Literary Techniques Used In The Turtle, By John Steinbeck

For any animal, living in the wild can be hard to face. Protecting yourself, finding food, finding shelter is just some of the things wild animals have to go through. This story beautifully captures that even during the Great Depression, animals suffered too. Not only during that time period, but any time before and beyond it as well. The setting and character used in “The Turtle” are crucial because it emphasize the unfortunate climate the turtle lives in, shows the struggles and dangers of being an animal in the wild, and draws attention to how hard the turtle had to work to cross the road. First, the setting is essential to the story because it emphasizes the climate the turtle lives in. The text states,“The concrete highway was edged with a mat of tangled, broken, dry grass, and the grass heads were heavy with oat beards to catch on a dog’s coat.” (Steinbeck pg. 758) This shows the type of time and climate the turtle had to suffer through. It was hot, humid, lacked shelter, and lacked a water supply. Being a turtle is difficult no matter what climate you live in, but being thrown into this one just emphasizes what the turtle struggled through. Without this type of setting, readers wouldn’t understand just how bad of a situation the …show more content…
In the text it says, “The car skidded back onto the road, and went on, but more slowly. The turtle had jerked into its shell, but now hurried on, for the highway was burning hot.” (Steinbeck pg. 761) Using any kind of other animal that was faster and had an easier body type for climbing would make the story lack action. Having a small turtle face a highway is a lot more interesting than a coyote facing a highway per say. It also shows that if it is this difficult for a slow, little turtle, imagine how hard must be for any kid of animal. Enduring the heat, highway, and having no resources to keep yourself alive would be difficult for any