preview

How Does Steinbeck Use Nature In Of Mice And Men

Decent Essays

Over the course of the novel, John Steinbeck beautifully describes nature through symbolism to help the reader understand the striking, strong story line. For example, at the beginning of the story, he gives us a description of the setting. "Rabbits come out of the brush to sit on the sand in the evening, and the damp flats are covered with the night tracks of 'coons', and with the spread pads of dogs from the ranches, and with the split-wedge tracks of the deer come to drink in dark."(1) When reading this novel Steinbeck describes animals to show the characters actions. When describing the use of rabbits hiding In the brush, the reader might seem bewildered why someone needs to be so descriptive about nature in this book. It seems irrelevant …show more content…

These two things stand for important attributes in human nature, hope. " The day was going fast now. Only the tops of the Gabilan mountains flamed with the light that had gone from the valley. A water snake slipped along the pool, its head held up like a little periscope."(7) This relates to the characters in the novel as after Lennie and George get kicked out of Weed they looked for new opportunities. "The sunshine lay in a thin line under the window." Curley's wife lays in the barn.(37) "The afternoon sun sliced in through the cracks of the barn walls and lay in bright lines on the hay."(38) Even though this does not relate to any of the characters it is personification. "Although There was evening brightness showing through the windows of the bunkhouse, inside it was dusk."(38) That shows how at first the ranch looked great, but Lennie and George were mistaken. "Already the sun had left the valley to go climbing up the slopes of the Gabilan mountains, and the hilltops were rosy in the sun" (99) This also is personification." The light climbed on out the valley, and as it went, the tops of the mountains seemed to blaze with increasing brightness."(99) This personification describes how George came up the valley as if he was the

Get Access