Steinbeck’s use of foreshadowing throughout the novel is used prepare the reader for the sorrowful ending to come. Similarly, he also foreshadows confrontation between characters to add tension to the plot making it an effective literary technique. When Candy’s dog gets shot it foreshadows the death of Lennie. Also when Curly first threatens Lennie the reader can foreshadow that they will get in a physical fight. Lastly, there is a foreshadowing of the death of Lennie’s puppy. Leading up to the death of Candy’s dog and the actual death of the dog foreshadows the death of Lennie. As the men in the bunk are playing card games when Candy and his dog enter. Automatically Carlson mentions he smells and then starts discussing shooting him, “He ain’t no good to you, Candy. An’ he ain’t no good to himself. Why’n’t you shoot him, Candy?” (Steinbeck 44). The dog is tired, old, and “no good to himself” or Candy; similarly, Lennie isn’t good for himself or George. Candy’s dog and Lennie both end up getting killed because of …show more content…
After a rough first meeting between the two men Lennie becomes fearful of Curley and doesn’t understand why Curley would want to fight him. George also in fear tells Lennie that, “You gonna have trouble with that Curley guy. I seen that kind before… He figures he’s got you scared and he’s gonna take a sock at you the first chance he gets.” (29). Lennie even more frightened expresses, “I don’t want no trouble” (29). The fact that Curley is so willing to fight and George and Lennie both don’t want to cause trouble are huge pieces of foreshadowing that Lennie and Curley will indeed get into a fight. The use of foreshadowing is effective because it not only gives the reader the ability to make predictions of what is to come but it also creates tension leaving the reader wanting
For instance, George says “All time somethin’ like that- all the time” (Doc B) when Lennie and George are running away from Weed because Lennie had gotten in trouble for touching the girl’s dress. Lennie getting in trouble in Weed is not the first, nor the last time Lennie will get in trouble for being tempted to touch a women. Lennie is tempted to pet things that are soft ,but sometimes he is not able to manage his own strength and hurts what he is petting. Later in the novel, Lennie kills the puppy that Silm had given him, Lennie is sitting in the barn with the dead puppy and says, “ I didn’t bounce you that hard”(Doc B). Lennie had not meant to kill the puppy ,but his innocents is what causes him to harm things without even knowing it. The death of the puppy is what foreshadows what Lennie will do to Curley’s wife later in the book. Earlier in Of Mice and Men George warns Lennie about Curley’s wife, George tells Lennie to not talk with Curley’s wife at all. When Lennie’s hand is on Curley's wife’s mouth he demands her to be quiet and says,“You gonna get me in trouble”(Doc B). George told Lennie to stay away from Curley’s wife gives us a hint what is going to happen between Curley’s wife and Lennie. Lennie’s tendency to crush soft things, combined with his history in Weed and George’s warnings, strongly foreshadow that he will kill Curley’s
Steinbeck uses foreshadowing in this passage. Lennie is the snake and George is the heron. In the end, George is the one who kills Lennie for what he did. The heron killed the snake because he needed to eat to save his life. George killed Lennie because he wanted to save the rest of his life from having to take care of Lennie, but he also save Lennie from having to suffer even more with Curley.
How does steinbeck use foreshadowing? By seth springs Often the best laid schemes of mice and men go astray. In the story of mice and men the two main characters george and lennie are migrant workers looking for a job they go to this ranch and work as farm hands they meet carlson candy slim crooks and curley's wife. Curly doesn't like lennie because he’s tall eventually he gets into a fight with lennie and lennie crushes his hand.
Once again, Lennie finds himself in trouble, when he killed Curley’s wife. He remembers what George told him, “...I want you to come right here an’ hide in the brush” (Chapter 1). That is exactly what Lennie does, he runs straight to the camping spot. When everyone finally sees Curley’s wife dead, they all know who it was and set out to kill him. George sets out as well to see if he can reach Lennie before the rest of the men. “I oughtta of shot that dog myself, George, I shouldn't oughtta of let no stranger shoot my dog” (Chapter 3). That is what Candy said to George after Carlson shot his dog. “George… reached in his side pocket and brought out Carlson’s Luger…” (Chapter 6) This is when George finally reaches Lennie and decides to go ahead and put him out of his own misery, so he shoots him. John Steinbeck uses foreshadowing by clearly using Candy’s dog to represent Lennie’s
Foreshadowing is used throughout the novel to show how most characters had a dream of their own but it didn’t end up in the right direction. One example of this is when Lennie wanted to tend the rabbits since that was really his dream once they worked and got all them acres. One quote from the book that proves this is “ He shook her then, and he was angry with her. “ Don’t you go yelling’,” 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,pg.91) This quote from the text shows the theme by using foreshadowing because since it was Curley’s wife, Curley himself would want to kill him. He would get fired which would make it harder for him to
Everything in the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is inevitable. Everything in the novel is there to tell the reader something or to foreshadow something that might happen later in the book. Some of the ways that John Steinbeck foreshadows future events in the book is through dialogue, characterization, and conflict. The characterization of Lennie throughout the novel foreshadows future confrontation with Lennie and some other minor characters. The reader finds this to be true when Lennie kills Curley’s wife.
In this novel John Steinbeck used a lot of allusions to help develop characters. The allusion being used to develop Lennie’s character is when Curley and he are fighting. Lennie and Curley are being described as David and Goliath. Lennie is strong and big like Goliath. Curley is small like David. In the end Curley defeats Lennie, just like David defeats Goliath. This allusion showed the character trait of strong and big. Another literary device used in this novel is a simile. “ Slowly, like a terrier who doesn’t want to bring a ball to its master, Lennie approached, drew back, approached again”(Steinbeck 9). This shows that Lennie is very unsure and nervous.
Steinbeck uses foreshadowing through the name of the book, given to it by the poem, “To A Mouse” by Robert Burns. The poem is a story of a farmer, plowing his farm, when he plows a mouse’s home. The mouse then begins to run away. “But Mouse, you are not alone...The best laid schemes of mice and men Go often askew.” (Burns, To a Mouse) In the poem it is implied that the mouse’s dreams are forgotten and lost. John Steinbeck references the poem in the name, implying, the mens’ dreams will not come true.
In John Steinbeck’s famous novel Of Mice and Men, foreshadowing plays a large part in the reader’s experience. Almost every event that is important was foreshowed at some people, such as the multiple deaths that occur throughout. If Steinbeck wasn't so prolific in his use of foreshadowing the readers experience would be very different.
In the book Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck prepares his readers for Lennie’s final crime and subsequent death in various ways using foreshadowing, progressive catastrophes with Lennie’s strength, and symbolism. Steinbeck uses the literary device of foreshadowing to prepare his readers for Lennie’s last crime as well as a potential trouble. He also prepares his readers slowly and progressively for the death of Curley's wife by showing his readers a crescendo of Lennie’s catastrophes caused by his strength. Lastly, Steinbeck uses the symbolism of Candy’s dog to directly prepare his readers for the way Lennie's death occurs. Together by the end, Steinbeck prepares his readers very well for Lennie’s final crime and subsequent death.
In “Of Mice and Men” there is foreshadowing used, but where? How does Steinbeck use foreshadowing in “Of Mice and Men?” foreshadowing means to give hints to future events. Foreshadowing in “Of Mice and Men” is shown through these 4 things with: Allusion to the Poem, Lennie’s obsession,The American Dream,and the Parallel between the Death of Candy’s dog and Lennie.
Literature is difficult for some and effortless for others, but there is a type of literature that is commonly used by many people and most use it without knowing. It is called allusion which is the reference to another person or item. John Steinbeck uses allusion to foreshadow what will happen in his book Of Mice and Men. In the book Of Mice and Men the two main characters are George, a smart and short man and Lennie, a strong but dumb man who both lived during the Great Depression. They are migrant workers that get in trouble a lot of times and run from town to town trying to find work, until they stumble upon a ranch that they can work on. During their stay and the ranch foreshadowing suggests what would happen next, but the book still had many twist that foreshadowing did not suggest. In Of Mice and Men Steinbeck uses foreshadowing in various ways to suggest that George and Lennie’s plan would go askew, that Curley’s wife would die, that George and Lennie would lose of the farm dream, and how Lennie would die.
Lennie and Candy’s dog are parallel. Candy’s dog is old, stinky, it cant take care of itself and he’s useless. Lennie cant take care of himself of others, and when he gets scared he holds on to whatever hes got. Candy’s dog had to be put down, just like Lennie. They were also killed the same way. “If you want me to, I’ll put the old devil out of his misery right now and get it over with. Ain’t nothing left for him. Can’t eat, can’t see, can’t even walk without hurtin’” (48). In this scene Carlson took Candy’s dog out and shot him. Though Candy did not want his dog to be dead, he still went through with it. This is just like when George went to kill Lennie, he didn’t want too but it had to be
Several other examples of foreshadowing can be found in the events that happen throughout the novel. It’s no secret to the readers that Lennie has a habit of getting himself into trouble “You get in trouble. You do bad things and I got to get you out.” (11). First with the incident in Weed with the girl’s dress and then again in a similar situation with another woman, Curley’s wife. Lennie had seen a woman wearing a dress that interested him, and, naturally because of his habits of wanting to pet and feel things, he wanted to touch it. The woman was frightened by this and screamed for him to let go. Lennie was shocked by her reaction and hung on tighter. This is because, in George’s words, “that was all he could think to do” (41). After the other workers went looking for them they felt the need to escape the town and this is where ‘Of mice and men’ begins its story. This almost mirrors the death of Curley’s wife, except her neck is snapped and Lennie plays with her hair, not a dress.
George eventually finds out about the death of Curley’s wife so he sets out and kills Lennie by the river. Lennie dies a gentle death, thinking only the happiest thoughts. The moment before he died, his mind is filled with their farm and there rabbits and there dream. Steinbeck reminds you that Lennie is still as gentle as he ever is, despite the fact that he killed