How Does Steinbeck Create Change In Of Mice And Men

Much like how the weather and seasons change the atmosphere of a setting, word choice and imagery can also morph and shape the mood of an environment as well. Especially in a world where there are countless numbers of words, choosing a select few to use as a description can illustrate an image in which readers can envision as they read. It can even portray a specific message or theme that the writer has in mind! On that note, authors such as John Steinbeck utilize this method in stories to establish a contrast or change within the plot. In the novel, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the author begins chapter one in the hot afternoon, introducing us to George and Lennie, who are looking for a fresh start-which they are not looking for when

Steinbeck develops the water snake and heron’s relationship as a symbol to represent the way Lennie dies, which he does not develop at the beginning of the book
A. In correlation to how all the men who work at the farm are out searching for Lennie to kill him, the Heron is hunting for water snakes; waiting for them to appear “The heron stood in the shallows, motionless and waiting. Another little water snake swam up to the pool” (99)
B. Similarly, once the water snake does get eaten, the place where it is attacked corresponds to where Lennie was shot “A silent head and beak lanced down and plucked it out by the head, and the beak swallowed the little snake while its tail waved frantically”

After Lennie dies, the tension and suspense are released, and the commotion caused by it has been resolved, making the environment peaceful again, which is just like how if Lennie survived, there would have been more issues that would cause him to die in a worse outcome.
III. When introducing the two main characters, Steinbeck connects this to establishing the setting in the first and last chapters through rabbits to symbolize Lennie’s dream of tending to rabbits to outline the difference between the beginning and the ending and to show character development.
A. Steinbeck introduces the rabbits as it represents George introducing the idea of the farm to Lennie, who gets to tend to the rabbits as a way for them to go on “Rabbits come out of the brush to sit on the sand in the evening” (1)
B. Once the rabbits are introduced, they connect further to the dream by Candy joining the dream, making it possible to follow through with the dream and forming it in to a solid goal “On the sand banks the rabbits sat quietly as little gray, sculptured stones”