The Significance Of Words In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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Words and phrases, they repeat and they convey a meaning, they create a mood and a sense of place, they create a home for a character, and a learning place for your mind. In John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men, he uses diction and repetition of phrases to enhance the mood of his novel. The repetition or words and ideas in this novel enhances the mood, especially when Candy's dog died, and in the final scene. The moment when silence sets in is the moment that a person knows that something is wrong. When candy goes silent John Steinbeck repeats that one word over and over again. Using that word enhances the mood of this scene. “The silence settled into the room and the silence lasted” (Steinbeck…show more content…
Using this word is enhancing the fearful mood of what is to come. Hell is a word/place that has fear associated with it. When Lennie continuously asks, “George you gonna give me hell?” (Steinbeck 81), over and over even though said eagerly, it gives the reader a sense of fear for what’s coming up in the story. “‘Go on George ain’t you gonna give me no more hell?’ [Asked Lennie] ‘no’, said George” (Steinbeck 83). Lennie expecting and eager for George to give him more hell does not get the answer he expects because George knows that he is about to end Lennies life. He wants to end Lennie’s life on a better not. The repetition of that phrase especially using that word enhances the mood of this scene because it creates the uneasy scary feeling that Steinbeck wants you to feel. Throughout the duration of this book its author John Steinbeck used dictation and repetition of phrases to enhance the mood of his novel. This book conveys a mood of sadness and hope at the same time; towards the end it conveys a fearful mood as Lennies life came to an end. With the use of diction, this novel conveys these moods smoothly and with
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