Use Of Diction In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

John Steinbeck uses meaningful diction to expose the different manners by which vile humans and humble animals benefit from the forest. In the first two paragraphs of Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck describes the magnificent nature before introducing humans to the scenery. The scene takes place in spring right after winter, when nature is blooming again and it is at its best. Then the transition is very contradicting as the author uses adverse diction to display the careless humans. Steinbeck uses very mean and pessimistic diction to portray the humans as destroying and unhelpful. The author does that, by mentioning the outcome of the humans using the forest, unlike with the animals. The outcomes are generally negative, which leads to a bad representation of humans. For example Steinbeck states that the ground is “beaten hard by boys coming down from the ranches”. The author uses “beaten hard”

After the wonderful portrayal of nature, the author introduces the animals. The outcomes and negative impacts of the animals are not included to differ the animals from the humans. Without those factors “rabbits come out of the brush to sit on the sand in the evening.” The rabbits’ actions are harmless as the rabbits are not harming the sand and no adjectives are used to accuse the rabbits. Then “the damp flats are covered with the night tracks of ‘coons”, once again there is no outcome or negative feature described about the racoons. Steinbeck makes it as if the animals were part of the decor of the nature. He also describes the “lizard” that “makes a great skittering” which is a compliment and an admirable thing the lizard can do. The diction makes the nature more graceful and respected by the animals. This diction shows how the author favors the animals while also showing how humans are ruining the peaceful lives of nature and the