OMAM Progress

OMAM Progress

Last week I took time to reread Of Mice and Men, one of the required reading books that was assigned to me last year. When I first read it I didn’t find it particularly interesting. Although the deep analyses of the writing and techniques used in class helped deepen my understanding of it, I couldn’t really feel anything towards that book. Now thinking back on that, I feel the majority of the reason that that was true was because I was so not accustomed to that form of writing. Steinbeck heavily used slang and colloquial language, which made the reading process somewhat more difficult for me, and much less of a pleasant experience.

The reason I decided to reopen this book was because with the poetry unit in class, I’ve once again been exposed to new types of language and literature. With a broader reading scope than I did in the past, I’ve been able to better appreciate the reasons and motivations that Stienbeck had behind choosing to tell his story in that particular way. His intentional, now somewhat marginalized, way of speaking and writing dialogue gave the characters deeper background and story. Being able to open up the same book and reread it, now with deeper appreciation and understanding of it was a great step towards improving my reading. This experience has further proven to me that knowledge is the opening of new paths and experience is a key to unlocking doors of future possibilities. Of Mice and Men is a personal catalyst towards greater progress. My newfound knowledge has widened my scope, and deepened my appreciation for new literature.