Nature is all around us – an ever-present part of life which can be beautiful, mysterious, dangerous or useful. Human society is inevitably part of nature and is affected by its natural environment. The frequency with which people interact with nature and the similarities and differences between human society and the rest of the natural world make nature into an interesting and frequently-used literary device. In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, the worlds of nature and human society co-exist side-by-side, however, these spheres are not completely parallel and interact frequently with each other. The novel’s setting is a ranch, a place set in the countryside. The people who live and work on the ranch are surrounded by nature and often
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One of the issues the novel deals with is the often disruptive nature of human society and human interaction. At the beginning of the novel, Lennie and George disrupt a peaceful scene of nature; on their approach, “the rabbits hurried noiselessly for cover. A stilted heron labored up into the air and pounded down the river” (2). The animals scatter at the approach of men, the humans disrupting their peace. This is both a foreshadowing and commentary on the fact that people often bring disruption with them, that human society often disrupts peace and perhaps is not always compatible with it. Another theme of the book is the predatory nature of human society and its devastating effect on those who are week or do not fit into its norms. At the end of the novel, George comes to the lake where Lennie is waiting for him and shoots him, because he understands that Lennie will be severely punished for accidently killing Curly’s wife. Directly before this scene, Steinbeck presents a natural mirror of this event to the audience: “A water snake glided smoothly up the pool, twisting it periscope head from side to side…A silent head and beak lanced down and plucked it out by the head, and the beak swallowed the little snake while its tail waved frantically” (95). Here, in a rare moment, nature mirrors the events about to occur in the realm of human society – a
One of the issues the novel deals with is the often disruptive nature of human society and human interaction. At the beginning of the novel, Lennie and George disrupt a peaceful scene of nature; on their approach, “the rabbits hurried noiselessly for cover. A stilted heron labored up into the air and pounded down the river” (2). The animals scatter at the approach of men, the humans disrupting their peace. This is both a foreshadowing and commentary on the fact that people often bring disruption with them, that human society often disrupts peace and perhaps is not always compatible with it. Another theme of the book is the predatory nature of human society and its devastating effect on those who are week or do not fit into its norms. At the end of the novel, George comes to the lake where Lennie is waiting for him and shoots him, because he understands that Lennie will be severely punished for accidently killing Curly’s wife. Directly before this scene, Steinbeck presents a natural mirror of this event to the audience: “A water snake glided smoothly up the pool, twisting it periscope head from side to side…A silent head and beak lanced down and plucked it out by the head, and the beak swallowed the little snake while its tail waved frantically” (95). Here, in a rare moment, nature mirrors the events about to occur in the realm of human society – a