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Of Mice and Men Man and the Natural World Quotes Page 1
Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph) Though Steinbeck did not originally include chapter numbers with the text, most editions are broken into six sections, based on day and time of day: Thursday evening = Chapter 1; Friday day = Chapter 2; Friday evening = Chapter 3; Saturday night = Chapter 4; Sunday afternoon = Chapter 5; Sunday evening = Chapter 6.
| Quote #1 [He] walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, way a bear drags his paws. His arms did not swing at his sides, but hung loosely. (1.4) |
In our introduction to the larger of the two men, we realize that the bigger one is depicted as more of a beast than the other man. The words that Steinbeck uses here evoke a picture of a burly, dull, beast – like a bear, or an ape who lopes along. This will be the first of many comparisons of Lennie to a beast. It’s a hint that perhaps it will be easier to understand Lennie’s behavior if we link him to the natural world, instead of man’s "civilized" world.
| Quote #2 Lennie dabbled his big paw in the water and wiggled his fingers so the water arose in little splashes; rings widened across the pool o the other side and came back again. Lennie watched them go. "Look, George. Look what I done." (1.9) |
For all Lennie’s juvenile behavior and thinking, this simple act embodies the possibility that there might be a place for him after all. Lennie is comfortable in the natural world, and unlike other fully-grown adults, he uniquely appreciates the delights nature has to offer. There’s a suggestion here that the elements of the natural world are not necessarily inferior to civilization; a man might get along fine in the natural world because he has a refined and simple sense of beauty – something definitely required to appreciate what’s going on in the great outdoors.
| Quote #3 GEORGE "What you want of a dead mouse, anyways?" |
It’s clear from this moment that Lennie connects to soft things, but that he doesn’t have the complexity to feel revulsion at something being dead. This is our first indication that Lennie doesn’t have a real sense of the severity (or grotesqueness) that humans associate with death. It seems Lennie has a primitive view of death, one where it’s just another part of the natural process – nothing to fear, shun, or revere either.
