To answer this question, you want to focus on the
deliberate choice of words that Steinbeck uses to describe and present this
grief-stricken family on their return to their village to explore how he creates the
mood of sadness and loss. In particular, you will want to pay attention to how shadows
are used and how the faces of Juana and Kino are
described.
Consider how the use of shadows presents Juana
and Kino as ominous figures overwhelmed by an oppressive
darkness:
The
sun was behind them and their long shadows stalked ahead, and they seemed to carry two
towers of darkness with
them.
Reference to these "two
towers of darkness" that they carry metaphorically of course refers to their grief,
guilt, anguish and sadness at the death of their son, which is of course a massive
burden for them to carry.
Secondly, note how Juana's face
is described. It is "hard and lined" and we are told that her "wide eyes stared inward
on herself." She is described as being "as remote and as removed as Heaven." In
addition, Kino "carries his fear with him" The two figures together seem so archetypal
as to be completely "removed from human experience," so much so that there was a
"magical protection" about them. Clearly, Steinbeck is presenting these two characters
as being ripped apart by the loss of their son, and uncaring of anything now except the
grief that they must endure for the rest of their lives. This dark mood of irrepressible
sadness is depicted through the use of words and description.
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