Figurative Language In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is ranked in the top ten most banned books in modern day education due to it's use of inappropriate language. The use of profanity and vulgarity in literature has been an ongoing topic for many years that could possibly never end. Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is one of the most debated novels on the topic of being banned from the use of inappropriate language. Although Of Mice and Men is a literary classic, it should be banned in schools due to inappropriate language.

appeals, as well as creating a deep connection between the characters and the reader. Steinbeck

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.

The idyllic nature of one’s dream compels them forward, albeit an almost impossible one. The continual use of vivid imagery greatly immerses the reader; the reader could see George and Lennie’s “little house and a couple of acres” (14) and smell “the bacon and the hams” (57). Steinbeck appeals to the senses to show the alluring qualities of their dream. George’s repetitive depictions of their own land shows the importance of their dreams; without it, there would be no plot, no story, no desire to progress. It would be a story of two nondescript men, wandering aimlessly across the vast American west. Steinbeck chooses to incorporate imagery throughout the story to emphasize what the fruits of one’s labor will result in. The dreamlike setting of George and Lennie’s farm shows the impossibility of it, as a place that perfect would not be in the mortal world.

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).

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.

Steinbeck uses flash back and conflict to display diction and imagery in his works in the book “Mice and Men”. How Steinbeck uses diction is by having one of the main characters have problems in their life making them lean on the other main character for a guardian. Steinbeck uses imagery by having the main characters dream about being independent, and doing things the right way when they have rewards.

Lennie is often referred to as an animal, and dehumanized by his past choices as well as how he’s characterized, these are all examples of foreshadowing. Lennie is a tall man, the complete opposite of someone considered petite. His actions throughout the novel were referred to animal like for example “...and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear would drag his paws” (pg 2). When Lennie is described as an animal it dehumanizes him. Usually explaining his actions simply as dragging his feet would keep the image that he is human. Lennie’s hands were often described as paws “Lennie covered his face with huge paws and bleated with terror” (pg 63). Describing Lennie as an animal blurs the image of him being human just like the rest of the men at the ranch. Lennie is a human just like everyone else in the world, although with his mental state there wasn’t the appropriate care for him in the 1937 society. People in a 2017 society can have the same physique as Lennie, taller, strong, and simple-minded. Although there is a struggle to find care for these people alike Lennie it is far less challenging than in 1937 where Of Mice and Men takes place. Lennie is also dehumanized

In the play, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses imagery in conjunction with diction to convey the moods of the chapters as the story progresses. A once very lively and hopeful mood turns into a dismal and depressing mood through the use of these literary techniques. To begin, in the very opening of the play, there is a stress on the lightness and contentedness of the scene that is being described, whereas in the opening of the concluding chapter, there is a stress on the dismalness and dreariness of the scene. “The water is warm too, for it has slipped twinkling over the yellow sands in the sunlight before reaching the narrow pool... the golden foothill slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan mountains” (Steinbeck 1).

“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, 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

John Steinbeck wrote the book, Of Mice and Men, and incorporated detailed and descriptive settings, dreams, and character appearances for the book to be turned into a major motion picture like the one that was created in 1992. I think the book was written this way because the reader is taken to the place being described or sees the character being described. Steinbeck makes it easy for the reader to be put in George’s or Lennie’s shoes by using imagery and figurative language, such as similes and metaphors. “Both men glanced up, for the rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off. A girl was standing there looking in. She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled

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.

The passage from Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is from the fifth chapter of the novella. Lennie is sitting in the barn, staring at his dead puppy. He asks the puppy why he had to die, and considers George’s reaction to finding the puppy. Lennie becomes fearful that George will not let him tend to the rabbits once he finds him. While Lennie is thinking, Curley’s wife comes in looking to talk with him. He tells her about his puppy, and how it is dead. Lennie also mentions how he enjoys petting soft rabbits. Eventually, Curley’s wife asks Lennie if he wants to touch her soft hair, and he ends up snapping her neck after she tries to pull away. The excerpt from the chapter starts with Lennie trying to cover her dead body. He is in shock, due

Having less can make you want more. In John Steinbeck's short novella called The Pearl, Steinbeck focuses on a poor family of three people named Kino, Juana and their son Coyotito. The family tries to find a way to fix their lives so they won't be poor anymore. Kino ends up finding a pearl that changes their lives forever, but not in a good way.