Candy is a friendly man, he is also extremely interesting he knows all the facts about everyone and loves to gossip. He gives the impression that he gossips to gain companionship from the over ranchhands. Because of Candy’s knowledge of the other characters we get an insight into what they are like, even if it sometimes untrue. Candy describes curly’s wife to George ‘well, I think Curley’s married…a tart’ this description makes the reader curious of who she may ‘got the eye’ on. Candy tells Lennie and George ‘Curley’s pretty handy’ and that ‘He hates big guys’ all this makes the reader almost know that something is about to happen, leading to the reader wanting to read on to find out what is about to happen.
Curley’s wife herself is portrayed as a tart, but as we read on, we find she is really only after companionship. She is the only woman on the ranch and her husband doesn’t really seem to pay her any attention, she is actually lonely and thinks the only way to get attention form the men is to dress ‘tarty’ and to flirt. Curley’s wife’s interest in companionship with Lennie is quite unsettling, as Curley’s hatred towards Lennie been a ‘big guy’ mixed with this ‘interest’ with each other leaves you wondering what may happen next.
Parallels are successfully used throughout the play with the most important one probably being between the shooting of Candy’s dog and the shooting of Lennie. Both were done, as the alternative was probably worse. Candy’s dog could hardly walk or eat, to let him carry on would course a lot of suffering for the dog, it would be kinder to shoot him. Just as if George had handed Lennie to curly when he found him. If George had done this Lennie would either have been killed anyway by Curley or he could have been strapped down and put in a cage, which is no life for anyone. These parallels give hints at what is to come, also when we learn of what happened to Candy and his dog we can fill in the gaps of what George may be thinking.
The book is actually divided into six sections not chapters; Steinbeck describes this particular book as ‘play novelette’. Steinbeck seems to contain each section with a similar beginning and end and nearly always with a dramatic climax, to sustain the readers interest, and hold their interest throughout.
Steinbeck uses hints throughout the book to give the reader an insight of what is to come, or what might happen. Such as Curley’s clear dislike to Lennie, instantly when Curley walks in his attentions are straight to ‘the big guy’ Lennie, ‘let the big guy talk.’ This makes you wonder what could happen next between Curley and Lennie. Another important hint is the behavior of Curley’s wife, her flirting and her need for companionship and especially the constant reference to her being a ‘jail-bait’. Later hints such as more reference to Lennie strength from his fight with Curley, ‘Curley was white and shrunken by now, and his struggling had become weak. He stood crying, his fist lost in Lennie’s paw’ as well as the new aggressive side of Lennie’s personality. This is shown with his argument with Crooks ‘He stood up and walked dangerously towards Crooks “who hurt George?” he demanded.’ These hints give an informing insight of what is to happen later in the play, therefore making the reader want to read on.
The style of the book is one of great contrast. In the first section we are introduced to two styles, firstly the image of light and dark even in the description of Lennie and George. George is described to be ‘dark of face’ and Lennie to have ‘pale eyes’ these contrasts show there is a distinctive difference between the two characters even at this early stage of the book. The description of sycamore leaves change extremely distinctively, ‘came the sound of footsteps on crisp sycamore leaves’ ‘the sycamore limbs rustled under a little wind that died immediately’.
Steinbeck uses imagery very well by using figurative and poetic language, particularly in the description of nature ‘On the sand-banks the rabbits sat as quietly as little grey, sculptured stones’. He also uses it when describing Lennie as animal like ‘dabbled his big paw in the water’ ‘dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws’
Colloquial style language is also used when the ranch hands are talking “I was only foolin’ ” “you aint” ”cause I want” “Di’n’nt I remember” This style of language makes the story more real and therefore more exciting, which makes the reader want to read on.
Throughout the book Steinbeck meticulously describes the detail. The description of the natural surroundings, everything is beautiful and relaxing in the first chapter, in a way too relaxing almost as though it is too good, therefore making you wonder. The language used in the first section is of great contrast to what we see later in the book.
Steinbeck Successfully sustains the readers interest throughout the play by using some clever device’s that ultimately just make the reader want to read on. Whether it is Steinbeck’s great ‘cliffhangers’ or his ‘small hints’ he always has his reader’s completed interested and ‘hooked’ to ‘Of Mice and Men’.
