From his first paragraph, John Steinbeck sets the scene of Of Mice and Men through his use of imagery as he describes the natural world as a parallel to later events in the novella.
The quote "the Salinas river drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green," can be used to find descriptions of the characters. "Green" is often used to describe someone or something that is full of life, naive, and young. The word "deep" can show something to be strong and solid. These words can be used to describe the main characters of Steinbeck's novella. Lennie is very young and full of life. He is also very very naive. George, on the other hand, is very smart. In fact, he is smart enough for the both of them. George is also very deep in thought.
Another sentence containing the words "strong", "rocky", and "mountain" can be used to further describe the characters and foreshadow events to come. "Strong" means a person being physically or mentally tough. The use of this word can describe George or Lennie, as Lennie is physically tough and George is mentally tough. "Rocky" can be used to describe something that is unfinished or jagged. Lennie is very much rocky. He is not very bright and might have a mental impairment. A mountain normally symbolizes a challenge. I believe that the description of the mountain in the first paragraph most likely symbolizes there will be a challenge to overcome in Of Mice and Men.
The sentence, "under the trees the leaves lie deep and so crisp" can be used to symbolize the journey of George and Lennie. When leaves change color they fall of the tree and move on to a different place. George and Lennie embark on a similar journey. Their lives change so they must move on to a different place, which in this case is the ranch. Steinbeck's use of imagery and foreshadowing are amazing.
After rereading the first paragraph, a reader realizes that George and Lennie are described as well as certain events in the future.
Analysis of Point of View
The third-person objective point of view accentuates the differences between each character through descriptions of their traits.
The quote from page 37 of the novel states that "Curley seemed really to see George for the first time. His eyes flashed over George, took in his height, measured his reach, looked at his trim middle" when he encountered George in the bunkhouse. Curley was a small man and had self-confidence issues, forcing him to put on a tough front. He looked over George to see how big he was in comparison. George also happened to be small, this making Curley feel relieved and more at ease when talking to him.
"[Crooks] kept his distance and demanded that other people kept theirs." (pg 67) As also stated in the passage Crooks was "proud" and "aloof." These quotes from Of Mice and Men shows that Crooks, the stable buck, knew he was different from everyone else. Keeping out of the way of the other ranch workers' was the only way Crooks knew of to keep his pride. Third person allows people to see the differences in Crooks, because their are no personal point of views to give a racist perspective in Steinbeck's novella.
Without the descriptive passages regarding these characters in third-person objective, their characters would not be as defined as they are found in Of Mice and Men.
Analysis of Tone
Steinbeck constructs brilliant passages of remorse and longing to characterize Lennie.
Lennie has no control over his immense strength. This immense strength and lack of control causes him to hurt just about anything and everything Lennie touches. This passage from page 87 shows that Lennie really feels bad about the bad deeds he does. After the puppy's death Steinbeck makes references to the puppy using words like "sadly" and "woe", showing Lennie's great remorse for his act of treachery.
"An' live off the fatta of the lan'," Lennie shouted. Lennie shouts at George to tell a story that he has no doubt heard many times before. This part and others from the passage of page 14 show how Lennie longs for the rabbits and the house. They give him something to hope for in the future.
Lennie's strength conflicts with his personality to create a very interesting character in Steinbeck's novella.
Analysis of Theme
Whether faced with a disabled relative or a homeless person on the street most people have faced the question, "Am I my brother's keeper." This idea is explored in Steinbeck's novella Of Mice and Men.
For no feasible reason, George takes care of Lennie, and even when Lennie offers to leave, George says "I want you to stay with me, Lennie." (pg. 13) Without Lennie, George's life would be undoubtedly easier, but something makes George feel an obligation to stay with him. Throughtout the the novella, George gives various reasons for staying with Lennie. "Your aunt Clara wouldn't like you running off by yourself, even if she is dead," shows that Lennie probably has no relatives that want to have anything to do with him. (pg. 13)
When Lennie and George finally make their way to the ranch, the boss asks George "Well, I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy. I just like to know what your interest is." (pg. 23) George stumbles around this question and lies to the boss, saying that himself and Lennie are cousins. Even though George and Lennie share no relatives, George feels his situation is easier to explain if he tells people himself and Lennie are cousins. This shows that George has no real reason to take care of Lennie, especially if he has to lie to make the situation easier to explain.
"Of Mice and Men" shows that humans should be responsible for looking out for one another even if there is no feasible reason for doing so.
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