John Steinbeck
George (left) and Lennie (right)
The Setting (Soledad California)
Chapter Response:
The first chapter of this book was very well written in my opinion, Steinbeck's descriptions of the setting and the characters were excellent. The way he describes the setting makes me want to actually look up a word in the dictionary that I don't know, just to understand his description fully, and knowing me that's something I rarely do. The dialect Steinbeck uses is very unique, It's very descriptive and uses big words, but at the same time the characters speak in a southern accent which makes the story more authentic. I begin to first realize the theme of loneliness in the book in the first chapter when George tells Lenie, "Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place. They come to a ranch an' work up a stake an then they go inta town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they're pounding their trail on some other ranch. They ain't got nothing to look ahead to." This is when the idea of loneliness is first introduced in the book. I noticed that in the beginning of the movie, it shows how the girl in the red dress runs away because Lennie was feeling her dress. This is not explained untill later in the book. Overall I really enjoyed reading the first chapter of "Of Mice and Men" as it is by far the most descriptive chapter of the novel.
