Two other stage conventions include the entrances and exits by characters and, at the beginning of each scene, the setting descriptions. In each scene are entrances and exits by the characters. For example, when Chapter Four opens, Crooks is sitting in his room applying liniment to his back. Next, Lennie appears in the open doorway, waiting to be asked in. Eventually, other characters make entrances: Candy and Curley's wife. Then Curley's wife exits, George enters, and the three men exit, leaving Crooks alone once again.
A dramatic format is used also for the beginning of scenes. Each starts with a sparse description of the setting, much like a playwright would do at the beginning of a play scene. The first and last scenes have descriptions of nature and set the atmosphere for the action. In between these scenes are brief setting descriptions of the bunkhouse and Crooks' room in the barn and the barn itself.
The whole novel contains very little narration. Instead, Steinbeck relies heavily on the words and actions of his characters. A careful study of each chapter reveals that, after the initial description of the setting, most pages contain almost all dialogue with very short introductory phrases. Steinbeck wants readers to draw their own conclusions about the characters and the themes from the action and words of the people, rather than from Steinbeck's opinions. Thus Steinbeck uses a technique that helps his novel translate easily to a staged production.
