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Tension In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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In the book Of Mice and Men, the author develops the theme that only the fittest will survive, by using conflict, symbolism and descriptive language in describing characters, setting and imagery respectively. Tension is used when a character tries to avoid conflict with another character. This can be seen from Curley’s reaction the first time he meets George and Lennie and, “his eyes passed the new man and stopped…. His arm gradually bent at the elbows and his hands closed into fists…. His glance was at once calculating and pugnacious” (Steinbeck 55). That movement is a sign of being aggressive. Readers may think that this character is hostile towards the main characters. The author’s use of tension, by describing one character attempting to …show more content…
Furthermore, the descriptive language allows the use of tension to create vivid images in readers’ mind. This is demonstrated when Carlson is going to shoot the old dog, the actions of everyone are described as, “he rippled the edge of the desk nervously, and the little snapping noise drew the eyes of all the man in the room…. A minute passed and another minute. Candy still staring at the ceiling…. Slim gazed at him for a moment and then looked down at his hands, he subdued one hand with the other and held it down” (Steinbeck 49). Although Steinbeck only uses plain wording in describing everyone’s movement, multiple senses are involved. The snapping noises, the ripple of the desk and the movement of characters enable readers to visualize what is happening. Different characters show different reactions and everyone is expecting the gunshot. Since Candy’s dog becomes useless, it has to be killed, which further links back to the theme that only someone who is useful is allowed to stay. In addition, the use of symbolism builds tension as a way of sending messages to the readers. The author develops the theme through symbolizing certain

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