Of Mice and Men
H/W Of Mice and Men Notes up to page 9 5.11.12
Page 3 – On this page I thought that John Steinbeck described the overall setting of the place. “A few miles south of Soledad, the Salinas River drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green.” Straightaway Steinbeck sets the scene and puts us in place. The description on this page is visual and also audial. The writer achieves this by saying, “recumbent limbs” and “skittering”. Steinbeck personifies the trees branches by saying they are “recumbent limbs”. I think this is very descriptive and a good use of a stylistic device (personification). The word “skittering” is almost onomatopoeic which is audial and one of the five senses. The first paragraph is quite figurative and lyrical. He uses “green”, “dark” and “pool” quite often, which makes the passage flow more, signifies the setting and repetitive so the reader remembers it.
Page 4 – This page concentrates on introducing the two main characters, George and Lennie. But before John Steinbeck begins this, there is more description about the setting. “The shade climbed up the hills toward the top.” This use of personification is very clever and also a good use of imagery. Steinbeck uses alliteration, “sculptured stones”. The effect of this is to show the comparison between the shade climbing, the sound of someone nearing and the stillness of the rabbits. Then John Steinbeck introduces the two characters. “Both were dressed in denim trousers and in denim coats with brass buttons. Both wore black, shapeless hats. “The characters are straightaway linked and shown to the reader as a pair, which brings about the closeness of their relationship and are then described on their own. George is “small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp strong features” and Lennie is the complete opposite. He is described as being “a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a
Page 3 – On this page I thought that John Steinbeck described the overall setting of the place. “A few miles south of Soledad, the Salinas River drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green.” Straightaway Steinbeck sets the scene and puts us in place. The description on this page is visual and also audial. The writer achieves this by saying, “recumbent limbs” and “skittering”. Steinbeck personifies the trees branches by saying they are “recumbent limbs”. I think this is very descriptive and a good use of a stylistic device (personification). The word “skittering” is almost onomatopoeic which is audial and one of the five senses. The first paragraph is quite figurative and lyrical. He uses “green”, “dark” and “pool” quite often, which makes the passage flow more, signifies the setting and repetitive so the reader remembers it.
Page 4 – This page concentrates on introducing the two main characters, George and Lennie. But before John Steinbeck begins this, there is more description about the setting. “The shade climbed up the hills toward the top.” This use of personification is very clever and also a good use of imagery. Steinbeck uses alliteration, “sculptured stones”. The effect of this is to show the comparison between the shade climbing, the sound of someone nearing and the stillness of the rabbits. Then John Steinbeck introduces the two characters. “Both were dressed in denim trousers and in denim coats with brass buttons. Both wore black, shapeless hats. “The characters are straightaway linked and shown to the reader as a pair, which brings about the closeness of their relationship and are then described on their own. George is “small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp strong features” and Lennie is the complete opposite. He is described as being “a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a