The vocabulary that Steinbeck choices to describe the brush in both sections one and six of the novel mirror each other. Steinbeck has Lennie repeating the actions from section one to make us think back to the beginning of the novella, and consider the characters that he has created. Steinbeck’s meticulous use of detail throughout the novel makes it more memorable to the reader and so when in section 6 Lennie “appear[s] out of the brush” they are instantly reminded of the opening, as though the novel has come full circle.
Steinbeck chose to set the ending to ‘Of Mice and Men’ in the same setting as he chose to set the first to show the monotony and routine of the ranch hands and despite the “dreams” they may have, the reality of the situation makes hopes impossible. We, as the readers are aware from the start that the text is likely to end where it began as Steinbeck has the character, Lennie repeating what George said about the brush “so [he doesn’t] forget it”, consequently the repetition also had the phrase stick in the minds of the novel’s audience. So when Lennie remembers his instructions from George in section Six, so do the audience.
Steinbeck sets section six of the novel after “the sun had left the valley” which mirrors the first section which was also set in the “evening”. However the night also serves another purpose of suggesting that at the end of the day also comes the end of Lennie’s life, making the reader consider what has happened in the novel between sections one and six to lead to this moment and the comments Steinbeck was trying to communicate. The language choices Steinbeck makes to describe Lennie are throughout often quite animalistic. Although to demonstrate his size when Lennie is described as a “bear”, these terms serve a secondary purpose of making Lennie seem more animal than human. The very end of the novel and Lennie’s death are foreshadowed by the events in section 3 when Candy’s dog is “led away” to be shot. Later on Candy reveals that he feels that he “should have shot him myself”, which is what George does in the way Carlson describes in the bunkhouse. These similarities’ make Lennie seem like an animal however the metaphor goes further, suggesting that people at the time were all treated badly or like animals as Lennie is in this novel.
In conclusion, the details that Steinbeck presents the final section of the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ make the reader think about other sections of the novel, particularly the begging as much of the imagery used in the final section is either the same or similar.