Introduction
In this paper, the description of two vulnerable characters from the play An Inspector Calls by John Boynton Priestley and the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck will be compared; particular attention will be paid to the techniques of character presentation.
Character Description and Behaviour
The only truly vulnerable character of the play Of Mice and Men is Eva Smith (who also had to change her name to Daisy Renton). The most noticeable feature of the character is the fact that she never appears in the play in the flesh and is only described by other characters. At the same time, the fact that she is the central character is undeniable: every “tangible” character of the play knows about her and speaks about her.
Mr. Birling supposes that she is “country-bred” (Priestley, 1992, p. 14). She is obviously pretty, which was the reason for Sheila to fire her. She is also described as lively twice (by Mr. Birling and the Inspector (Priestley, 1992, pp. 14, 28). While being a vulnerable character, Eva is not a weak one. She appears to have strong moral principles (refuses the stolen money that could have helped her) and the words of the women of Birling’s home could indicate that she has dignity and self-respect. For example, Mrs. Birling and Sheila both call her “impertinent” as they obviously expect a person of lower social class to be meek and timid. (Priestley, 1992, pp. 24, 30). The Inspector also points out that she has never harmed anyone.
Other characters of the play could also be described as having some vulnerability. An example is the alcoholism issue of Eric, but it ends up making him dangerous rather than vulnerable due to their social status (Eric rapes Eva when he is drunk).
In the novella, there are many more vulnerable characters. Vulnerability does not even elude those who are supposed to have more power than the working class: Curley’s wife, for example, is vulnerable because of her gender, she has to live with the man she does not love, which makes her miserable and is the reason for her unwise acts. In fact, she is even deprived of a proper name, which makes her seem to be a property rather than a person. Curley, on the other hand, is made vulnerable by the behavior of his wife, which, however, makes him more dangerous than truly vulnerable due to his social status. The issue of power misbalance is also clearly pronounced in the novella. Still, the most vulnerable character is Lennie Small, and he will be the focus of this paper to maintain the balance of a character per work.
Unlike Eva, Lennie is very tangible; in fact, his condition is most specific and unusual. While most of the characters of the novella are vulnerable in one or another way, they are capable of taking care of themselves. Lennie cannot do even that: he is mentally impaired: “aināt bright. Hell of a good worker, though. Hell of a nice fella, but he aināt brightā (Steinbeck, 2000, p. 18). He is gentle: “I like to pet nice things with my fingers, sofā things.” (Steinbeck, 2000, p. 44). His dream is simple: to have a farm with rabbits to tend to, to “live on the fatta the land’” (Steinbeck, 2000, p. 43). He is similarly simple in his actions: he does without thinking (for example, mentioning ketchup, which makes George mad since they can’t have ketchup), and his feelings are very obvious.
Social, Mental, and Physical Status
Eva is a working-class woman, which means that she is twice discriminated at the time. She appears to have no family and works to support herself. She is sane, but her continuous misfortune makes her commit suicide. As a woman, Eva is a weaker person than some of the other characters, which leads to the possibility of physical and sexual abuse. Lennie, on the other hand, possesses immense physical strength: he is “a huge man” with “wide, sloping shoulders” (Steinbeck, 2000, p. 2). Still, since Lennie is mentally disabled, he cannot control his strength properly and becomes a threat to everyone, including himself. His social position is not an asset either since he is a mere worker. To sum up, both characters are vulnerable in numerous ways which lead to the troubles that they encounter.
Relations with other Characters
Eva was mistreated by every character in the play except for the maid and the inspector. For example, she was fired by the family members twice, she was forced to accept the suggestion of Gerald to become his mistress, she was raped and got pregnant with Eric’s child. To sum up, Eva is completely alone. She is not supported by anyone; the organization that is supposed to help women in her condition does not fulfil its mission because of Mrs. Birling.
In the novella, there are several people who are kind to Lennie (Slim), and one of them is a very devoted friend (George); but these people are as helpless as Lennie himself, especially before the characters who can (Curley’s wife) and want (Curley) to hurt him. Curley is cruel to Lennie because he envies his height and strength; Curley’s wife flirts with Lennie, and it is dangerous for him. When Curley’s wife is accidentally killed by Lennie, no one can help him, and George chooses to kill him to spare him.
In the end, the two vulnerable characters are in the same position, exposed to abuse from those who are more privileged and (in Eva’s case) stronger.
Play and Novella
The setting is very different geographically: Of Mice and Men takes place in California, the US, close to Salinas River and Gabilan Mountains while An Inspector Calls is situated in the UK, in the North Midlands. The play takes place in 1912 while the novella (published in 1937) features the times of the Great Depression (Priestley, 1992, p. xiv; Steinbeck, 2000, p. vii). The situation defines the problems that the characters face: financial troubles caused by social inequality and (in the second case) the economic crisis as well as the relative insecurity of the working class.
The instruments and opportunities suggested by the genres are different, which is why they are worth mentioning. In the context of a play, the character would primarily be described by his or her lines and the remarks, but for non-tangible Eva, it is the words of others that describe her as well as her actions. Her actions are mostly the things she had to do to survive, but few conclusions about her character can and have been made. In the context of the novella, opportunities are richer, but Steinbeck does not use all of them, preferring to describe only the noticeable expressions of the character’s feelings and thoughts. For Lennie, his emotional state is immediately visible: he cries, begs, giggles, and makes more grammar mistakes than usual when he is excited or sad. Indeed, the language used by the character defines him as uneducated (which is the case with characters of the novella in general): it includes vernaculars (gotta, kinda), grammar mistakes (knew), dropped consonants, and so on.
The methods used to describe the two characters are different, and this is what defines their specifics.
Characters and Social Comments: A Conclusion
The two characters have similarities and differences. Their vulnerability is socially conditioned, and both of them have a feature that would have been a strength if not for this position. In Eva’s case, it is her moral principles; for Lennie, it is his strength. Neglected and cast away by the cruel, uncaring society, they both die, but the conflict between them and the society progresses differently. Eva stands alone and is already dead by the beginning of the play; Lennie, seen alive and breathing, is supported by his friends who, unfortunately, do not have the strength to protect him. The intangibility of Eva serves to make her more unreal and “general,” that is, to turn her into a symbol rather than an actual person. The misfortune that plagues her is very strongly associated with the class, in general, not just one girl.
Lennie is much more personified. While he does appear to be the central character (the story begins because of his actions and ends with his death) he is surrounded by characters that are more or less equal to him. As a result, while Lennie’s story does contribute very much to the atmosphere of inequality and unfairness (of fate as well as people), he does not need to be turned into a symbol. In fact, de-characterizing him would make sympathizing with him more difficult. That is why Eva does not even have to appear in the play, staying a spirit of the vulnerable. Lennie, on the other hand, is a tangible victim of the world where the vulnerable are not protected by anyone but similarly vulnerable people, whose possibilities are very limited.
References
Priestley, J. (1992). An inspector calls. Oxford: Heinemann Educational.
Steinbeck, J. (2000). Of mice and men. London: Penguin.