Symbolism In Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

In the book, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck used figurative language, specifically personification and symbolism, as well as diction to develop an apprehensive tone, and later a morose tone, in the euthanization of Candy’s dog. Candy was concerned about Carlson killing his dog because he did not want to lose his companion, which he had for so long. After he received no support from anyone else he inevitably allowed Carlson to do so which left him feeling depressed. Once Carlson introduced the idea of killing the dog to Candy, Candy attempted to reason with him as he “scratched the white stubble whiskers on his cheek nervously”(45). Steinbeck’s use of descriptive diction helps portray that due to Candy’s old age, symbolized by “the white stubble whiskers on his cheek,” he was becoming insecure

Two prevalent symbols in “Of Mice And Men” by John Steinbeck are dogs and rabbits. Dogs are used in the novel to represent Lennie, and they way he’s treated. Dog’s are known for being a person’s perfect companion, always following orders and staying loyal. Throughout the book, Lennie follows George’s orders. One example is when Lennie and Curley fight and Lennie attacks Curley because George told him to. He then stops because George orders him to. After Lennie lets go, he says to George, “‘You tol’ me to, George,’”(64). During that encounter, Lennie’s hands are also referred to as “paws”, usually associated with dogs. He also always stays loyal to George. For example,

Lennie enjoys mice and always captures them, but always ends up killing them by accident. Lennie doesn’t intend to do this and doesn’t realize it’s wrong. He eventually ends up killing Curley’s wife without actually meaning to. This causes Curley to become angry and George to realize that something needs to be done to stop Lennie. “I’m gonna shoot the guts outta that big bastard myself, even if I only got one hand. I’m gonna get ‘im”(Steinbeck 98). This shows that Lennie killing Curley’s wife really did make Curley mad, and if George didn’t kill Lennie himself, Curley was going to. Without realizing it, Lennie makes people upset or mad because of things he doesn’t know are wrong. George killing Lennie was an option because either he had to get it over with or Curley was going to take it upon

Lennie is a sweet caring guy who wants to help George get their dream house and own lots of animals, so they can own the fat of the land. In one part of the book Lennie kills his puppy by smacking him, just like if you mess with a dog they will get mad at you and nip you, but when they realize they are doing something wrong, they will feel bad and try to hide the evidence, just like when Lennie tried to hide his puppy from Curley’s wife. “We’ll have a cow,” said George. “An’ we’ll have maybe a pig an’ chickens… an’ down the flat we’ll have a… little piece alfalfa----” “ For the rabbits.” Lennie shouted as said on page 105. George did the right thing by killing Lennie. George killed Lennie because he killed Curley's wife, and so he can have a happy death before Curley makes him suffer for what he done to his wife.

Curley’s wife came by to talk and to comfort Lennie, but it takes a horrible turn, “ ‘Don’t you go yellin’,’ he said, and he shook her; and her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck” (Steinbeck 91). Lennie was in a panic of the thought of not being aloud to tend the rabbits, mixed in with Curley’s wife screaming to get Lennie away from her. George said if he does something bad he can’t tend the rabbits, which happens to be all that Lennie dreams of. Lennie was told to stay away from Curley’s wife, and the one time when they are alone Lennie killed her.

George was always getting mad at Lennie for mice until they died. And Lennie got chased out of Weeds for wanting to feel a girls dress because it looked soft. Later, Lennie accidentally killed his puppy because he was too strong. By all these things we know that Lennie loves to pet soft things and he tends to accidentally kill or cause problems for what he pets. The foreshadowing makes the reader understand Lennie's innocence and does not think he is capable of deliberate murder by the time he kills Curley’s wife.

Lennie had accidentally killed Curley’s wife and many other small animals and If he were to be let loose it would most likely happen again. Lennie had many violent outburst such as when he killed the puppy and often times he did not understand the significance of what he has done. After killing the puppy the main thing Lennie focus on is tending the rabbits, Lennie said “George ain’t gonna let me tend no rabbits now”(Steinbeck 87). Along with others Lennie was also putting himself in danger. His difficult behavior, aggression, and lack of self control left him in a constant danger.

John Steinbeck uses many literary devices in Of Mice and Men to make the book more interesting and to keep the reader hooked. Steinbeck uses imagery to show “The flame of the sunset lifted from the mountain-tops and dusk came into the valley, and a half darkness came in among the willows and the sycamores” to demonstrate that sunset is taking place as well as the darkness is starting to take over(Steinbeck 11). In chapter 6 Steinbeck uses imagery again to set the scene, “Already the sun had left the valley to go climbing up the slopes of the Gabilan mountains” set the final scene of the book, also at the beginning of chapter 1 the scene is sunset and in chapter 6 the scene is sunset as well(Steinbeck 109).

Metaphor “The curls,tiny little sausages, were spread on…” In “Of Mice and Men”, Steinbeck describes Curley's wife’s hair as sausage-like curls. I created Curly’s Wife with literal sausage curls, as if the sentence were literal. Plot (Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Resolution) This drawing represents the plot.

In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses a plethora of imagery to discuss the withering despair of the American Dream. To begin his novel, Steinbeck uses imagery to create an analogy towards the Garden of Eden. This is shown through his description of the “golden foothill slopes” and “sycamores with mottled, white, recumbent limbs” (Steinbeck 1). This imagery symbolizes George and Lennie’s American Dream; full of hope and life. However, alike the Garden of Eden, when man comes along, the beautiful, tranquil, perfect environment, becomes scarred.

“And George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie’s head.” In the book, “ Of Mice and Men ,” by John Steinbeck (13), the author uses so many symbols in his characters and in the background throughout the story. In the book, everything represents symbolism whether it is the characters or the setting of the time and place they are in. The time period in “ OF Mice and Men “ is around the 1930s during the Great Depression. The men and women in the story aren’t very educated by how they talk and pronounce words. The setting is in Salinas Valley, California which is located in Northern California just south of San Francisco.

John Steinbeck’s 1949 novella entitled Of Mice and Men uses many significant symbols to convey meanings about the human condition. Such symbols include hands to represent labour, cards to signify chance and taking a risk, and finally, rabbits to suggest ideas about achieving one’s hopes and dreams. Symbols are a key central device in delivering meaning, as they consistently repeated throughout the narrative and are typically associated with the novella’s many characters.

A symbol is a mark or character used as a conventional representation of an object, function, or process. Symbols have huge meanings in anything. Symbols can show a lot of things, such as it hinting at what may happen in the future or even a deeper meaning. Steinbeck chose symbols in OMAM because they have deeper meanings than you think. Curley’s wife, Lennie’s puppy, and the rabbits are three symbols that Steinbeck uses in OMAM.

The long, hard war of human equality in society, has been a war since the beginning of civilization. The Great Depression, a tragic time in America’s history, reflects American determination, but also social inequality. In the fiction novella, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses symbolism and characterization to address ableism and sexism in society. Steinbeck addresses these flaws in society in an attempt to ultimately bring awareness these riffs before society falls.

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.