Foreshadows Pepe's long yet manly death " 'When did Pepe come to be a man?' Emilio asked. 'Last night', said Rosy. 'Last night in Monterey.' The ocean clouds turned red with the sun" (Flight). |
When I expressed my esteem for John Steinbeck, I knew that I was inevitably provoking my sister. (My oldest sister and I get along very well despite having polar opposite personalities.) Just as I expect, she immediately advises me that Steinbeck is too descriptive and boring. Even though I completely disagree with her, I let her continue her spiel because it’s pretty funny to watch her argue. Later, I realized that my sister’s desire to defend her opinion is similar to Pepé’s aspiration in Steinbeck’s Flight. The main difference being that my sister established her argument with words whereas Pepé proved his manliness with a knife. I can’t help but feel bad for Pepé though. Steinbeck’s use of non-omniscient third person narrative makes it clear that the Torres family is impoverished and uneducated. Pepé is not taught to articulate his feelings through words. However he is taught to defend his family and he does so by killing the man who dishonors him. More importantly, Steinbeck uses this technique to address the oppression of migrant laborers in
One of the reasons I enjoy reading Steinbeck’s literature is because he often uses non-omniscient third person narrative. This type of narrative makes me feel apart of the story. I think some people may dislike Steinbeck because of his bleak descriptions. In my opinion Steinbeck provides just enough details, allowing me to gradually form a picture in my mind. Then Steinbeck says one vivid word (such as glinting, sloshed or gnawing) which completes the image. The story feels real because Steinbeck’s descriptions depict the harsh reality to life. I can picture myself with Pepé, traveling to
if she reads this post, you might have to talk about it all over again...
ReplyDeleteI am a big Steinbeck fan; I really love Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck really does have a knack for picking just the right word to help you visualize what he wants you to see. The thing I really enjoy though is the relationship he builds between characters, like George and Lennie for instance. George is the guardian and best friend of Lennie who is mentally disabled. No matter how badly Lennie screws up, George is there for him- the beginning of the book is them meeting at a spot George told Lennie to go when he messes up. Although in some ways it feels a though George gives more than he takes in the relationship, they have a true friendship. Also you mentioned harsh realities, which seems to be a characteristic of his writing style. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck depicts the lives of these migrant workers. They are depicted as leading lonely lives moving one place to the next- I know I’m not a migrant worker but I really sympathize for them. Overall I agree Steinbeck’s a great writer. I’ve never read Flight, but it sounds like a great Steinbeck novel I’ll have to read sometime.
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