Steinbeck opens "of Mice and men", with a very vivid observation of the setting. He describes the area in intense detail, because he knows it so well, it is the place of his birth. After this description of the beauty of nature and the beauty of the place he was born in, he brings man into the story and into the setting; Steinbeck conveys that life without man is paradise:

"There is a path through the willows and among the sycamores, a path beaten hard by boys." That conveys that the boys (man) spoil the nature of the path. This story is based in an era where time has stopped momentarily, where there is a sense of economic chaos and distress, and it is affecting many people. The combination of the "The dustbowl" and "The Great Depression" proved to be very devastating for many people in the 1930s...