Steinbeck uses animal imagery throughout his novel,“Of Mice and Men”. His use of imagery adds symbolic value to the characters. Some of the most meaningful examples of his use of imagery are seen in Lennie. In the book Lennie is associated with a bear and a dog in different ways. We also see examples in Candy and his old and smelly dog. All three of these examples have symbolic meanings in the story. Through the examples of imagery used with Lennie and a bear, Lennie and his dog, and Candy and his dog, readers are able to picture and feel these characters the way Steinbeck envisioned them. Throughout the novel, Steinbeck associates Lennie with animal movements, and reveals Lennie’s love of dogs. In the first chapter of the story Lennie is described to us in an odd way. “Behind him walked his opposite, a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, and wide, sloping shoulders; and he walked …show more content…
Steinbeck uses Candy’s old, smelly dog to help us understand Candy’s character. Very much like his dog, Candy has nothing to offer anyone but a small amount of comfort. Candy's dog was his only companion, but the dog was not a real companion in the human sense. The dog needed to be cared for and tended, much like George and Lennie’s belief that any comfort it offered was intangible and ultimately misleading. It’s through this use of imagery between Candy and his dog that we better understand the characters. Imagery is when an author uses vivid and descriptive language that appeal to the reader’s senses and deepen the understanding of their work and characters. Steinbeck uses imagery throughout his novel to help the reader to see in the mind’s eye the way he wants him to understand his character’s actions and behaviors. Through the examples of imagery used with Lennie and a bear, Lennie and his dog, and Candy and his dog, readers are able to picture and feel these characters the way Steinbeck envisioned
John Steinbeck, an American novelist, is well-known for his familiar themes of depression and loneliness. He uses these themes throughout a majority of his novels. These themes come from his childhood and growing up during the stock market crash. A reader can see his depiction of his childhood era. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck shows the prominent themes of loneliness, the need for relationships, and the loss of dreams in the 1930s through the novels’ character.
Imagery is shown through two hallucinations that Lennie has before the end of the book. He has just escaped the ranch because of the accidentally killing of Curley's wife. Lennie also realizes that George will not let him tend rabbits on a farm, which was the desire that he wanted the most. After all George said, "But you ain't gonna get in no trouble, because if you do, I won't let you tend the rabbits" (65). Constantly throughout the book, Lennie pesters George about taking care of rabbits on a farm of their own; tending rabbits was Lennie's dream. As he hides near the river where he and George stayed the night before going to the ranch, Lennie begins seeing his Aunt Clara. But Aunt Clara was speaking in Lennie's voice. She begins to blame
Lennie is depicted in a very childlike manner throughout Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Accordingly, he acts in a manner that is persistent with a child in that his motivations precisely lead to his actions. He does not act in a pure sense of dishonesty, reflective of the purity that is peculiar to someone who is like a kid at heart.
In this novel, various symbols are used to enhance the overall meaning of what the author is trying to inform the reader about. For example, in this novel, one of Steinbeck’s uses of symbolism is in the beginning. “Uh-uh, Jus’ a dead mouse, George. I didn’t kill it. Honest! I found it. I found it dead” (5). This quote is taking effect after Lennie tries to inconspicuously take out the dead mouse from his pocket. Lennie didn’t murder the mouse, he just likes to pet soft things. Steinbeck has made the mouse the symbol for the soft objects Lennie likes to pet. Once after George demands that Lennie disposes of the mouse, they begin their journey to the new ranch they will be working on. Since Lennie always gets them both into trouble, George told Lennie not to verbalize when they got to the ranch. “He got kicked in the head by a horse when he was a kid” (22). George is making up an excuse to the boss why he is answering the questions that are geared towards Lennie. This quote somewhat informs the reader why Lennie is the way he is. John Steinbeck illustrates his use of symbolism very well in this novel. He also demonstrates another literary device, foreshadowing, in this novel well too.
When asked about John Steinbeck’s career, people often refer to Steinbeck as a playwright, journalist, and a well-known novelist. The book Of Mice and Men is a popular novel by John Steinbeck and a required read for most high school students. Most of Steinbeck 's novels have a central theme focusing on the relationship between man and his environment. The American dream for George and Lennie, two of the main characters in Of Mice and Men, is to have a place of their own, to be respected, and to work hard for everything they earn and deserve. In Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, the land and a hope of a better life becomes the talisman of an American dream for Lennie and George that is left unfulfilled.
The background into a character is one of the most important necessities for understanding a book. John Steinbeck uses certain repetitive imagery whenever describing a character to give readers an insight on their mannerisms and peculiarities. Among the images Steinbeck uses, the dog and the bear are the most important. John Steinbeck develops the persona and character of Lennie, a big, strong farmhand that is small minded,by the animal imagery that he uses to describe him and through this Steinbeck conveys his overall message about farmhands of the time.
Lennie Short, who is one of the main characters in the novella Of Mice and Men, has defining characteristics that exposes the true meaning of the book. The complexity of the Lennie’s nature is so thought provoking that the story, Of Mice and Men, is often considered one the greatest short works of fiction of all time. Predominantly, Lennie is a kindhearted, simple-minded soul who unfortunately is mentally disabled. Lennie also has a very distinctive external feature, his size. Being a massive individual, Lennie is magnificently strong and never intentionally causes harm to other beings. In contrast to his size Lennie has a love for all things soft mice, puppies, Curley’s wife and most of all rabbits. It is for this reason that readers find the book remarkable. In a secluded setting at the beginning of the story, Lennie tells George “But I wouldn't eat none, George. I'd leave it all for you. You could cover your beans with it and I wouldn't touch none of it.” (page) This quote expresses the author, Johns Steinbeck’s point of view of Lennie, by starting the book off showing multiple acts of benevolence towards Lennie’s partner George. Even though Lennie is a beast of a human, and is capable of severe destruction, he is an empathe...
John Steinbeck uses imagery to convey Lennie’s character from his short novel “Of Mice and Men,” by using them in similes and metaphors. He compares Lennie to different types of animals to portray everything about Lennie, without directly having to tell the reader how Lennie acts. Within the first chapter, where Lennie and George are first introduced, Steinbeck uses quite a few similes to depict Lennie, such as “he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws” (2). This comparison helps the readers see that Lennie seems to be slow and innocent, but is also very large like a bear, showing that he may also be dangerous in another way. Again, Steinbeck mentions Lennie’s “paws” when Lennie drinks from a pool, and “dabbled
Steinbeck shows the paradox of the characters based on how they were brought up. In the novel, he uses paradox to the characters as they actually are and to show how they are viewed in society. Lennie, a strong and sensitive man,“[...covered his face with his huge paws and bleated with terror. He cried. Make ‘um stop George” (Steinbeck 63). Lennie, based on his appearance, seems to the reader to be a strong-willed man who exudes confidence. But in reality he is shy, reliant on George to tell him what to do, and would never hurt anyone purposely. Lennie is the prime
The story is excellently painted through Steinbeck's vivid narrative techniques using imagery in ways unimaginable. Steinbeck writes, “He walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws. His arms did not swing at his sides, but hung loosely.” (Steinbeck 4) This quote displays how Steinbeck provides readers with an exceptional picture of Lennie as a large, slow moving bear and a feel for how strong he really is. A few pages later Lennie is again referenced as an animal when Steinbeck writes, "Slowly, like a terrier who doesn't want to bring a ball to its master, Lennie approached, drew back, approached again."(Steinbeck, 9) Being compared to a dog not only show Lennie’s loyalty, but it also shows his master-dog relationship with George, his companion. Later in the story, George reveals he has played tricks on Lennie and he has always stayed by his side doing everything he is told, much like a trained dog. The imagery of Lennie being compared to animals gives off the notion that Lennie has a mental
How does Steinbeck use animals to show the main themes in Of Mice and Men. This story is about two men (George and Lennie) and their desperate. hope that they will raise enough money so that they can purchase a plot of land and “live of the fatta the land”. In this essay I will discuss how Steinbeck uses animals to show the themes of friendship/loneliness. anger/violence, cruelty/kindness, and dreams.
About midway through the book, Candy’s dog is shot because it is old and not of much use anymore. They shoot the dog to keep it from suffering in the future. When the dog is shot, Carlson says that “he ain’t no good to you… this ol’ dog jus’ suffers himself all the time”, which is similar how Lennie acts, since he may not be good for much more than a friendship or carrying heavy objects. Another example that Steinbeck uses foreshadowing may be the way the dog is shot. The dog is shot “right in the back of the head” since Carlson says “he wouldn’t even quiver” in Document D. Lennie is later shot in the same way, as George had shot him in the back of the head. Since both Lennie and the dog cause inconveniences and get the people they are with in trouble, it may be an example of how Steinbeck uses foreshadowing to hint at Lennie’s
Through the third chapter, the author presents to the audiences the parallels that some of the characters have between each other. By the author showing the characters’ personalities and characteristics, the readers are able to pinpoint the similarities that lay between friends or companions. The characteristics between Candy and his dog and George and Lennie are similar because between Candy and his dog, they both are old, decrepit but they dependent on each other and between Lennie and George, they both are hard workers that dream of something better in life.
In the Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck used imagery as a major component of the first chapter. He often refers to things as an earthtone. (“To the Red country and part of the gray country of Oklahoma, the last rains came gently, and they did not cut the scarred earth.” Page 1, chapter 1.) He uses this as a way to give us a representation of what the world is looking like, but not only physically; he sets the tone with this imagery, showing us how it feels to live in this world. He uses personification throughout this chapter as well, (“The weeds grew darker to protect themselves, and they did not spread anymore.”Page 1, Chapter 1.) He gives nature a resilient personality, personifying it to parallel the community as well. He uses many cumulative
Lennie's hallucinations showed two things his aunt and a big rabbit.Lennie’s Dream on the farm was always to tend the rabbits. When he realized he had killed his puppy and curley's wife, he knew his dream was over. In the book the rabbit said “Tend the rabbits,you crazy bastard”(Steinbeck 101-102).This quote was implying that Lennie wasn’t fit for the job. Showing him that his dream is coming to an end.