In the novella Of Mice and Men, there are symbolism used through animals to represent what happens to Lennie and what kind of sides he has. Candy’s dog displays the image of Lennie’s death because they both get shot in the head and have problems to the extent of having other characters trying to kill them. Throughout the novella, there are rabbits that keep showing up around Lennie. Lennie loves rabbits and likes to touch their fur. He will do anything to protect them because he sees the part of pureness he has in him through the rabbit. He will make sure no harm comes to them because he wants to keep that part of pure innocence that he has in him. When Lennie and George are talking about their dream, Lennie declares if cats come to bother …show more content…
his rabbits on their dream farm, he will break the cat's neck, by the imagery of the cats harming his previous rabbits, the cats could symbolize the bad in Lennie, and by killing the cats he would destroy his bad side that serves as a reflection. The above-evidence helps with the idea of the animals emblem in regards to Lennie, like Candy’s dog resembling his death, the rabbit representing the pure innocence he has in him, and the cat displaying an image of the bad side of Lennie. Curley’s dog symbolizes Lennie’s death because they both share the same type of death, which is getting shot in the head, and they both were both killed because they had caused problems for others around them. The dog resembles his death because in the novella, Slim wanted to kill the dog and he wanted to participate in killing Lennie (pg 68), and so that shows that the dog resembles his death because the same person wants to kill him. There is an emblem of Lennie’s death because when Carlson is taking Candy’s dog out, he kills him with a lugger and when George raised the gun and steadied it, he then kills Lennie (pg 106). Killing them with the same gun displays that the dog is a parallel version of Lennie’s death. The symbolism of Lennie’s death is shown through Candy’s dog because the problems they had got them killed and others weren’t okay with the problems they had, like Candy’s dog stinking up the room and Slim wanting to kill Candy’s dog to put out the smell but also put the dog out of it’s misery (pg 36), same thing with Lennie except Lennie’s problem got him killed because he was touching soft things without letting it go. The rabbits that keep showing up and at one point a rabbit talked to Lennie and shows the pureness Lennie still has in him.
The rabbit simulates the pureness in Lennie because when Lennie is running away from the murder scene of Curley’s wife, he sees this “gigantic rabbit”(pg 101) and when the rabbit makes eye contact, it starts talking to him and that makes a parallel version of the goodness in himself talking to him. However, he then realizes that he had caused the death of a very important person. Throughout the novella, whenever Lennie would bring up about rabbits in a conversation he always asks if he can tend the rabbits and that seems like as if he is trying to assure that virtuous part he has left in him, for an example “you jus’ let’ em try to get the rabbits. I’ll break their god damn necks…” (pg 58). They feature this pure innocence in Lennie because when George and Lennie are preparing for whenever there was a case of the same incidence in Weed, Lennie hides behinds the bush, when George said “But you ain’t gonna get in no trouble, because if you do, I won’t let you tend the rabbits”(pg 16) it seemed as if he is saying that if Lennie gets into the same trouble he did in Weed then, he will just lose the good in him and have nothing left to secure in him. The rabbits signify Lennie’s pureness because there are scenes that make it seem like he is protecting the rabbit, so that he could secure the angelic element he has in him, although the rabbits can present a …show more content…
reflection of innocence. The cat in Lennie’s conversation with George resembles the vicious side that Lennie wants to keep hidden because he doesn’t want others to know that he has this evil side that he probably enjoys and that cat is what describes his bad side. The cat has a reflection of the bad in Lennie because when George and Lennie were having a conversation George said that he has to watch the rabbits or else the cats will kill them, Lennie kills mice and other soft things and cats kill mice which means that the cat symbolizes the bad in him. In the conversation that Lennie had with George, Lennie claims to “...break their god damn necks…” (pg 58) which means that he wants to kill the cats because they kill soft things (mice) and that resemble the viciousness he has in him. Lennie hates that cats kill soft things because he sees that he also kills soft things and that cats enjoy killing soft animals, however he probably hates the cats because they enjoy killing soft animals and he probably sees that he also enjoys killing soft animals. Lennie has a bad side, and whenever he hears George say that he has to watch the rabbits or else the cats will kill them, he sees that he is the cat and that he is the one killing the innocent animal or human, and that he needs to get rid of that bad, evil, vicious side in him. The novella Of Mice and Men presents symbolism through the animals to the parts Lennie has in him and what beholds in his future.
The dog displays Lennie’s death and Candy’s dog shares the same death and have people wanting to kill them to get rid of the problems they are causing to others. The dog symbolizes his death by getting killed with the same weapon which is the Lugger. The rabbits shows the pureness in Lennie by Lennie wanting to protect that part in him and the rabbits representing as a shoulder angel after he killed Curley’s wife and ran away. The pureness are shown through the rabbits by Lennie making sure that he will kill any cats that harms the rabbits which means that he wants to secure the goodness he still has. The cats displays the bad and viciousness in Lennie by claiming to kill the cats for killing the rabbits he thinks he is going to have and both the cats and Lennie share the same animal that cats kill. The animals resembling the sides that Lennie has in him and his death is shown through Candy’s dog, the pure innocence in him through the rabbit, the bad and monstrous side in Lennie are shown through the cat in the conversation that he had with
George.
The first being Candy’s old dog. Candy has raised that dog up from a pup, keeping it close to his heart. The dog shows the nostalgia Candy has for his youth.The rabbits mentioned continuously in the novella happens to represent Lennie’s happiness. Lennie enjoys the feel of soft things, often picking up mouses along the way of George and his travel. The little pup given to Lennie is a symbol of the fate of the weak in the face of the strong. Just as Lennie is dependent on George, the pup was completely dependent on
why Lennie and George Travel together and is not very understanding. Although you never find
Lennie is unintelligent all throughout the story. “‘Uh-uh. Jus’ a dead mouse, George. I didn’t kill it. Honest! I found it. I found it dead.’” This quote shows that Lennie doesn’t understand that keeping a dead mouse as a pet is not sanitary and not the right thing to do. Another time, George was exclaiming to Slim that he once told Lennie to jump into the Sacramento River and there Lennie went, right into the river. This trait of Lennie’s effects the story because it got him and George kicked out of Weed when he wanted to feel a girl’s dress. It also got him into trouble when they got to their new job. His unintelligence gets him into more trouble as the story goes on making him anything but a sympathetic character.
Lennie's Passion for Soft Objects in Of Mice and Men Works Cited Missing Definition of the word trace: follow, hint, and mark out. In this essay I will trace in detail soft things that Lennie pets in the novel, showing that the petting grows more serious as the novel goes on. In the novel Lennie pets mice, he dreams about petting rabbits, destroys someone's dress in Weed, hurts Curly's hand, kills a pup, and kills Curley's wife. Bad things come in threes, Lennie's two accidental killings of animals foreshadow the final killing of
In the novel, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck chooses to use many different and unique symbols in order to help develop characters and to foreshadow upcoming events. The symbols used in this story give it a more effective message and provide a better understanding to what Steinbeck has intended to convey. He uses many different forms of symbolism, some which are objects while some are actual human relationships, in order to make the story more realistic and to give it a more insightful approach.
Lennie dreams of living on a wide open ranch with George where he tends to the fluffy little rabbits he loves so much. Nevertheless, Lennie sadly never reaches his ultimate goal as his flaw finally becomes his fatal flaw. Lennie kills Curley 's wife by shaking her so hard that her neck breaks. He does not kill her on purpose but Lennie does not know his own strength. He is only shaking her like that because he wants her to stop yelling. Curley 's wife observes that Lennie is "jus ' like a big baby" (Steinbeck 99) and invites him to stroke her soft hair. Lennie begins to feel her hair and likes it very much indeed, which leads him to pet it too hard. When she started to complain, he panicked and started to try to silence her. He was afraid that George would not let him be part of the dream anymore if Curley 's wife got mad at what he did. So he 's shaking her to try to protect his part in the dream but he kills her and the dream too. Lennie observes that he has "done a bad thing" (Steinbeck 100) and covers her body with hay. Lennie is hiding in the brush where George had told him to hide when he got into trouble. George finally emerges to get Lennie while he is an emotional mess. He then tells Lennie to take off his hat as he continues to recount "how it will be" (Steinbeck 104) for them. He orders Lennie to kneel and pulls out Carlson 's Luger. As the voices of the other men in the search party near their location, George tells Lennie one more time "about the rabbits,"(Steinbeck 106) tells Lennie that they 're going to get the farm right away, and shoots his companion in the back of the
George's dream is to have a ranch of his own and Lennie's dream is to have, as mentioned earlier, a farm filled with rabbits. Lennie's hope for his dream is influenced whenever George starts describing his dream farm in explicit detail, such as how the fields are going to look, what animals they will own, what the daily routine will be etc. This farm symbolizes happiness and salvation, especially for Lennie, since he understands that the farm is his ticket to getting rabbits. In fact, the reason why he forgets George's orders is because he cannot stop thinking about his rabbits. A farm has basically become Lennie's version of heaven. This relates to how people always long for something to the point of where it becomes like heaven, a place where happiness lasts forever. Unfortunately, the rabbits symbolize false hope. For instance, Lennie holds a dead mouse and a dead puppy all for the same reason: he killed them. His love for petting soft creatures only causes trouble for himself. So if he owns a lot of rabbits, it is more than likely that they will all die because of Lennie. The rabbits, to Lennie, are things that seem like they will bring him true happiness, when they only create more sorrow. In other words, the rabbits symbolize sorrow disguised as salvation because in the end, Lennie goes suffers all because of his love for soft things. This is able to teach readers how dreams in the past
Since the beginning of the book, Steinbeck characterizes Lennie as a man who sees the world through the perspective of a child, as if it is a dream. Lennie is a big guy, but he acts like a baby. In the beginning of the story, after George threw the dead mouse Lennie was petting, Lennie was “…‘Blubberin’ like a baby!” (9). This juvenile action demonstrates Lennie’s immaturity and childish
George and Lennie need each other to achieve their dream of their own farm with rabbits to tend. Lennie could not take care of his rabbits or even survive without George.
Reading means to understand the information on paper and be able to understand its true meaning. Reading for explicit meaning is to look at the text and be able to know and understand the accurate definition. Reading for implicit meaning is to be able to find the implied or suggested, but not clearly stated meaning. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, an implicit reading of the text requires the understanding of suggested value. In this paper, I will examine implicit meanings in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men (Penguin Group 1993), paying particular attention to the implicit meanings derived from symbolism, paradox, and theme.
When you’re first introduced to a character you can depict their role within the story, but sometimes they can portray a much larger meaning. Many characters in numerous stories can be considered allegories due to author trying to show a bigger picture. Such as the story Of Mice and Men. This John Steinbeck novella can be viewed as an allegory due to the characters being able to embody certain groups in society. Three characters that symbolize a particular group are Curley’s wife, George, and Lennie.
Lennie is a large and hardworking man, but with a strong mental cripple that causes him to forget things and speak improperly. This always gets him in trouble with George, other characters, or even the law. Him being tall, the antagonist Curley dislikes him. He pushes him around, talks ill of him, and even fought him. This resulted in Lennie being allowed to fight back and crushed Curley’s hands to dust. This embodies loneliness, as having a person constantly out to get you and hostile to the point of violence makes you feel alone and unwanted. Throughout most of the story, it is implied that he is in the barn playing with Slims puppies. Eventually, he accidentally kills one of the puppies. He gets flustered and angry, and hides the puppies body until Curley’s wife walks in and finds out what happened. She tries to comfort and understand him, but he is resistant because George did not allow him to communicate with her. He eventually opens up and she talks to him about her missed acting career and dislike for Curley. Lennie, however, seems not to take interest in this and tells her about his plan for rabbits. Favoring soft things, (and Curley’s wife’s hair being soft) she lets him feel her hair. One accidental hard tug causes Curley’s wife to yelp in pain, making Lennie attempt to silence her. Unfortunately, he had silenced her. These two events cause more loneliness, as deat...
Lennie apologized to George for killing the mice; he told him that the reason for killing the mice was because “they bit my[Lennie’s] fingers” but he only “pinched their heads a little”(Steinbeck 10). Lennie’s guilt drives him to apologize about the mice but he appears to underestimate his own strength because he claimed that he vaguely pinched their heads, but Lennie being a vast man, that couldn't have been the case. He didn't know the consequences of pinching the mice even after he had done it so many times. This shows the lack of perception he holds, meaning he can't become cognizant of the things happening around him on his own, causing the reader to initiate sympathy for Lennie. Lennie’s immaturity is so big it can be misunderstood for cleverness. George sharply asks Lennie to give him the object from his pocket but he claims “ I ain't got nothin’”but later on admits he has a dead mouse but [George] insists to “ have it”,but George insisted to have the mouse then he “slowly obeyed”(Steinbeck 5-6). It appears as if Lennie was being clever but by handing the mice to George, his childish behavior is revealed. His ingenuous acts portray identically to a child influencing the reader to gain sensitivity to the way Lennie is treated. The way Lennie understands the world and process thoughts makes him mentally stable, for a child. Not only is he innocent but he is also ironically characterized.
The central element of this novella is its symbolism. This novella has plenty of symbolical forms, such as people, creed, and some of the animals. Candy has several terms of symbolism, for example his disability is a symbol of the migrant workers who are just literally forgotten about, they are forgotten when they are no use to the owners. Candy’s dog is a symbol of a life only for advantage to others Lennie also for shadows this, he is belittled of his mind but enormously commented for his strength. Also he is compelled to lie about the fight he had with Curley, this is a symbol of typical male society in the, “Depression era”.
Lennie accidentally killing all of his pets establishes that the theme of this novel is death and loss. These pets consist of mice, dogs, kittens, etc. Lennie loves to feel and pet animals, but he does not know his own strength. He kills them without really noticing what he has done, until George tells him that he did something wrong. After being scolded, Lennie is very remorseful about what he did. Once, after being yelled at Lennie says, “I pinched their heads a little and then they was dead- because they were so little (13).” Lennie’s remorse is probably more for upsetting George than it is for actually killing the animal.