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Analysis of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men
986 Words2 Pages
Analysis of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck's novel, "Of Mice And Men", is a skilfully structured novel that uses parallels, contrasts, foreshadowing, motifs and symbols to emphasise the numerous themes the novel is based on. The story is set during the American depression and focuses on two migrant American labourers. George looks after his immensely strong but stupid friend, Lennie. The two men both dream that one-day they will own their own land and work only for themselves, but Lennie's lack of understanding of his own strength and the cruel world in which he lives brings him unwanted trouble. Steinbeck is a master of using parallels and foreshadowing. At the beginning of the book the reader is introduced to an incident in Weed, in which Lennie, not understanding that he was doing wrong, grabbed a woman's dress. As a result of this Lennie and George are chased out of Weed. This foreshadows and is in parallel with Lennie accidentally killing Curley's wife. The incident in Weed as with the killing of Curley's wife was caused by Lennie's child-like love of soft materials. In Weed Lennie's refusal to let go of a woman's dress was caused by the woman panicking, which in turn caused him to panic. This event and Lennie accidentally killing his pup (this again was caused by Lennie not knowing his own strength) foreshadow and parallel Lennie killing Curley's wife. Lennie again killed accidentally, by breaking her neck when she panicked after he refused to let go of her hair. Parallels are used here to emphasise certain themes such as the predatory nature of human existence (a frequent strong theme throughout the boo... ... middle of paper ... ...obert Burn's poem - "To A Mouse" which is based on a similar theme to "Of Mice And Men" in that even the best laid plans will bring nothing but grief and pain: "But Mousie, thou art no thy lane, In proving foresight may be vain: The best-laid schemes o'mice an'men Gang aft agley, An' lea'e us nought but grief and pain, For promis'd joy." The death of Lennie at the end of the novel awakens George to this as well as the impossibility of the American dream a common motif, symbol and theme throughout the story. John Steinbeck's novel, "Of Mice And Men," is an ingenious piece of work in which his simple use of dialogue and skilful use of parallels, contrasts, motifs and symbols emphasise the numerous themes that can be related to real life so the reader can relate to and understand the story.
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Themes in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men
1108 Words | 3 PagesA friendship is not all they have together, Lennie and George have dreams. Lennie and George have worked up the idea of owning their own piece of land together. Lennie wants to tend the rabbits (Steinbeck 11) and George just wants to be his own boss (Steinbeck 14). The only problem with their dream is that it is unrealistic. They cannot buy land to tend and just go days without tending it because they do not want to. Like many traveling farm hands during the 1930s, George and Lennie think they could work up enough money to buy their own place and not give a “hoot” about anyone but their selves. Although their dream is unattaina...
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605 Words | 2 PagesOne week after Lennie's death, George sits in the dark corner of a bar. The room is all but empty and dead silent. All the windows are shut, through the small openings come beams of dull light that barely illuminate the room. George stares at his glass with an expressionless face, but a heavy sadness in his eyes. The bartender comes towards him and asks if he would like something else to drink.
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546 Words | 2 PagesDue to child like qualities, Lennie is a person which would be easy prey and a vulnerable person. Lennie is a vulnerable person who is quite dumb. His has an obsession for touching soft thing and this will often lead him in to trouble. But poor Lennie is an innocent person who means no harm to anybody. When he and Curley get into a fight Lennie is too shocked to do any thing. He tries to be innocent but, when told to by George grabs Curley’s fist and crushes it. George is Lennie’s best friend and Lennie does every thing he tells him to do as demonstrated in the fight with “But you tol...
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919 Words | 2 PagesJohn Steinbeck, in his novel Of Mice and Men, makes use of similes and foreshadowing to keep readers in touch with the characters and at the edge of their seats throughout the story. Foreshadowing lets readers keep questioning, while similes add more details and brings out the characters in the book. Steinbeck’s use of foreshadowing and similes brings out the deep meaning and themes learned through the characters and the circumstances George faces. Foreshadowing and the use of similes are two of the many literary techniques that bring out the deep thoughts of an author using great details and suspense. These are the techniques which make authors like, John Steinbeck, successful writers.
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Of Mice And Men
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1038 Words | 3 PagesTragedy in life can be used to demonstrate the ultimate display of compassion and love, which truly demonstrates the qualities of men. In life people create attachments and bonds, craving companionship over isolated individualism. There is a endless cycle and chain of events that cause the annihilation of bounds which leads to tragedies bringing sadness. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck focuses the reader 's attention on the bond between two individuals George and Lennie, who are running from past experiences trying to start anew chasing their American Dream unaware of what 's lurking ahead. Through craftsmanship, nature, transnational connections, evocative imagery, and symbolism, Steinbeck exhibits the cyclic journey in life, in which Lennie
Of Mice And Men
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748 Words | 2 PagesAfter Lennie gets into the debacle with Curley’s wife, he runs to the oasis described at the beginning of the book. George fears the men will tear Lennie apart and murder him. He also knew he would be institutionalized, or “caged” if he survived the attack. He had the moral clarity that let him see that killing Lennie was the best thing for him. When George kills Lennie, it’s a kind of mercy killing.
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