The Conflict of Nature: The Opening and Closing Scenes

Traces the contrast between the natural world of the Salinas River and the human world of the ranch, highlighting the indifference of nature to human suffering.

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The Natural World at the Start

The Peaceful Pool The Description of Nature The novel opens with a detailed description of the Salinas River and the surrounding landscape. The pool is deep and green, the sycamores are mottled, and the heron stands motionless. The scene is peaceful and serene. The Violence in Nature Yet even in this peaceful scene, there is violence. The heron kills the water snake. Nature is not gentle; it is a cycle of life and death. The scene is a microcosm of the novel's world. The Contrast with the Human World The natural world is contrasted with the human world of the ranch. The ranch is crowded, noisy, and full of conflict. The pool is a place of refuge, but it is also a place of death. The conflict between nature and humanity is a recurring theme.

The Return to the Pool at the End

The Same Setting, Different Fate The Return to the Pool Lennie returns to the pool at the end of the novel, as George instructed. The scene is the same: the water, the mountains, the wind. But the mood is different. The peace is a prelude to violence. The Human Violence George shoots Lennie by the pool. The natural world is a silent witness. The heron is gone, but the violence is still present. The pool is a place of death, just as it was for the water snake. The Indifference of Nature After the shooting, the pool remains unchanged. The wind blows, the leaves rustle. Nature does not mourn. The conflict between the human world and the natural world is resolved by the absorption of human tragedy into the indifferent landscape.

The beginning of the novel

The end of the novel