Characteristics Of John Steinbeck's Writing Style

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In a world full of many authors, three have outlived most with their amazing style of writing. They are Mark Twain, John Steinbeck, and O. Henry. Although the world has changed greatly in the past 100 years, these authors are still considered excellent. Their unique writing styles have helped them withstand the test of time. Mark Twain used regional dialect, O. Henry used clever wordcraft, and John Steinbeck used social commentary. These authors wrote some of the worlds best classic writings and are still known today for their works. Mark Twain 's writing style is very unique. One of his stylistic elements is regional dialect. This is when an author uses words or phrases from a certain part of the world in their writing. One book in which …show more content…

One characteristic of John Steinbeck 's writing style that makes it unique is his use of social commentary. Steinbeck lived during some of the hardest times in American history, like the Great Depression, which caused effects on his writings. In his story, The Pearl, Steinbeck uses social commentary when describing how the poor were treated. After the doctor refuses to help Kino with Coyotito in The Pearl, Steinbeck writes, " Why should he, when he had more than he could do to take care of the rich people who lived in the stone and plaster houses of the town?"(p.4). This quote shows how Steinbeck used his writing to tell how the world was at that time, and how people were treated differently based on how much money they had. In The Pearl, Steinbeck also writes,"The news of the baby 's illness traveled quickly among the brush houses, for sickness is second only to hunger as the enemy of poor people."(p.12). This quote shows the type of suffering that was common for poor people during this terrible period of time. It also shows the way that Steinbeck was able to add in aspects of what was happening in the real world to his story. Steinbeck 's use of social commentary in his writings provides us with a vivid picture of how life really was during the Great Depression and other hard times in American history. He gives a true picture of how different people were treated for different reasons, and how people were …show more content…

Henry has a very unique writing style. His clever wordplay is very important in his stories because his choice of language guides us throughout the character 's emotions and characteristics in the story. Because of his clever wordplay, it then helps the readers connect and truly feel how the characters are feeling, and what they are dealing with in the specific situation. In one of his short stories, The Ransom of Red Chief, it is about two men who kidnapped a little boy for money. While the men were thinking of kidnapping the boy, they said, "Philoprogenitiveness, says we, is strong in semi-rural communities therefore, and for other reasons, a kidnapping project ought to do better there than in the radius of newspapers that send reporters out in plain clothes to stir up talk about such things," (pg.1). This shows how his clever wordplay uses description on how the men felt when about to kidnap different children for money and get attention for it in the community. His clever wordplay lets us the readers understand the men’s characteristics toward the little boy. Ultimately, the purpose of his wordplay is to show how much more detail putting into the story can help us better understand about the characters within. The big idea is to express that detail is an important key in writing, and how it should influence others to use clever wordplay to make their writing sound better and to help the readers understand the concept

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