Of Mice and Men : chapitre 1 et 6 comparaison

Littérature anglaise :

1)    We can find similarities between the opening chapter and the last one: indeed, the last chapter of the book starts like the first one. The author describes the place in the same way: the river, the mountains and the sycamore tree and some animals. In addition, the atmosphere of the place, like in the first chapter, is calm, silent, peaceful and has an air of paradise. Each element arrives in the same order in the first chapter as in the last. Moreover, Steinbeck uses the expression “still” to make us feel like nothing as changed since the beginning of the story. Also, in the two chapters, Lennie is kneeling in front of the river. However, in the first chapter it is for drinking, whereas in the last chapter it is before dying. We find in the two chapters the father/son relationship that Lennie and George have; “you got to look after me “(first chapter); “we got each other” (last Chapter).

This is the reason why we may think that the opening chapter is a figure of speech called prolepses because it mentions facts that will occur much later in the plot.

2) The version of 1992 is the one that I prefer. The action is longer, it is described in more details and therefore if allows us to be better prepared for what it will happen. The music is also very important in the scene (1992’s versions) and with sound effects which also participate in spreading a message on the atmosphere.

First of all, the second version allows the viewer to better feel the feelings of the two characters: we see that they are very affected by the situation since the movement of Lennies shows his affection for George (he runs towards him and takes him in these arms). We also observe the fact that Georges is about to cry while in the 1939 version this is not the case. In addition, in this version we see that Georges hesitates to kill Lennie, he even hides the weapon with a handkerchief. It looks like he is afraid of something. In the 1939 version, after having killed him, Georges leaves Lennie's body sunk in the water while in the other version, Georges rests on his body. This allows us to better understand his affection for Lennie. And finally, the last plan that we see is the one that we will remember the most: in the 1939 version, it is the river with the body who is drowning whereas in the 1992 version, the medium shot allows us to see the environment where the story begins and where it ends.

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