Analysis Of A Passage Of Mice And Men

In section five from the novel “Of mice and men” Lennie, one of the principal characters, committed two murders. One of them, the dead of Curley´s wife, was greater than the other because involvescomplicated situations and conflicts between many people. The passage describes the scene after the murder. The tone that the author uses toward the audience in the passage is nostalgic. Steinbeck´spurpose is to give the reader a tool for creating empathy and a better image of the situation. He uses several elements in order to reach his objective; the elements will be presented in the followingessay.
The author started with a poetic description of the scene, creating an atmosphere of calm and reflection. This element can be perceived in the following quote “The sun streaks were high on thewall by now, and the light was growing soft in the barn. Curley´s wife lay on her back and she was half covered with hay. It was very quiet in the barn, and the quiet of the afternoon was on theranch” (p.92). Steinbeck uses the symbol of sound all along the passage to support the nostalgic part in the creation of the space. The sound changes as the situation changes; it is described as quiet whilethe scene of the murder is detailed and when it finishes the sound is presented higher describing the men´s voices louder and clearer.
Tone is supported with the way the author structures thesentences. The syntax in this passage is important and helps in the development of author´s purpose. Author uses parallelism in the sentences and a formal language. We can see this organization in thequote on page 93 “As happens sometimes, a moment settled and hovered and remained for much more than a moment. And sound stopped and movement stopped for much, much more than a moment”. Steinbeck useslong sentences with the connotation of words converting them in philosophical words.
The essence of nostalgia on this part of the novel is presented in the peace and the vanishing of a rough life....