Of Mice and Men

Detail
Through the first paragraph of Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses several different scenes from the setting to parallel his characters.

One example of this is how he describes the Gablian Mountains as "strong and rocky". The adjectives used here are compared to the characters, particularly how the strong could mean Lennie's physical strength or may mean George's mind. Also, the mountains symbolize how Lennie and George will be coming to problems soon and will have to face them.

Another example is "the Salinas River drops close to the bank and runs deep and green". The runs deep section of the sentence shows how George's thoughts run deeper than Lennie's thoughts, which are also described as green, showing how he is young.

The last example of this is "the limb is worn smooth by men who have sat on it". The limb mentioned means either an actual tree limb or it may mean the whole situation of the farm workers. The limb is described as worn smooth, which I think means that both the tree limb and the ranches are used to the farm workers coming and going relatively often.

The authors use of imagery and parallels in Of Mice and Men is nearly unsurpassed, and it is not difficult at all to notice them.

Point of View
The third person objective point of view helps to show how Lennie looks to George for guidance, and how George leads him.

The quotes on pages 21 and 22,"Lennie nodded to show that he understood...In a panic, Lennie looked at George for help," show how Lennie was told by George to not say anything and how he understood he was not to say anything. It also showed how Lennie began to panic when the boss talked directly to him, and, when he was not sure what to do, he looked to follow George's lead. These quotes show how Lennie is like a child who is not very experienced in situations that involve other people, basically having no life experience in making choices for himself.

The second quotations,"Listen, Small! What can you do?...He can do anything you tell him to do...Then why don't you let him answer?...Say what you selling'?...Why you think I'm selling' him out?", shows how George feels the need to help Lennie and keep him in the job, even if he loses his job himself. He is compelled to help him and keep people from talking to Lennie or putting him in bad situations. George acts like Lennie's father and cares for him like a father, with Lennie being the child he is trying to protect.

Tone
The tones of desperation and hope in Steinbeck's passage reflect his view of the situation that George and Lennie, along with many other Californian workers, were basically stuck in.

The quotes to support the first tone word, desperation are, "He can do anything. Just give him a try...Then why don't you let him answer? What are you tryin' to put over? George broke in loudly, 'Oh, I ain't sayin' he's bright. He ain't. But I say he's a good worker. He can put up a four hundred pound bale.'...Say what you sellin'?..Why you think I'm sellin' him out?" These quotes show the desperation that George had to get Lennie this job with him. This was probably due to the fact that George had to take care of Lennie, and he knew that Lennie could not get another job on his own. They also needed the extra money that Lennie would make to help reach the goal of six hundred dollars to buy the land from the lady who was willing to sell it.

The quotes to describe the second tone word are, "We gonna get a little place, We'll have a cow, and we'll have maybe a pig and chickens..and down the flat we'll have a little piece of alfalfa for the rabbits...And I get to tend the rabbits..And live on the fatta the lan'." These quotes show the dream that Lennie and George shared, to have their own land and make their own living. They did not usually have steady work, and were always moving around to find new jobs or to get Lennie away after something bad happened. The land was their beacon of hope and what they used to justify all of the work they did, and to keep them going from job to job.

These two contrasting tone words set the tone for not only these two passages, but also for the entire book.

Theme
Throughout Of Mice and Men, the question "Am I my brother's keeper?" comes into play quite often, especially between George and Lennie. I agree with this statement because of the friendship that George and Lennie had developed throughout the book.

This was shown through the saying that George and Lennie had made up together, "But not us! And why? Because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why."(p. 13-14). This showed how Lennie and George were promising each other that they would stay together and make a living for themselves. George almost felt like it was his duty and job to help Lennie, "when his Aunt Clara died, Lennie just came along with me out working" (p. 40).

George knew that Lennie wasn't very bright, and he knew that he would starve without someone to take care of him. George also knew that Lennie would possibly get in trouble with the law and get killed (p. 41-42 and 96-107), and he tried to stay with Lennie and keep him out of trouble. This didn't work, and George had to kill him to keep others safe. But George was still Lennie's keeper, and tried to help Lennie whenever he could, no matter the strains it put on George.

This seemed to be the main theme in the book to me.