How does the opening scene prepare the reader for the rest of the novel? Essay

In opening passage of Of Mice and Men it seems as though Steinbeck takes great pains to familiarize us with the setting, and the descriptions of nature that he uses though-out , are very poetic and stand apart from the rest of the novel, which is composed primarily of dialogue. An example â€Å"Evening of a hot day started the little wind to moving among the leaves. The shade climbed up the hills toward the top. On the sand banks the rabbits sat as quietly as little gray, sculptured stones.†(2) Steinbeck however still uses simple descriptions of the landscape; a secluded river taking refuge in a valley. To forehadow to the reader future events. This is apparent though his carefully chosen language, imagery, symbolism, character description and narration all of which forebodes the reader for many of the themes they will encounter in the novel; friendship, dreams, loneliness, and despair to tragedy. The scene opens with a vivid and evocative description of the landscape and natural beauty of the Salinas River a few moles from Soledad. Steinbeck goes on to describe the sometimes harsh, sometimes caring physical and emotional landscape; all an element of life that is already witnessed. The evocative description begins by highlighting a theme that is present thought-out the novel. ‘On one side of the river the golden foothill slopes curve to the strong and rock Gambian mountains’ This quote identifies a contrast and the first half of the quote totally counteracts the second half. The first half allows the audience to envisage a desert like setting with a hot climate ‘twinkling over the yellow sands in the sunlight’. Yet the second half allows the reader to envisage a forest like setting with a tropical climate, ‘the water is lined with trees- willows fresh and green with every spring.’ There are many other contrasts within the first scene, ‘on the sandy bank under the trees the leaves lie deep and so crisp that a lizard makes a great skittering’ ‘Rabbits come out of the brush to sit on the sand’ Once again these two quotes contrast each other immensely, as Lizards are thought of as predators that hunt, and rabbits are thought as innocent herbivores. These to creatures lead the reader to picture a division within there habitat one being so vicious and ruthless the other being soft and kind hearted. The use of this contrast is important as it’s similar to the two main characters. The clearing by the river could be contrasted with the ranch: one is a place of relaxation, safety and peace; the other is a work place where George warns Lennie he will have to be careful what he says and does. The ranch is harsh and cruel: for example men only have a box for their possessions, and living is hard and competitive. The two main characters Lennie and George are contrasted strongly in their physical appearance and the way they behave: Lennie is tall, bulky and shambling – he is innocent and gentle, slow (in every sense of the word) and in need of reassurance and guidance; George is small, sharp-featured, ‘street-wise’ and brisk. Of which both characters relate back to the earlier contrast between the lizard and rabbit, the lizard being George and the rabbit being similar to Lennie. Although the contrasts in the opening sequence are to do with nature or animals, and the ones throughout the novel are to do with characters and humans links they still have the same effect. A majority of the contrasts are based solely on Strength vs. Weakness. Another contrast on the ranch is between the people with power: Slim who is respected for his wisdom and competence; Curley who has power, but only because he has inherited it from his father who owns the ranch and employs the men. This agrees with the fact that the majority of contrast consist of Strength vs. Weakness. The pattern of calm and disorder in the opening scene mirrors the pattern of events in the novel as a whole. in the first paragraph in which Steinbeck uses evocative and vivid language, a sense of calm and undisturbed silence is felt, this mirrors the beginning of Lennie and Georges adventures when they rest in a campsite for the night. Steinbeck then describes a slight disturbance, ‘the leaves lie deep and so crisp that a lizard makes a great skittering.’ This also mirrors the situation further on in the novel when George and Lennie about constantly asking for ketchup, and George finally losing his temper ‘I got you! You can’t keep a job and you lose me ever’ job I get’. However this could also mirror when Carlson tries to kill Lennie’s dog. The slight disturbance is lost again and the calm is restored again as ‘the rabbits brush to sit on the sand’ this reflects the fact that George and Lennie restore silence and stop arguing because Lennie is warned not to say anything by George. The silence is lost once again as a slight disturbance that slowly builds ‘little wind moving trees’ this is mirrored by the fact that Curley’s wife makes frequent visits to the ranch, or this could mirror the fact that Lennie kills his puppy. Steinbeck then goes on to describe ‘loud footsteps break silence’ in the beginning sequence which is mirrored by Lennie killing Curley’s wife. Steinbeck describes what seems like a final rupture when he describes ‘humans arrive in the clearing’ the sense of calm and tranquillity is lost which mirrors the main event in the novel. When Lennie is shot by George, inevitably putting an end to their friendship and dreams. Steinbeck wrote Of Mice and Men about where he was born Salinas, California. During the Great Depression of the 1930s. His books often dealt with the lives and problems of working people. Many of the characters he included were immigrants looking for work or a better life. He narrowed his focus when composing ‘Of Mice and Men’ (1937), creating an intimate portrait of two men facing a world marked by petty tyranny, misunderstanding, jealousy, and callousness. But though the scope is narrow, the theme is universal; a friendship and a shared dream that makes an individual’s existence meaningful. Steinbeck based his book around the following Migrant Farm Workers; this is evident within the first chapter as their physical descriptions ‘Both dressed in denim trousers and in denim coats with brass buttons’. Also Lennie and George were two of many migrant farmers tying to find work in the countryside. Another event in the text that allows the audience to understand Lennie and George’s struggle is, during the 1930s, when there was very bad unemployment in the United States, agencies were set up under the New Deal to send farmworkers to where they were needed. George and Lennie got their work cards from Murray and Rody’s, one of these agencies. We hear of this in the text when Lennie tells George he lost it; ‘George†¦..I aint got mine. I musta lost it.’ The opening sequence also indicates that it was based on the American Dream, because immigrants dreamed of a better life in America. People went there to escape from persecution or poverty, and to make a new life for themselves, precisely why Lennie and George left Weed to go there. Another way that the opening scene of the story prepares the reader for the events of the rest of the story is through the subtle, yet significant introduction to the main characters George and Lennie. Within the first paragraph we learn of Lennie’s fascination with animals ‘I remember about the rabbits, George.’ We also learn that they left Weed to escape prosecution, as previously through George’s anger, the audience learns that one of the ‘bad things’ occurred at their last job, in Weed, when Lennie wanted to pet a women’s dress. We learn a great deal of background information through the first sequence subtly yet detailed. The opening sequence prepares the reader for future events in many different ways. The use of language, imagery, symbolism, character description and narration all of which forebodes the reader for many of the themes they will encounter in the novel; friendship, dreams, loneliness, and despair to tragedy. All of these techniques foreshadow events and help the audience understand the characters, their environment and era they lived in without experiencing it themselves. So a combination of historical and social facts, with a range of contrasts help the audience understand and sympathise with the assorted chara