Discuss the Use of Imagery of Light and Dark in of Mice and Men
In Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the imagery of light and dark is used to deepen the themes of the normal. Sometimes darkness or “light lifting” can mean more than one thing. In this essay I would explore this subject. “Although there was evening brightness showing through the windows of the bunkhouse, inside it was dust”. This shows that the light tries to get in but never manages to penetrate the darkness. This is important to the themes of the story because workers’ hope for a future farm is just like the light while the cruel reality is like the darkness.
Their efforts to realize this plan is just like the light trying to penetrate the darkness, but their dream shatters at last, just like the dust inside. “lay deep in his head, and because of their depth seemed to glitter with intensity”. This is a portrayal of Crooks’ eyes. The combination of darkness and light here implies the loneliness and inner heat of Crooks. Crooks is a black and is separated by the whites so he is very lonely. The depth of his eyes suggests that he is sad, tired and lonely, but the eyes “glitter with intensity”, which suggests that in his deep heart, he is longing for accompaniment and he has depressed passion inside. In the stable bunk’s room a small electric globe threw a meagre yellow light”. The light in Crooks’ room is “meagre”, this suggests that Crooks’ social position is like the meagre light—-unimportant and easy to be neglected. When Curley’s wife first appears in the bunkhouse, both Lennie and George notice that the rectangle of sunshine in the doorway is cut off. This suggests that to those workers, Curley’s wife is like darkness. She is a “tart”, a “tramp”, she is dangerous and brings only trouble to them because when she appears, their “sunshine” is cut off. Here the sunshine may represent bright things such as a better future or hope.
Curley’s wife cut off their sunshine which means she may take away their happiness, just like darkness. Just before Curley’s wife dies “the sun streaks climb up the wall”. This suggests that the climax is coming. It also shows that another new day is on its way which means all those belong to yesterday will become the past. The dream, the hope, the trouble, everything needs an end and it is time to give that end. After Curley’s wife has died “the sun streaks were high on the wall by now, and the light was growing soft in the barn. ” The barn is growing soft implies that Curley’s wife fades away.
Her life is end just like the light in the barn. Also the change of light shows the change of time which can help readers better understand the timeline of what happened. The outside sunshine is bright, the death of Curley’s wife is dark, these two compose a direct contrast which makes the setting full of sorrow. As Lennie’s captors advance on him “Already the sun had left the valley to go climbing up the slopes of the Gabilan Mountains, and the hill tops were rosy in the sun”. The fact that the hill tops are rosy after he has dies suggests that he is better off dead and will be happier in heaven.
And the sun leaves the valley suggests that everything is over, the climax, the story, the bubble dream, the darkness, everything, good or bad, is over. A new day , a totally “new” day but not another “old” day, is smiling to the world. So though the story is about shattering dream, in the end it shows a light of hope, which contributes more charm to this book. Imagery plays an important role in setting the mood for the whole story. This figurative language appears many times in the novel with different meanings. Imagery contributes to the depth of the book as well as its immortality.
