In each chapter, the light changes to mark the symbolism of a day’s beginning, middle, and end. All six chapters take place over the course of four days, Thursday evening to Sunday late afternoon, and the sunrises and sunsets mark the progression of time. For centuries, sunset has often symbolized an end of life in literature, while sunrise represents a fresh start or a new beginning, so it makes sense that Lennie dies as the sun is making its way down on Sunday afternoon, the last day of the week before a fresh start on Monday morning.

The narrator also uses the framework of the passage of time over a course of a day to discuss the impact of the changing light on the various physical settings of the novella. Trees and branches change in appearance as the sun goes down, the interiors of different buildings alter in the dwindling light, and at nighttime, the glare of a single lamp emphasizes the lonely humanity of Crooks’s single room.

Rabbits symbolize hope and the promise of a new beginning for Lennie. The motif of tending to rabbits motivates him to behave. He believes that once he and George attain their dream farm, he will be able to raise and care for rabbits.