Of Mice And Men Literary Criticism

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Literary Criticism: Of Mice and Men Listening to another’s unique perspectives and opinions results in a deepens the listener’s understanding of the world. In the same way, reading a literary criticism deepens the reader’s understanding of a writing. By reading Brian Leahy Doyle’s essay entitled, “Tragedy and the Non-teleological”, the reader gains a better understanding of John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men. Of Mice and Men was written in the mid-1930s and takes place south of Soledad, California during the 1930s. Doyle argues that, “Of Mice and Men contains a rising dramatic structure that is deceptively simple and seemingly lacking in the grandiose gestures associated with the tragic form. When he wrote the story, Steinbeck employed a non-teleological approach in its composition: in other words, the novel's- and the play's- action does not evolve out of a series of cause-effect relationships” (80-81). In support of his thesis, Doyle asserts that “Of Mice and Men, then, develops a cyclical structure employing a pattern of events which spirals upwards until the play reaches its climax and then abruptly concludes with the shot from George's pistol” (82). Doyle uses the parallel incidents that happen when Lennie feels a girl’s dress while in weed, and when he …show more content…
The reader may have not previously considered this element in their relationship. The importance of George and Lennie’s symbiotic relationship is easily overlooked, but is essential to the novella’s non-teleological theme. Doyle interpretation of the many parallels in the novella is intelligent, however it’s connection to the non-teleological theme of the novella is invalid. The repetition of events in the novella does not imply that these events do not have a cause or effect. By using this repetition of events as evidence to support his thesis, Doyle is suggesting that it