s of them.” Character behavior was a factor in most of Steinbeck’s novels. In The Red Pony, Jodi’s desire for a pony and love for it kept the reader reading. In Cannery Row Mack and the boy’s inability to fit in was a factor of excitement in the story.If it weren’t for the outrageous behavior of George and Lennie in Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the novel would have never become the exciting story that it is. There is a sense of the characters personalities that show who is in charge right from the beginning of the book. This is shown in the quote from George explaining to Lennie where they are going and the only way that they are going to get the job.“That ranch we’re goin’ to is right down there about a quarter mile. We’re gonna go in an’ see the boss. Now, look – I’ll give him the work tickets but you aint gonna say a word. You jus’ stand there and don’t say nothing. If he find out what a crazy you are, we won’t get no job, but if he sees ya work before he hears ya talk, we’re set. Ya got that?” According to Warren French in his book John Steinbeck’s Fiction Revisited, Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men was originally supposed to be a play. In order for the story to work as play Steinbeck had to use a lot of character behavior. In this quote French describes how the book was written.“Structurally the novel was from the first a play: it is divided into six parts, each part a scene – the reader may observer that the action never moves away from a central point in each of these units. Steinbeck’s manner of writing was coming over quite firmly to the dramatic.” Steinbeck used the familiar valley setting in most of his novels. The image of a beautiful valley was used to offset the disorder and the chaos of the characters. In Cannery Row the town of Selena was set in a valley surro...
