Emotional Setting

Setting is not only the physical time and place, but can also include the emotional atmosphere in which a story takes place. Describe the setting of the novel Of Mice and Men in both senses—physical (time, place, physical features of the environment) and emotional (is the atmosphere friendly, antagonistic, collaborative, dog-eat-dog, etc). In your description of the emotional side, explain what evidence from the text you are basing you interpretation on.

•  The physical setting of the novel Of Mice and Men includes nature, if we recount the first seen of the novel. There is the woods and the path which leads to a pond, where George and Lennie drank water from. The other physical settings include the new ranch that George and Lennie went to. There, the most described place is the dormitory for the workers; the bunks and the shelves are precisely described. The time for the novel is most likely in America during the time of the thirteen colonies, in the South. 
• The emotional setting is quite different from the nature and calmness of the physical setting. The emotional setting is very suspicious and  competitive. We can already see some suspicion when the owner of the ranch notices that George is always answering for Lennie. Then, there is obvious competition when Curley sees Lennie, because he doesn't like big guys, and Lennie is a big guy. This shows a dangerous feeling and mood, and also foreshadowing at the same time. However, there is a quite friendly emotional setting between George and Lennie.