticism on this novel mainly focuses on its sociological, ecological and religious meaning. Few critics analyze the story from the psychology of the characters. So this thesis will apply psychological theories to explain the naturalistic themes of the novel, revealing the internal conflicts and hidden motivations of the characters, and expose the destructive influence of the cruel reality on human mind.Besides the introduction and the conclusion, this thesis can be divided into four chapters: Chapter One studies the development of naturalism in American literature and shows that Steinbeck's novels often contain naturalistic factors. In the works of Steinbeck, the characters are frequently lower-class characters. Their fates have already been doomed by environment, and they have no way to escape from their destinies.Chapter Two explores the various escaping strategies that are used by the characters to escape from reality. Because the reality is too disappointing and merciless, they find that hiding is an easier alternative to their present problems. Some are hiding in the illusions they have created for themselves, some are isolating themselves from the outside world in hope to protect oneself from harm, some seek refuge in marriage while others try to delay the time of action. However, by explaining the futility of all those methods, the thesis points out that there is no real escape from reality. Those strategies may provide shelter and comfort for some time, but eventually men are forced to face reality again as none of the strategies can offer a final solution.Chapter Three studies the reasons that contribute to the tragedy of the main character, Lennie. His destiny is determined both by the innate weakness of his personality and by the dark forces of the outside world. The absence of George is also an important factor because it means there is no one to regulate Lennie's behavior and warn him of the possible danger. As a mentally weak, socially disadvantaged individual, Lennie's existence is threatened by the hostile environment he lives in.Chapter Four analyzes the influences of social reality on human mind, to expose the destruction of human nature by the cruel, cold reality. The cruelty of the hostile world not only alienates people from each other, but also penetrates into people's mind and causes annihilation and distortion of human nature. It forces people to act against their wish, destroying their hopes and friendship in life. And long times of hopeless life tend to distort people's minds.This thesis employs psychological analysis to explain the internal conflicts and hidden motivations of the characters, and exposes the destructive influence of the cruel reality on human mind. From the above analysis, we can see that the indications of naturalism are pervasive in the novel. Those naturalist descriptions help to convey the meaning of the novel, that is, the hopeless and alienated existence of human being in a hostile environment. The fates of individuals have already been decided by forces beyond their control and they are powerless to change their situation. Leading an aimless, futile life, they could easily become the slaves of their passion and desires and make some irretrievable mistake. In the modern world, one person's fate is determined by his heredity and social factors, and no one is likely to escape from his destiny.