What is depth, and what does it mean? Depth is the extent, the intensity, depth is a
distinct level of detail. When someone talks about depth of characterization, they are
talking about the level of intensity that someone is using in order to describe a
character. John Ernst Steinbeck, in The Pearl, Of Mice and Men, and The Grapes of Wrath
describes many of his main characters in great depth.
In Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, a story of two traveling laborers who are on their way to
a job loading barley at a California ranch. The two most important characters in the
novel are George Milton and Lennie Small. They are ordinary workmen, moving from town to
town and job to job, but they symbolize much more than that. Their names give us our
first hints about them. One of Steinbeck's favorite books when he was growing up was
Paradise Lost by John Milton. In this long poem, Milton describes the beginnings of evil
in the world. He tells of Lucifer's fall from heaven and the creation of hell. He also
describes Adam and Eve's fall from grace in the Garden of Eden. By giving George the last
name of Milton, Steinbeck seems to be showing that he is an example of fallen man,
someone who is doomed to loneliness and who wants to return to the Garden of Eden.
Perhaps this is why George is always talking about having his own place and living "off
the fat of the land," as Adam and Eve did before their fall.
Lennie is anything but small physically. He is a big man who is often described with
animal images. In the opening scene of the book his hands are called paws and he snorts
like a horse (Steinbeck, Mice 3). Yet Lennie is small on brains and on responsibility.
Someone has always taken care of Lennie and done his thinking and talking for him. First
his Aunt Clara looked after him, and now George does. He is like a child, a term George
uses several times in describing Lennie to Slim. Lennie has a child's short attention
span and tendency to hang onto one idea stubbornly--the rabbits he will get to tend. He
is innocent and "has no meanness in him."
In a sense, Lennie and George are both small men. They will never be famous or amount to
anything great. Even their dream is a modest one. The ranch George is thinking about
costs only $600. They will have just a few chickens and pigs and, of course,
rabbits(Steinbeck, Mice 56). They will not have to work real hard.
George and Lennie are practically opposites in the way they look and in their
personalities. George is described as small and quick with sharp features. Lennie is
described as big, slow witted, and shapeless of face. George can comfortably fit into the
ranch hands' world. He plays horseshoes with the others and goes along to the whorehouse
on Saturday night. Lennie plays instead with his puppy in the barn and spends Saturday
night in Crooks' room with the other outcasts - Crooks, Candy, and Curley's wife. Yet it
is very difficult to look at George and Lennie separately. Over and over, under Lennie's
prompting, George explains that their uniqueness lies in the fact that they are together.
As Lennie says (repeating George's words): "But not us! An' why? Because... because I got
you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why."
It is said that Sigmund Freud, the famous psychoanalyst, has written that each person
has two sides - the ego and the id. The ego is the person's thinking side, the leader
figure within him or her. The id is the physical side of the person, the body and senses.
George is obviously the leader of the two men; he does all of their thinking. He
remembers the things that must be remembered and instructs Lennie about them. Lennie, on
the other hand, is all body. He "thinks" with his senses. The most important parts of
Lennie's body are his hands. He likes to touch soft things, and he does so without
thinking. That's why he keeps getting into trouble. Lennie crushes Curley's hand with his
hand, and breaks the necks of his puppy and Curley's wife when his hands get the better
of him. It is interesting to note that Lennie gets in trouble only when George is not
around. Steinbeck seems to be saying that a body without a mind controlling it can easily
get carried away. A person must be a balance of ego and id.
Another way to look at George and Lennie is scientifically. Remember that Steinbeck was
also a marine biologist. An important biological relationship is symbiosis.
Many times in nature two different kinds of plants or animals live in what is called a
symbiotic relationship. That means each one needs the other in order to live. George and
Lennie need each other in the same way. It is obvious why Lennie needs George. George
does his thinking for him and tries to keep him out of trouble. But why does George need
Lennie? Lennie is more than just George's companion who keeps him from being lonely.
Lennie makes George special. As George says to Slim in Chapter 3, "Lennie made me seem
God damn smart alongside of him...." He adds, "I ain't got no people. I seen the guys
that go around on ranches alone. That ain't no good. They don't have no fun. After a long
time they get mean." George tells Lennie that he could have so much fun without him,
going into town and maybe spending his money in a whorehouse. But if he did these things
he would be just like all the other nobodies on the ranch. Lennie forces George to keep
repeating the vision of the future farm. George seems bored or annoyed each time he
begins to tell the story, but soon he gets more excited himself. Lennie's enthusiasm
keeps the vision fresh and alive. When George spots Curley's wife's body in the barn, he
says, "I'll work my month an' I'll take my fifty bucks an' I'll stay all night in some
lousy cat house...." George knows he will be just another ranch hand without Lennie. One
other way that Steinbeck hints at George's need for Lennie is that whenever George is in
the bunk house without Lennie around, he plays solitaire. George is basically a loner
without Lennie. So Lennie is right then when he says that George takes care of him, and
he takes care of George.
There is a third way to look at the relationship of the two men - a biblical way.
Remember that the Bible was also a very important influence on Steinbeck's writing.
George and Lennie's story has some strong echoes of the story of Cain and Abel in
Genesis. Do you remember that story? Cain draws Abel into a field and kills him. When God
asks where Abel is, Cain replies, "Am I my brother's keeper?" George is not really
Lennie's brother, but he is the closest thing to family that Lennie has. George is
clearly Lennie's keeper. He also is Lennie's killer. According to the Bible, after Cain
kills Abel, he is forced to wander the earth alone as a fugitive, longing for Eden but
never getting
there. George too will be a lonely wanderer who no longer has his vision of a garden and
paradise without Lennie.
In The Pearl, a story about a poor Indian fisherman, Kino who lives on the Gulf of
California with his wife, Juana and his infant son, Coyotito. They live in a simple hut
and depend on nature for survival. Despite the poverty, Kino is happy, honest, and
hardworking.He is a dignified pearl diver who works hard to support his family
(Steinbeck, Pearl 21). He is a simple and natural being who functions well in the
traditional ways of the village. Kino is conscious of his poverty and knows that money
could buy things that he lacks. He hopes to find a pearl that will guarantee him future
peace. Like most human beings, he wants to get ahead.
Kino depends on nature for his income. When the waters are rough, he cannot go diving.
When the sun sets, his workday ends. The discovery of a great pearl changes Kino's life.
The man who usually hears the "Song of the Family" - the harmonious, soothing message
that all is well in life - begins to hear the voice of suspicion, the sounds of danger -
the "Song of Evil." This song is really a powerful internal voice that he hears when
danger arises, which links him to his ancestors as a sort of built - in protection
against death. It is Steinbeck's poetic way of referring to Kino's survival instinct.
On the other hand, Kino's intelligence and growth in social awareness help him realize
that he and other Indians have been exploited by the rich and powerful. At first,
instinctively, he senses the danger with the doctor and pearl buyers, but it is only
after his brutal encounter with the trackers that he becomes aware of the extent of this
exploitation. He comes to realize that human beings will kill in order to gain money and
power.
As Kino moves away from his natural habitat, he becomes isolated. With the pearl in hand,
he marches toward the city - a symbolic move toward a more complex civilization - in his
belief that he can deal with "civilized" people. He lays claim to the benefits of
civilization - power, money, an education for Coyotito - but soon realizes, when pursued
by the trackers, that he is a victim of the very society in which he hopes to earn a
profit. Some readers believe that Kino brings about his own downfall by going
against the forces of nature. Kino loses more than his social innocence in the novel. He
learns that he, too, can kill to protect his chance for wealth and power.
Some readers point out that Kino is the exploited but innocent man who loses his
innocence when he tries to venture beyond his social boundaries. Others see Kino as the
symbol of an honest, hard - working man destroyed by greed. Still others see him as a man
unable to escape his fate.
Kinos, wife Juana is another important character who is immediately pointed out in the
first chapter of The Pearl. She is a loving and devoted wife, the stabilizing force in
Kino's life. At first you may see her simply as subservient. But Juana has great inner
strength and determination. For example, when Coyotito is bitten by the scorpion, Juana
acts immediately and sucks out the poison. She also insists that they see the doctor - an
unheard of event in the village.
Juana has a strong survival instinct where her family is concerned. When the doctor
refuses to treat the baby, Kino responds by ineffectually punching the gate; Juana puts a
seaweed poultice on the baby's shoulder. She responds with the same kind of direct action
when she decides that the pearl is a threat to her family. She tries to throw it back in
the sea.
In away of categorizing what each character represents, it can be said t
|