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Explain the use of symbolism in John Steinbeck's "the pearl
Analysis of John Steinbeck
Explain the use of symbolism in John Steinbeck's "the pearl
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The best part of a book is being able to reread it and make connections there not obvious the first time. That’s what makes John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men such a compelling novel. Throughout the story, best friends George and Lennie go through a series of conflicts that foreshadows a tragic ending. Steinbeck's use of foreshadowing is a key factor in connecting the events of the story together. The ending might have been a surprise for many people, but the smoothly integrated foreshadowing throughout the novel allows for the reader to gain a better understanding of the ending. At the beginning of the story, George warns Lennie “if you jus’ happen to get in trouble like you always done before, come right here an’ hide in the brush.” (P.15) it explains where Lennie is, and how the author connects back to the beginning of the book, element of nature, the circle of life. …show more content…
There’s an important moment where Candy says, “I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn’t ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog.” (p.61) He regretfully tells George that out of loyalty to his dog, Candy should have been the one to put him to rest. George is put in this exact predicament himself when he kills Lennie in order to save him from Curley’s revenge. He realizes that he would regret not killing his best friend just as Candy did. Without the help of foreshadowing George’s actions would seem extreme, but instead, they are justified because the reader understands that it is important for George to kill Lennie
Many characters have hopes and dreams which they wish to accomplish. Of Mice and Men has two main characters that go through obstacles to get what they want. In the beginning it is George and Lennie running away trying to get a job. Once both George and Lennie have a job they try to accomplish their dreams. Unfortunately they both can't get their dreams to come true since lennie does the worst and George has to shoot Lennie. Steinbeck uses characterization, foreshadowing, and symbol as rhetorical strategies to make George's actions justified.
He tells Candy to wait until he has left the barn to yell as though he had just found the body. He immediately heads for the bunker and tells Candy to “give me a couple of minutes” (95). This allows him to have enough time to get the gun be in his possession and be back in time to follow the men into the barn. He knows he must head straight for Lennie after everyone has seen Curly’s wife’s body, they came from the north so George hopes Lennie has remembered to hide in the brush. When the guys ask George where Lennie could have gone he claim Lennie “would of went south” (97). He knows that if the men search in the south it will give him the opportunity to kill Lennie without any pain. Afraid that George might be up to something Curly tells George to follow them, “George moved slowly after them” (98). He moves at a slower pace than the rest of the men to create distance so he can eventually head north to the brush where Lennie
Lennie Small, a mentally impaired man, is first introduced to us traveling with George. George, however, is not related to Lennie. Lennie travels with George because no one else understands him like he does. Lennie says, “Because…because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you…” (Steinbeck 14). Lennie believes if George ever left him that he could live in a cave by himself and not bother anyone again (Steinbeck 12). Lennie realizes he would be alone without George, but he never has known anyone else to depend on but George, and from that, they have a bond, a friendship. This shows Lennie’s need for his relationship with George.
One 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.
John Steinbeck, the author of the novel Of Mice and Men uses many stylistic devices and description in chapter one to give the reader a deeper understanding of what may occur throughout the novel. Firstly, the name of the city the two protagonists, Lennie and George, are heading to is called “Soledad,” which means loneliness in Spanish; this is symbolism and foreshadowing because it can mean that as they get closer to the city, their relationship as friends may deteriorate and they may end up alone towards the end. Furthermore, this could also mean that there can be major problems in further chapters because of Lennie’s unpredictable behaviour due to his mental disabilities. In relation to Robert Burns’s poem, “To a Mouse,” the author may be
Foreshadowing plays a large role in indicating that Lennie isn't going to last long in this harsh world. The beginning introduces this world in such a great way, raising your emotions with a happy tone in a wonderful peaceful scene and then sends that scene plummeting over a cliff into a dark unhappy environment. The strong characters in this environment attack the weak and the weak attack the weaker. An example of the strong against the weak is when Carlson compels Candy, "I'll put the old devil out of his misery right now," (p.47) to let him shoot his dog. An example of the weak attacking the weaker is when Crooks teases Lennie, "jus' s'pose he don't come back," (p.72) Lennie is the weakest because of his mental disability and his lack of thinking for himself. He would either run away or be eliminated through death. Candy and his dog mirror the image of George and Lennie. Candy being George and his dog being Lennie. When the dog dies, it foreshadows his death because the dog represented him.
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
Have you ever watched a movie and knew what the ending was before it was over? Characters from the story use foreshadowing to hint on what will happen in the future. There are many examples of foreshadowing that John Steinbeck creates in Of MIce and Men. some key uses of foreshadowing that Steinbeck uses in Of MIce and Men are there wishes of the ranch but their plans going askew, how curley's wife will die, how they will not get the ranch, and lastly how lennie will die.
In California, two friends travel together to attempt to achieve their life long dream of owning their own farm. As they are traveling, they encounter situations that affect their future plans. During the Great Depression, George and Lennie, the main characters, begin searching for work to pay for their dream. As they search for work, George notices that Lennie can’t control his own strength. When they find work, they face many problems on the job especially with the bosses son, Curley. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses Foreshadowing as a unifying device to reveal future events that may occur later in the story.
John 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.
George also knew that Lennie had dug a hole for himself and could never get out. He knew they were looking for Lennie and wouldn’t stop until they killed him. He decided to do it himself in the kindest way he could. It’s like when Candy said about his dog, “I should of shot that dog myself.'; meaning it would have been kinder to the dog. Lennie was lying down, facing away from George and didn’t know he was going to be shot. He didn’t know what was going to happen, just like Candy’s dog.
In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck brings out the themes of Lonliness and companionship, and strengths and weaknesses through the actions, and quotations of the characters. Irony and foreshadowing play a large roll on how the story ends. Lennie and his habit of killing things not on purpose, but he is a victim of his own strength. George trying to pretend that his feelings for Lennie mean nothing. The entire novel is repetitive in themes and expressed views.
In the story Of Mice and Men, there are two main characters, names George and Lennie. On their journey, they encounter many different themes, such as the toughness of life and euthanasia. Friendship is also a very important theme, probably the most important, because these two people’s friendship grows and crumbles. The last theme is also very important; it is the question of fate.
In the short novella Of mice and men, the author John Steinbeck uses countless examples of foreshadowing for the readers to make predictions on what might happen later on in the story. With the help of background details and context clues, Steinbeck was able to foreshadow that George and Lennie’s dream would not come true, Lennie and Curley would get into a major fight, and that Lennie would be killed.
In John Steinbeck’s novella, “Of Mice and Men,” Steinbeck uses a part of one of Robert Burns’ poem line from his poem, “To a Mouse,” as a title to foreshadow that a lot of different plans in the story aren’t going to go as the characters thought they would and the forces that work to prove this are Lennie’s disability, Curley always trying to start something with Lennie, and Candy joining in on the dream of the ranch that Lennie and George had.