Deadpan
As we noted in the "Tone" section, Steinbeck tends to say the most ridiculous things with a completely straight "face" (which makes them totally hilarious). In fact, sometimes he really ramps up the "fancy" factor in his writing to highlight the disconnect between the subject matter and the writing style. For example, in the same description of Charley we used in "Tone," Steinbeck plays up Charley's noble beauty with utter seriousness and even dignity:
Charley's combed columns of legs were noble things, his cap of silver blue fur was rakish, and he carried the pompon of his tail like the baton of a bandmaster. A wealth of combed and clipped mustache gave him the appearance and attitude of a French rake of the nineteenth century, and incidentally concealed his crooked front teeth. (3.1.4)
Of course, the image of Charley carrying "the pompon of his tail like the baton of a bandmaster" is about as silly as it gets, but if Steinbeck agrees, he doesn't let on—nope, he just continues on with his reverent description of Charley, even comparing him to the sexy figure of the nineteenth-century rake. In this description, and elsewhere throughout the book, he's not going to add a lot of extra window dressing. He shows; he doesn't tell. Most of the time, the facts—combined with his descriptions of them—are more than enough to get the job done. In this case, of course we know he's kidding, but the point is that his style is totally deadpan. You dig?