Importance Of Setting In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Steinbeck opens his novella with a description of a natural utopia where animals loiter jovially and trees laze idly. He portrays the wild setting as lively and lush by using words with mostly positive connotations, such as “twinkling,” “golden,” “fresh and green,” and “crisp.” It seems that the location Steinbeck describes has been largely undisturbed, as the trees are described as complacent and “recumbent,” and rabbits sit around lazily. However, there does appear to be an aftermath of violence described in the “debris of winter’s flooding” and fallen branches.
Despite the fact that there are only a few auditory descriptions in the first paragraph, the author still manages to create the sound of a river rushing by through his heavy usage of sibilants in the opening sentence of the paragraph. The author
Since a recurring theme in the novel is the conflict between nature and man, he depicts a stark contrast between the lush, overgrown riverbank and the barren, confined farmhouse. It is noteworthy that the author tends to mention nature and animals before humans – this can be seen in the title, “Of Mice and Men,” and the way the chapters are ordered. The scene at the riverbank was vibrant and vivacious, yet the bunkhouse was essentially just a run-down jail cell.
Perhaps the relationship between Lennie and George is parallel to the one between nature and man: like the natural world, Lennie is shapeless and seemingly unconstrained; on the other hand, George is described as acute and sharp, just like the human world where borders are all strictly defined. The relationship between man and nature is currently one where humans dominate and abuse nature, much like the way George verbally abuses Lennie. At the end of the novel, George shoots Lennie. It may be that Steinbeck meant to issue a warning to us that we will end up completely annihilating