Perspectives

Literary movement and genre

Of Mice and Men is an example of a novel written in the realist genre. Realist novels attempt to convey an authentic portrayal of characters, setting, and relationships. In writing Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck drew heavily on his own experiences of working on farms in the Soledad area of California, where the novel is set. He attempts to capture an authentic image of the difficult social and economic circumstances in which many men were forced to live at the time. In particular, Steinbeck pays attention to the dialogue, using non-standard grammar and spelling to recreate the accent and language of real workers, making the interactions between the characters believable and realistic. In many ways, the book can be considered a “protest” novel, because Steinb...