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Of Mice And Men Symbolism Analysis

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A golden green field stretches ahead endlessly, pointing towards two great mountains with its straightly planted fruit trees. To the left of the field are three small cabins built with simple wood structures in rectangular shapes. Near the edge of a cluster of trees sits a large house, painted white and red with a wooden porch resting out in front. Laborers are scattered throughout the field, each one carrying a basket filled with harvested crops and working individually. They bend down together in a rhythmic manner to pick the fruits and buck the grain, despite standing meters apart. A scrawny, short man leads a horse back to the dilapidated stable, while a tall, slim man leads a parade of donkeys towards a fenced area. Another man, old and …show more content…

Steinbeck utilizes symbols as one of his main literary elements, found in every passage and every sentence of the story. In two of these “symbol sentences”, he writes, “Slim sat down on a box across the table from George. He studied the solitaire hand that was upside down to him” (Steinbeck 34). The two symbols used are the boxes and the solitaire hand. The box that Slim sits down on represents isolation from the rest of society. At the current moment, Slim is sitting on it, which shows him overcoming it. He is able to fight off the loneliness and isolation from the world by sitting with George. However, the box of loneliness will eventually swallow him up and barricade him from connecting with anybody else, as it will with all the other characters of the novella. Another symbol identifying the theme statement is George’s solitaire hand. Solitaire itself is a card game played by one person, symbolizing solitude. Slim and George are sitting together, yet directly between them stands the loneliness embodied by the solitaire hand. The loneliness will get in the way of the two men from accomplishing their dreams of defeating it. Both symbols are found multiple times through the book and depict the theme statement. In addition to the boxes and solitaire, Candy’s dog also symbolizes how everything ends in loneliness. …show more content…

Many choose to disregard this loneliness ahead in exchange for their lighter, brighter dreams. There are, after all, still so many places left to go and so many people left to see. However, all endings in life, whether that ending concerns relationships, dreams, or death, are of solitude. Coming to terms with this is necessary in order to find peace and to live with purpose. It opens the eyes to a hidden truth— loneliness will continue to be a companion through the entirety of

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