Steinbeck uses different techniques to introduce and describe the characters in the novel such as; dialogue, comparison to animals and in some cases he uses colour imagery. Steinbeck uses animals many times throughout the novel to demonstrate their personalities and he does this through both direct and indirect comparisons. For example when he introduces Candy, he spends longer describing his dog than he does describing Candy himself. This shows their similarity as he uses words such as gray, pale, blind and lamely which relate to both of them. This is an indirect comparison because he does not use any metaphors or similes; he simply associates Candy with his dog. On the other hand, with Lennie he uses a direct comparison and compares him to many kinds of animals, for example ‘like a horse’, ‘his big paw ’and ‘slowly like a terrier’. These comparisons give the reader the impression that Lennie is more animal like than human and gives us an insight into his playful personality.
Another technique Steinbeck uses is describing the characters through dialogue. He has cleverly written the dialogue of the characters in the way they would speak such as “Le’s see” and “I’m gon’ta” and this shows their accent and adds a sense of realism and authenticity to the novel. Through the dialogue we can see the contrast of personalities of different characters, for example Curley’s wife uses long flirtatious sentences such as “If he ain’t, I guess I better look some place else” that show how she is longing for attention. Whereas Slim uses blunter, shorter sentences such as ‘I drowned four of ‘em right off’ that shows his down to earth personality.
Steinbeck also uses dialogue to describe some of the characters through the opinions of others. An example of this is when Candy describes Curley to George and Lennie just after they arrive, ‘Seems like Curley ain’t givin’ nobody a chance’. This gives the reader a different opinion of the character and allows them to see the character from a different point of view.
The final technique that Steinbeck uses to describe the characters is colour imagery. The character that he uses this technique on the most is Curley’s wife as she is represents her with the colour red, ‘she had full, rouged lips … her fingernails were red’ and ‘she wore …red mules’. Steinbeck may have decided to link this colour in with Curley’s wife as the girl in Weed wore a red dress and she got Lennie into trouble as does Curley’s wife. Or, he may have used this colour as it symbolises not only anger and danger, but also seduction and love which relate to Curley’s wife’s unreliable character.
Throughout the novel, Steinbeck uses foreboding language to create a sense of inevitability that something bad will take place. From very early on we can see that Lennie is a threat as on the way to the ranch he accidentally kills a mouse in his pocket by stroking it too hard showing that he doesn’t realize his own strength. We then hear what happened in Weed and find out why they are running away and this shows the damage Lennie has caused previously. Both of these points introduce us to Lennie and create a sense of foreboding as the reader may begin to think that the events could repeat themselves.
Further on in the novel, we learn form George that Lennie is ‘strong and quick and Lennie don’t know no rules’ which again reminds us of Lennie’s potential danger. When Lennie crushes Curley’s hand we see how harmful he can be and how quickly his mood can switch. As Lennie first see Curley’s wife, ‘the rectangle of light in the doorway was cut off’ and this could show that she will be the person that ultimately ends Lennie’s life. Towards the end of the book, just before Lennie kills Curley’s wife he also kills one of the pups and this is a final reminder of his threat and we know that Curley’s wife is in great danger. These points of inevitability during the novel create tension and suspense and in a way they cause Lennie’s murder to be less of a shock and instead almost predictable.
In conclusion, Steinbeck’s use of language effectively describes the characters and settings throughout the novel. His use of inevitability cleverly creates the tension and suspense that lead up to the death of Curley’s wife. I have enjoyed studying the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ and I think that through the way Steinbeck wrote the dialogue of the characters as they would speak it helped me to relate and connect with the characters. However, I was disappointed with the final line of the novel as I found that it ended suddenly and I would have liked to have seen how George reacted afterwards to what he did to Lennie, his best friend.
