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Literary devices
Literary devices examinable
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There is only one way an author can get their readers to cry, laugh, and love or just enjoy their master pieces. That one way is through the uses of literary devices such as similes, metaphors and personification. These are the small things that brings the author`s thoughts and ideas alive. The author`s ability to use literary devices through the book helps in direct characterization and lets readers get a better understanding of Lennie and George, the two main characters Of Mice and Men. It also helps in keeping readers thinking on their feet and constantly questioning George and Lennie`s next move while in Salinas, California. 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.
John Steinbeck uses similes to build and create powerful characters that touch the hearts of readers. Throughout the story Lennie`s character grows to be stronger and stronger through Steinbeck`s use of similes. When George and Lennie arrive at the farm, George introduces himself and Lennie to the boss. George compliments on Lennie being a hell of a good worker and tells the boss Lennie was “Strong as a bull” (Steinbeck 22). Up till this quote, Lennie is thought to be a huge man, shapeless of face who walked very heavily until Steinbeck`s use of similes help uncover Lennie`s true character. John Steinbeck illustrates Lennie`s body and strength by comparing him to a large, heavy and physically powerful animal such as a bull. The use of similes helps in indirect characterization as well and adds to Lennie`s physical appearance and age. The use of similes in this quote helps to create a more powerful character and bring more ...
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...eshadowing creates an effect of suspense, questioning and brings in thought throughout the book. Foreshadowing keeps the story moving along smoothly and brings the book alive.
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.
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.
In Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, foreshadowing is used throughout the whole book and gradually preparing us for the tragic end by constantly hinting about the inevitable tragedy that awaits the pair, especially Lennie Small.
John Steinbeck's agricultural upbringing in the California area vibrantly shines through in the settings and story lines of the majority of his works. Steinbeck's novel, Of Mice and Men, takes place in the Salinas Valley of California. The drama is centered around two itinerant farm workers, George Milton and Lennie Small, with a dream of someday owning a place of their own. Lennie Small is a simple-minded, slow moving, shapeless hulk with pale eyes whose enormous physical strength often causes him to get into trouble. George Milton on the other hand is small in stature, clever, dark of face and eyes, and acts as Lennie's guardian and calming force.
The quote that inspired John Steinbeck was the best laid schemes often go off track can be seen in the novel of Mice and Men. When Curley's wife met a man in her childhood that offered her to be an actress but the chance went away and she later died. Then Curley wanted to be a professional boxer but the dream never happened and he became a farmer then got his hand broken for trying to be tough. George and Lennie were going to buy a farm to live off the fat of the land then Lennie had to get in trouble and George had to give up the dream and kill Lennie for what he had done.
These devices are incorporated into the journey of two companions working their way towards a dream. Steinbeck uses symbolism to complement his words to depict a higher meaning. As experienced readers will discover, the relationship between the intelligent, but small and weaker George Milton and the mentally handicapped, but large and stronger Lennie Small is symbolic. Even Lennie expresses this relationship “because I got you to look after me and you got me to look after you, and that's why” (14) .This suggests that they are not alone-they have each other. While George complains in the first chapter that he does not know why he keeps Lennie around, George argues "I could get along so easy and so nice if I didn't have you on my tail"(11), he later explains the importance of Lennie's friendship -:“I seen the guys that go around on the ranches alone. That ain't no good. They don't' have no fun. After a long time, they get mean. They get wantin' to fight all the time” (41). Although he is often irritated with Lennie, The reader can infer George stays with Lennie out of his promise to Lennie's aunt or the reader could look deeper and understand George cares about Lennie and that, meaning in life depends on upon sharing. This idea is central to Steinbeck's theme of brotherhood and how men are better if they are not alienated because, if alienated, they become mean and cruel out of their fear of vulnerability. The strength to oppress others originates of weakness, Steinbeck tells his readers. Most importantly for both George and Lennie, Lennie is the keeper of the dream. Without the child-like Lennie there is no dream of a ranch and rabbits and "livin' off the fat of the land." It is for Lennie's sake that George repeats the dream of them owning land. At first George does not really believe that this dream will come to fruition. But, with his childlike friend's
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 most sympathetic character created throughout Steinbeck’s novel is Lennie Smalls whose untapped mental strength is in direct conflict with his overdeveloped physical strength. Throughout the story, Lennie comes across many conflicts and is tested with many arising problems. Conflict is to come into collision or a disagreement between two or more forces. At the beginning of Steinbeck’s novel the reader gets a sense of
In the book Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck, two men travel together to escape their pasts. They arrive at a ranch in the Salinas Valley with hopes to achieve their ultimate dream; to buy a place to call their own. Lennie, who is a simple-minded man, and George, who is just a typical guy are brought together and make a lasting friendship out of the loneliness of each man. While spending time on the farm George and Lennie meet some friendly characters, but because of some accidental deaths their dreams drift away. Foreshadowing may create a literary theme.
Strengths and Weaknesses play a huge roll within the story. Steinbeck explores different types of strength and weakness throughout the novel. As the novel begins, Steinbeck shows how Lennie possesses physical strength beyond his control, as when he cannot help killing the mouse. Great physical strength is valuable in George and Lennie's circumstances. Curley, as a symbol of authority on the ranch and a champion boxer, makes this clear immediately by using his brutish strength and violent temper to intimidate those who look down on him. Lennie means no harm at all. The reason why George and Lennie had to leave in the beginning of the novel was because it was believed that Lennie attempted to rape a woman there. Rape was not the case at all, when Lennie expressed his love for the touch of soft things, such as a dress or a mouse, this panicked the woman causing a chain reaction, and causing Lennie panic also. When Lennie accidentally kills the mouse, it foreshadows the future of Lennie and Curley's wife.
Even from the very start of John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, the uniqueness of George, as a character, is already noticeable. He is described as “small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp strong features” and has an obvious dominance over the relationship between Lennie and himself. This lets the reader know from a very early stage in the book that George is different, and probably the essential character. George’s character seems to be used by Steinbeck to reflect the major themes of the novel: loneliness, prejudice, the importance of companionship, the danger of devoted companionships, and the harshness of Californian ranch life.
The daily struggle of the working class, fear of loneliness and the reality of putting all your energy into plans that fail are the different themes relating to John Steinbeck's novel, "Of Mice and Men". The characters depicted by the author are individuals who are constantly facing one obstacle after another. The book illustrates different conflicts such as man versus society, man versus man, man versus himself and idealism versus reality. The book's backdrop is set in the Salinas, California during the depression. The two main characters include two men, George and Lennie. Supportive characters include a few ranch hands, Candy, Crooks, Curly, Slim and Carlson.
Lennie's greatest difficulty seems to be remembering; and it is the lack of the ability to remember that ultimately leads to his tragedy at the end of the book. In the novel, Steinbeck seems to reinforce Lennie's characteristics of strength, kindness, childlike manner, and somewhat animal-like personality. In this paper, I will focus on these characteristics. Strength Even though Lennie's last name is Small, he is, physically, just the opposite: a large man with great strength. This strength is represented numerous times throughout the novel.
In the great work, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck makes clear that George is faced with many struggles. Steinbeck writes of a character that has many internal and external conflicts. Yet, through those conflicts, the reader learns the purpose of the novel; what the true meaning of friendship
Many books on the market today have no message and no real story. They are often romance novels or books about sex and drugs. Stories like these create no connection between the reader and the novel. To create a good connection you need to have characters you can relate to in a per0matter. A connection is super important for a story to be exceptional. John Steinbeck is a marvellous writer who uses figurative writing, foreshadowing and imagery to create a strong connection between the reader and the world of “Of Mice and Men”. These techniques are used to make a book more interesting and Steinbeck uses them to a greater advantage.
Peter Lisca’s analysis on “Motif and Pattern in Of Mice and Men” clarifies that Steinbeck’s misunderstood usage of symbols, actions, and language convey motifs and patterns that connects the beginning of the book to the end. Lisca implies that the first and primary usage of symbolism was the area near the river where the story initiated and ended. He insinuates that the cave that Lennie mentioned twice and the river George ordered Lennie to visit when in danger symbolizes as “a safe place” and innocence while becoming “translated into terms possible in the real world” (Lisca 1). In addition, Lisca also advocates that the rabbits serve as symbols to dramatize Lennie’s devotion for his safe place, but also to “define the basis of what desire on a very low level” (Lisca 2).