The two men

Outer characterization

The two men are important characters in “Breakfast” by John Steinbeck. They are not given names, which could suggest that they are symbolic of a wider group of migrant workers. Their outer characterization tells us that they are of different ages: “a young man came out and an older man followed him” (ll. 28-29). The two men are “sharp-faced” (l. 30), have beards (l. 32), and they are both dressed in “new blue dungarees and in new dungaree coats with the brass buttons shining” (ll. 29-30). The older man’s face appears “neither friendly nor unfriendly” (l. 37), which suggests neutrality and a sense of serenity.

When the narrator first sees them, the men’s “heads and faces were wet, their hair dripped with water, and water stood on their stiff beards and their cheeks shone with water” (ll. 33-34), suggesting that the two men have just woken up and washed. The men’s physical similarities could suggest that they are father and son. The younger man could also be married to the woman and the father of her baby.

The story implies th...