unded by mountains on three sides and the ocean on the other, Of Mice and Men, was set on a ranch which was positioned in a pristine valley.The Red Pony was a perfect example of Steinbeck placing his story in a beautiful valley. In this quote Jodi is wishing he could go with his father and the ranch hand riding down the valley to town.“Jodi did not ask where his and Billy Buck were riding that day, but he wished he might go along. His father was a disciplinarian. Jodi obeyed him in everything without questions of any kind.” In the book The Life of John Steinbeck Harry Thorton Moore describes how The Red Pony became part of a larger novel. In the following statement Moore tells how once the story was added to the novel the story was enhanced greatly.“The Red Pony by itself was a bit disappointing, but once added to The Long Valley it became a thing of beauty.” It was through Steinbeck’s ability to use dramatic narratives he was able to describe his characters and their surroundings. Through his characters and their surroundings, Steinbeck was able to voice his views of society during his time as a writer. Warren French best described this in his review of Steinbeck’s novel Cannery Row.“Cannery Row then is not even simply an attack upon conventional respectability and an inflated sense of self-importance, although Steinbecks sees these twin evils as the truly destructive forces in a sick world. The novel is rather a defense of poetry.” ...
