I am going to compare 'of mice and men' chapter 1 of the novel with the opening section of the film adaptation and see what the differences there are between the two.

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Introduction

I am going to compare ‘of mice and men’ chapter 1 of the novel with the opening section of the film adaptation and see what the differences there are between the two.

I will look at how the settings of the film relate to the description of the book’s version, compare events that are set and how the different characters of George and Lennie are established in the two media.  I will compare the ways in which we find out what previously happened and what they plan to happen.

I will show how events are different between the film and the book and write about how the special effects were described in the book and how they were created in the film and see how the film’s camera shots and the movement of the camera made the film more effective

OUTLINE

George and Lennie are two migrant American labourers. Lennie is huge and very strong but has the intellect of a child. George is a small but clever man.

Both men arrive in a clearing beside the Salinas River one evening. They had meant to arrive at a ranch where they were to work by this time, but their bus driver had tricked them into getting off the bus too early, and they had to walk a long way.

While they sit in the clearing, George instructs Lennie not to say a word when the Boss talks to them the following day, because he fears they won't be hired if Lennie is suspected of being stupid. Lennie promises not to say anything.

While the two men talk, we learn a little about their past. They had to flee the town of Weed after Lennie had got into some trouble there.

The two men set up camp in the clearing. They heat up some beans to eat, and then they continue their conversation. During this conversation, it is revealed that in Weed, Lennie had tried to feel a girl's dress, and she had cried out that he was raping her. George and Lennie had to hide in an irrigation ditch to escape the wrath of the townspeople. Also, Lennie and George talk about their great dream that some day they will buy a farm and settle down together.

Chapter 1

In the first chapter of the book, it is set outdoors and it talks a lot about nature and the surroundings. The first page mostly talked about where they were and where they were going from Weed on the way to Soledad for a new future.

    The scene is set in the evening near the woods, as ‘there is a path through the willows and among the sycamores, a path beaten hard by boys coming down the path.’

    The author describes the scene in the sunset evening of a hot day.

     The first few paragraphs in the book describe a lot of the surroundings and how description of the nature relates to the story, as the rabbits that Lennie enjoys petting are involved later.

    The clothes that they wear are seen as sort of working clothes as they wear denim jeans and denim jackets with big brass buttons, Lennie and George both wear black shapeless hats and both carry a lot of their belongings on their ragged backpack.

   The first man, George, was described by the author as small and quick, slender arms and a thin and bony nose and was quite independent in making decisions. George cared a lot for Lennie, George is the clever one out of the two who makes decisions for Lennie as well and takes care of Lennie like he’s his own son.

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    On the other hand Lennie is the total opposite of George as it seems he has the mental age of a 7 year old. The author describes him as a huge man, shapeless of face, with large pale eyes with wide sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily dragging his paws, his arms swung from side to side and moved like a pendulum.

    The story mainly starts as they are walking down a long stretch of road as they are moving to a destination and on the way they went to a lake, where Lennie takes long ...

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