Symbols and Meanings of Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men

The story “Of Mice and Men” is widely known for its success of using foreshadowing. Steinbeck’s use of foreshadowing does not disappoint; it is an incredible tool that contributed

“‘Well,’ said George, ‘We’ll have a big vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch and chickens. And when it rains in the winter, we’ll just say the hell with goin’ to work, and we’ll build up a fire in the stove and set around it an’ listen to the rain comin’ down on the roof--...,’”(Steinbeck 14). Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, is about George and Lennie’s story as they work on a farm during the Great Depression. Like a lot of people, characters in this book often think about the future. George and Lennie shared a dream of living on their own plot of land and having their very own rabbits.

John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is a short novella whose fast pace means that, by necessity, it brims cover-to-cover with all the makings of a powerful story. It evokes suspense, drama, empathy, and perhaps a touch of confusion and bewilderment in all its readers. The most engaging way Steinbeck engages these emotions is through foreshadowing. He skillfully utilized various literary elements to create this foreshadowing, which serves to increase and highlight the drama and irony of the story.

John Steinbeck uses diction, characterization, and visual imagery to reveal the following authorial attitude: the novel’s title, Of Mice and Men, reflects the characters’ choices regarding their personal status as mice or men. Lennie, Candy, and Curley respectively reflect the authorial attitude.

In the novel, ‘Of mice and Men’, John Steinbeck uses allegory to represent different themes and messages. An allegory is a story, poem or a picture which can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning. While reading Steinbeck’s book I noticed different metaphors such as the usage of animals and Curley’s wife. Throughout the whole book the reader can notice many animals mentioned such as rabbits, mice, the puppy and the old dog. Curley’s wife is also a sort of symbol. She represents the way in which the women were treated and looked upon in those days. The animals and Curley’s wife all symbolize different things in life in the 1930’s USA. They all symbolize the hopes and the dreams that the characters share which motivates and drives them

“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.

In the book Of Mice and Men by author John Steinbeck, he creates a story about a group of people who work on a ranch. He story may seem like one thing but it truly has another meaning. Different things represent different meanings, such as the rabbits, the mice, and the puppies. They may seem like just animals at first but when really thought about they convey a different message.

It’s just two misfit men against the world; one is mentally handicapped yet has enormous strength while the other is small, but smart. Although they are an unlikely pair, they’ve spent every waking moment together since they were little kids. For as long as they can remember, they’ve dreamed about buying a small farm in the California valley where they can live on their own. Before they can even save their money, however, Lennie makes a horrible mistake that costs him his life and Georges’ last act of love. John Steinbeck’s widely known novel, Of Mice and Men, engages readers through a range of literary devices including themes, imagery, and irony. The most prevalent, however, is the use of symbols. In every chapter, there

The 1937 classic Of Mice and Men is a written depiction of the roles that were played throughout society during the time of the Great Depression. This book, written by John Steinbeck, is an in depth endeavor that gave powerless members of society the chance to have a voice. During the time of the book, people were put in categorizes in society that led them to not only feel lonely but powerless against themselves and others as well. In this story Steinbeck gives the powerless members of society a voice by creating characters who represent the mentally disabled, the women, and the minorities. Steinbeck’s representation of the mentally disabled through the character of Lennie showed the struggles of individuals with mental disabilities during

Out of all the literary qualities, symbolism is used the most. The symbolism is convincingly part of the talk, places, and incidents of the time (McCarthy 3386). “In this case, Steinbeck uses symbolism for ironic effect. The pony in The Red Pony, for example, functions as a symbol of Jody’s boyhood and innocence as well as a symbol of his future. When the pony dies, the reader experiences a sense of loss, because the pony’s death represents Jody’s loss of innocence” (Millichap 1108). The symbolism bleeds through the cloth of each character. The poor are represented with smelly and old clothes, while rich/ranch owners are represented with gloves on their hands and an expensive hat. Along with the clothes, animals also tend to represent someone or something. In the Of Mice and Men, for example, Lennie is represented as a bear and a puppy because he is as strong as a bear, but his actions are frequently portrayed like those of a puppy. The name of the novel, Of Mice and Men, is symbolic too. The men represent George, while the mice represent Lennie. Steinbeck believed that symbolism helped him explain the complex relationship between human and nature; therefore, he is widely considered the master of symbolisms to this day (Millichap 1107). Aside from the use of symbolism, Steinbeck used many imageries in the novel. He used imagery to connect the readers to the characters. The imagery takes the

John Steinbeck’s uses many literary techniques to explore the dichotomy between both power and powerlessness in the novel “Of Mice and Men”. Steinbeck presents different branches of power in the novel such as physical, social, hierarchy, American dream and sexual, with each having their own sense of power. These branches are represent through the characters, Lennie, Crooks, Slim, George and Curely’s wife, are used to show the universal element of power.

“For the rabbits,” Lennie shouted. “‘For the rabbits,’” George repeated. John Steinbeck’s uses of the symbolism in Of Mice and Men, the rabbits to signify the American dream and during the course of this novel, George and Lennie will try to achieve this dream but stumbles. Also, the reader need to analyze the purpose of the scenery and characters in order to understand the true meaning behind John Steinbeck’s work. Steinbeck uses the symbolism of Lennie’s compulsion to touch soft things, the rabbit farm, and the evil aspects of nature in the setting to showcase his beliefs about the American Dream being unreachable for many in the 1930s.6

In John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses a line from Robert Burns poem “To a Mouse” to portray the theme that the main characters failure is inevitable; the forces acting upon this are Lennie’s display of his growing disability, and nobody believes they can do it, plus the men’s inability to stay in one place.

Desmond Tutu, a South - African social activist and retired Anglican priest once said “ Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness”. Of Mice and Men is a novel which revolves around the lives of struggling farmers and how they still maintain hope despite their hardships. The symbolic representation of light embodies the hopes and the American Dream, whereas the dark epitomizes the harsh realities and truths of their lives. Steinbeck uses light and dark to foreshadow the upcoming events in the forlorn lives of the migrant workers. He also combines aspects such as the setting and characters with light and dark to paint a vivid picture in the reader’s mind as to how the world of the migrant workers looks like.

Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men is a perfect illustration of modernist literature from the 1930’s