Uses of Setting in of Mice and Men

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in the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, setting plays a crucial role in the advancement of the plot. It helps the reader get a feel for the mood and tone. Steinbeck use of words describes setting in a way never before seen, it is complex and yet easy to understand. The novel Of Mice and Men shows Steinbeck's use of words brilliantly, the novel has 4 major settings the clearing by the pond, the bunkhouse, Crook's room, and the barn. Each setting has its own very important addition to the books vividness. Setting is one of the most significant and critical elements in the book. The setting the reader first encounters in the novel is the clearing by the pond. This is one of the most important locations in the entire novel. "I want you to come right here and hide in the brush" (15). The quote shows how important the clearing it, it will be the play where they meet when one is in trouble. "The deep green pool of the Salinas River was still in the late afternoon. Already the sun had left the valley to go climbing up the slopes of the Gabilan mountains, and the hilltops were rosy in the sun." (99). This sets a somber mood to the last chapter, it gives us a feel of quietness, sadness. Setting plays the main mood setter, it gets us ready for the death of Lennie. Crook's room is the part were we learn the inner lives of Crooks, Lennie, Curley' Wife, Candy. "There were battered magazines and a few dirty books on the special self over his bunk. A pair of large gold-rimmed spectacles hung from a nail on the wall above his bed." (67). The setting in this part of the novel sheds light on the life of Crooks, it shows that he is a man of learning with the magazines and books in his room. "And scattered about the floor were a number of personal possessions; for, being alone, Crooks could leave his things about..." (66). This quote that describes his room is more then that,
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