How Does Steinbeck Use Setting In Of Mice And Men

To understand the 1930’s novel, Of mice and Men, setting descriptions in the beginning and ends of each chapter can help see the picture. The audience can see the author’s opinions with the connotation in the setting descriptions. Readers are able to clearly understand the author, John Steinbeck’s, opinions on the American dream and life. Steinbeck uses the diction of setting as symbols through the first and last few pages of each chapter in Of Mice and Men to convey the deeper theme of the realities of human life and what it means to be human compared and contrasted to nature. Steinbeck uses multiple examples of nature being interrupted by the chaos of human life. Two of which are shown in the first few pages of the novel. Steinbeck uses

He demonstrates this saying “there was evening brightness,” when talking about the light outside and then writing “inside it was dusk” (38). The small light in the confined area represents the freedom people have. The darkness is to show the struggle people take to ensure a stable life for the future and the hard work it takes. The light from the day outside the bunkhouse shows that although things might seem bright the internal conflict in a person darkens it. He also claims the “cone of the shade threw its brightness straight downward, leaving the corners of the bunkhouse still in dusk” to argue that people are far to confined inside (38). To show this Steineck means the small light in the confined area represents the freedom people have and want to have. In this case, Lennie and George want a barn with lots of animals, but are stuck in a dilemma; they are broke and go ranch from ranch to earn money. The darkness is to show the struggle people take to ensure a stable life for the future and the hard work it takes. In chapter five Steinbeck insinuated that people are restricted by writing “rattled by halter chains”(84). The “halter chains” give off a pulled back and chained away undertone. The halter chains symbolize anything that can cause someone to jerk back. Steinbeck uses this to refer to Lennie and George’s friendship in which Lennie is the chain and George is the horse trying