Compare and contrast for Night and Of Mice and Men: Post 3
Jon, I can totally see the point you made about how much the settings of these two books affect what the main characters have to deal with and what they get out of those experiences. I was also happy to see that you thought the way I did about the fact that Elie and Lennie could be seen as extremely different individuals due to their learning processes. In books such as Night, there is not only one person that is affected by the setting, yet I have developed a sympathy for Elie's sufferings, and this makes it seem like he went through more than anyone else did in the Holocaust (while we both know that is most likely not true). As for Of Mice and Men, Lennie's disability to learn why he was treated so differently made it hard for him to adapt to the setting of his book, and this made the setting a big problem for him. Even though plots can be described as moving the entire story along, they make the most impact on the main characters of books, and this means that Elie and Lennie/George went through significant change from the beginnings to the ends of these books.
In this post, I want to focus mostly on the differences between the writing styles of Mr. Wiesel and Mr. Steinbeck because there are many that can be noticed. Mr. Wiesel wrote Night from personal experience, and this was able to create a dark and realistic tone for it, and while Of Mice and Men might be an earthly book, it is nothing like Mr. Wiesel's book when it comes to voice. The most noticeable difference between these two writing styles is that Night was written in first-person while Mr. Steinbeck wrote in a third-person fashion. Usually, a first-person fashion puts the reader into the shoes of the main character, making the events of the story more powerful, and while Of Mice and Men wasn't entirely hard to connect to, Night's style succeeded in pulling the reader towards it. There is a sense of the innocence of a boy going through pain in Mr. Wiesel's writing, and it gives the reader and opportunity to be that boy for a short while. "When they withdrew, next to me were two corpses, side by side, the father and the son. I was fifteen years old." (Wiesel, 96). Although a third-person style is not the best form of writing, many stories are written perfectly for it, and this makes them interesting all on their own; Mr. Steinbeck's novel wouldn't have been at all the same if written from either the view of Lennie or George since both of their views can be seen in this specific fashion. Mr. Steinbeck had a choice for the tone he gave to his book, and he chose one that would present multiple aspects of his society to the reader, making Of Mice and Men all the more unique and interesting. For example, Crooks can be given action-descriptions to tell things about his character, something that can often be difficult in first-person: "The room was swept and fairly neat, for Crooks was a proud, aloof man." (Steinbeck, 66). On the other hand, Mr. Wiesel didn't really have an option for writing style since his own experiences would most likely get in the way of his imagination if he tried to write something other than a memoir.
Both books bring with them reality, whether written about real events or merely drawn from instances in the real world, and this is something that connects them, no matter how different their writing style. Mr. Wiesel and Mr. Steinbeck both found ways in which to get the reader attached to the characters within Night and Of Mice and Men, making sure to incorporate huge amounts of feeling into their writing so that the reader could go through the same emotions they felt while writing. Whether first-person or third, whether real or imaginary, whether one main character or two, both of these men wrote with such intensity that it inspires those who read their work to make a difference in the world.
What style did you like to read more, Jon? What story was enhanced more due to how it was written in your opinion?
Jon, I can totally see the point you made about how much the settings of these two books affect what the main characters have to deal with and what they get out of those experiences. I was also happy to see that you thought the way I did about the fact that Elie and Lennie could be seen as extremely different individuals due to their learning processes. In books such as Night, there is not only one person that is affected by the setting, yet I have developed a sympathy for Elie's sufferings, and this makes it seem like he went through more than anyone else did in the Holocaust (while we both know that is most likely not true). As for Of Mice and Men, Lennie's disability to learn why he was treated so differently made it hard for him to adapt to the setting of his book, and this made the setting a big problem for him. Even though plots can be described as moving the entire story along, they make the most impact on the main characters of books, and this means that Elie and Lennie/George went through significant change from the beginnings to the ends of these books.
In this post, I want to focus mostly on the differences between the writing styles of Mr. Wiesel and Mr. Steinbeck because there are many that can be noticed. Mr. Wiesel wrote Night from personal experience, and this was able to create a dark and realistic tone for it, and while Of Mice and Men might be an earthly book, it is nothing like Mr. Wiesel's book when it comes to voice. The most noticeable difference between these two writing styles is that Night was written in first-person while Mr. Steinbeck wrote in a third-person fashion. Usually, a first-person fashion puts the reader into the shoes of the main character, making the events of the story more powerful, and while Of Mice and Men wasn't entirely hard to connect to, Night's style succeeded in pulling the reader towards it. There is a sense of the innocence of a boy going through pain in Mr. Wiesel's writing, and it gives the reader and opportunity to be that boy for a short while. "When they withdrew, next to me were two corpses, side by side, the father and the son. I was fifteen years old." (Wiesel, 96). Although a third-person style is not the best form of writing, many stories are written perfectly for it, and this makes them interesting all on their own; Mr. Steinbeck's novel wouldn't have been at all the same if written from either the view of Lennie or George since both of their views can be seen in this specific fashion. Mr. Steinbeck had a choice for the tone he gave to his book, and he chose one that would present multiple aspects of his society to the reader, making Of Mice and Men all the more unique and interesting. For example, Crooks can be given action-descriptions to tell things about his character, something that can often be difficult in first-person: "The room was swept and fairly neat, for Crooks was a proud, aloof man." (Steinbeck, 66). On the other hand, Mr. Wiesel didn't really have an option for writing style since his own experiences would most likely get in the way of his imagination if he tried to write something other than a memoir.
Both books bring with them reality, whether written about real events or merely drawn from instances in the real world, and this is something that connects them, no matter how different their writing style. Mr. Wiesel and Mr. Steinbeck both found ways in which to get the reader attached to the characters within Night and Of Mice and Men, making sure to incorporate huge amounts of feeling into their writing so that the reader could go through the same emotions they felt while writing. Whether first-person or third, whether real or imaginary, whether one main character or two, both of these men wrote with such intensity that it inspires those who read their work to make a difference in the world.
What style did you like to read more, Jon? What story was enhanced more due to how it was written in your opinion?
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