How does Steinbeck use details in this passage to present the bunkhouse and its inhabitants? (30 marks)

In the novel 'Of Mice and Men', each of the settings show an important part of the story line. For example this being the bunkhouse, which is first introduced to us at the beginning of chapter 2, symbolizes loneliness and how the characters such as George and Lennie lived.
In the description of the bunkhouse, we see how Steinbeck has portrayed the setting to be a plain and empty place. "The walls were whitewashed and the floor unpainted." This suggests to the readers that there's a sense of neglect about the place, as it's not been made to look attractive, and like the workers living in the bunkhouse, they feel sad inside and lonely, however the real reason could be that that it's not the outside that's important, but the inside and you shouldn't judge people on what they look like; which is what the workers do to Crooks because of his race. The word 'whitewashed' shows how plain the building is and how simple the lives of the ranch worker were, and also how some of the ranch workers may have secrets they're not saying, as to whitewash something is to say a story, but by covering some parts up.
This line is effective in showing what the bunkhouse was like, and symbolizing the lives of the ranch workers through the setting as its where the workers spend most of their time. It shows how Steinbeck has presented a sense of loneliness through the use of the colour white, as well as neglect through the unpainted floor which shows off the characters lives well.
The passage also shows how the ranch workers have few possessions. "two shelves for the personal belongings". Some of these things included a bar of soap, talcum powder and little articles. Here we see how the workers don't have any family or many possessions to carry with them, showing how they're lonely and individual people. It shows imagery of the bunkhouse as quite a simple and empty room, and

	Created by little_miss_01 almost 11 years ago

A Levels English Literature Note on Of Mice and Men practise question 1, created by little_miss_01 on 06/05/2013.

Of Mice and Men practise question 1