Characters, events and themes in ‘Of Mice and Men’ Essay

John Steinbeck uses animal imagery to express and introduce characters, events and themes in ‘Of Mice and Men.’ Steinbeck also uses nature, to convey events and settings in a subtle way. In section one of ‘Of mice and Men’ Steinbeck uses various colours to help the reader visualise the clearing as a tranquil and peaceful place. By describing the Salinas River as ‘deep and green’ the reader instantly envisages the water to be refreshing, mysterious and untouched. In addition, Steinbeck suggests that the clearing is full of sunlight: ‘The water is warm too, for it slipped twinkling over the yellow sands.’ Yellow, in this context, is calming because the words ‘warm’ and ‘twinkling’ are used before it. Steinbeck also uses alliteration to create a calm and peaceful atmosphere: ‘south of Soledad, the Salinas River.’ The repetition on the soft’s’ sound is calming and subtle. Steinbeck repeats this technique: ‘the water is warm too.’ As with the’s’ sound, the soft ‘w’ is calming. In this setting of absolute calm and serenity, Lennie and George are introduced. Steinbeck uses extensive animal imagery to describe Lennie: ‘dragging his feet in the way a bear drags his paws.’ This gives the impression that Lennie is large and cumbersome. However, the main reason that Steinbeck uses this form of imagery in describing Lennie is to portray him as amoral and therefore almost child-like. This means that later on in the novel, the reader will acknowledge that Lennie is blameless and also innocent. In contrast, section two begins with a very different description of conditions at the bunk house. The walls are ‘white washes’. This gives the impression that the bunk house is plain and dull. Most surfaces are ‘wood’ and ‘unpainted’ suggesting that everything is built for a practical purpose and that no thought has been put into decoration. In addition, even the sunlight is described negatively: ‘the sun threw a bright dust-laden bar through one of the side windows.’ This makes the sunlight seem dirty, like grey dust, which is at a vast disparity to the sunlight in section one, that is ‘golden’. The only reference to nature in section 2 is the use of a simile: ‘In and out of the beam flies shot like rushing stars.’ On the surface this simile seems pleasant, the flies represent nature and shooting stars are known to be lucky. Also the ‘busy’ flies may remind the reader of the itinerant workers that come and go. However, this simile does have sinister connotations, suggesting that something is rotten on the ranch; Hinting that death and destruction will follow in this novel. The theme of animals is also used to depict deep friendship when Candy’s dog is callously killed: ‘†I’d put the gun right here† he pointed with his toe’ Carlson is arrogant and insensitive causing candy’s to reveal one of the deepest friendships in the novel:’ The old man squirmed uncomfortably. â€Å"Well hell! I had him so long. Had him since he was a pup. I herded sheep with him† He said proudly, â€Å"You wouldn’t believe it to look at him now, but he was the best damn sheep dog I ever seen.’ ‘The Dream’ is a key theme throughout ‘Of Mice and Men.’ This dream is surprisingly simple and based on happy memories of George’s childhood: ‘An’ we’d keep a few pigeons to go flying around†¦like I done when I was a kid.’ George is sometimes reluctant to repeat the dream. However once he gets into his stride the poetry of his language demonstrates that the dream is just as important to him as it is to Lennie: ‘The cream so god thick you got to cut it with a knife and eat it with a spoon. The dream is ultimately what binds Lennie and George together, keeping them focused and determined to work. This relates to animals and nature because all that Lennie and George want is to own there own land and livestock; this will set them free, like a bird. In section 3 a fight between Lennie and Curley takes place. Curly unexpectedly focuses his aggression on Lennie: ‘Then Curley’s rage exploded. â€Å"Come on, ya big bastard.’ Steinbeck instantly lets the reader know that Lennie is innocent by describing him as ‘helpless’ and comparing him to an innocent and amoral lamb: ‘Lennie covered his face with his huge paws and bleated in terror.’ Steinbeck uses the comparison between Lennie and animals, in this situation to show that his actions aren’t done out of anger or spite but out of instinct and fear. During the fight Curly description changes dramatically from a ‘terrier’ to a ‘fish on a line’ implying that he is helpless, vulnerable and at Lennie’s mercy: ‘The next minute Curley was flopping like a fish on a line.’ In the last section of the novel, a poignant comparison is made using wildlife. ‘A water snake glided smoothly up the pool, twisting it periscope head from side to side†¦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.’ Steinbeck uses this metaphor to emphasise that Lennie’s death is fate, just like nature. In conclusion, Steinbeck relays back to nature and wildlife to subtly describe a situation, theme or character. This allows the reader to identify with the novel and understand situations more clearly and deeply.