How Does Steinbeck's Use of Animal Imagery Enhance the Plot or Characters in of Mice and Men?

John Steinbeck’s “Flight” was published in 1938. John Steinbeck was also known for his other works such as “Tortilla Flats”, “Of Mice and Men”, and “The Grapes of Wrath” which has been Steinbeck’s masterpiece. In many of Steinbeck’s works Steinbeck keeps the same general themes, ideals, and methods throughout most of his literary works. For example, in his work “Of Mice and Men” the character Lennie is often described with animal imagery. For example, Lennie would often be described as strong as a bull. In the case of “Flight” Steinbeck is more often seen using animal imagery to describe the character of Pepe. Pepe is often described as having his hand flick a like a snake when Pepe throws his knife. Steinbeck also introduced themes into his

Steinbeck portrays Lennie to be very careless and irresponsible through the death of the mouse, the puppy and Curley’s wife. The death of the mouse foreshadows the death of the puppy and the death of Curley’s wife. Through the death of the mouse we see how Lennie is irresponsible for his actions. “They was so little,” he said apologetically. This shows that Lennie is taking

It “was silent outside. Carlson’s footsteps died away. The silence came into the room. The silence lasted” (Steinbeck 48). The use of the repetition of silence and an abundance of short choppy sentences to slow down the pace of the story. This emphasizes the awkwardness of the silence and the loneliness that Candy feels. Candy raised his dog from a pup and had herded sheep with him. His dog was essentially the last companion he truly had. When Carlson puts the dog down, he essentially puts down Candy’s whole demeanor in this moment, as Candy now has no one. In the same way Steinbeck uses narrative pacing in the instance with Candy’s dog, he also uses it when George has to put down Lennie. When Lennie is on the run from Curley, he clumsily returns to the spot where George had told him to head to in case he got in trouble. When George found him at the creek, he talked and talked with Lennie, until, finally, he, “raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie’s head. The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger” (Steinbeck 106). Steinbeck slows down the pace

“Of Mice and Men,” a novel written by John Steinbeck, and “To a Mouse,” a poem written by Robert Burns, are similar not just by coincidence. Though 152 years apart in age, evidence of the poem’s influence is easily seen in Steinbeck’s work. The most notable influence is the title, of course, which is directly taken from a quote in the poem. Though this instance is quite apparent, the influence doesn’t stop there. “Of Mice and Men” and “To a Mouse” have several similar thematic structures, including characters, plot similarities, and setting.

Steinbeck fully develops the animal comparison at the end of the novel by drawing a parallel between Candy and his old dog and George and dog-like Lennie. Like Candy's useless old dog, after the incident with

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

The novel Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck is set in America in the 1930’s and it describes the lives of migrant farmers as they go from farm to farm looking for jobs. It also shows the loneliness of the characters and the hard work that they put in. The main characters of the book are Lennie, a man-child, and George, a small man but very powerful character that takes care of Lennie in their journey. Also when they get to the farm they meet the bosses wife who is very lonely and looks for company in the workers. Steinbeck uses characterization to bring his characters to life using various techniques.

John Steinbeck uses symbolism to signify ideas and qualities by giving them a meaning. For instance, Candy’s dog. Candy’s dog represent the fate awaiting anyone who has outlived his or her purpose. Candy’s dog is old and weak so he is no longer needed in the world. Although, Carlson promises to kill the dog painlessly, his insistence that the old dog must die supports a cruel natural law that the strong will dispose of the weak. “That dog of Candy's is so God damn old he can't hardly walk. Stinks like hell, too. Ever' time he comes into the bunk house I can smell him for two, three days. Why'n't you get Candy to shoot his old dog and give him one of the pups to raise up? I can smell that dog a mile away. Got no teeth, damn near blind, can't eat. Candy feeds him milk. He can't chew nothing else." Candy knows this lesson, for he fears that he himself is coming to an end when he will no longer be useful at the ranch.

Through the narrative convention of foreshadowing, Steinbeck uses the execution of Candy’s dog to predict what will occur to Candy himself, once his ability to work diminishes completely. Candy’s dog is a metaphor of himself. The dog represents the brutality of life on the land and the inevitability of becoming useless.

Compare the episodes in which Candy’s dog and Lennie die. How has Steinbeck made these events effective for the reader?

He uses foreshadowing to prepare his readers for a potential danger eventually leading to Lennie’s final crime. He also emotionally prepares his audience for Lennie’s final crime of killing Curley's Wife using a crescendo effect on all the other crimes Lennie commits. Lastly, Steinbeck directly prepares his readers for Lennie’s death using the symbolism of Candy’s dog and the way it dies. By the end of the book, Steinbeck prepares his readers very well for Lennie’s final crime and subsequent

In relation to the poem, Steinbeck’s character Lennie represents both mouse and man. He is the man in terms of his physical strength and characteristics but the mouse in terms of his mental capabilities, simple desires and simple understanding of the world.

John Steinbeck is an author that creates an illusion of life in animalistic terms. Throughout the course of the novella, animal characteristics are given to the character Lennie. The author compares the character to an animal along with explaining the physicality and interactive movement of the character. “These are made acceptable and indeed moving because of the genuine sweetness on feels in Steinbeck’s nature and because he sees these human beings as being at least as dignified as animals” (Allen 325). Human beings have instincts and behaviors that are similar to animals. Steinbeck’s personal interest of humans portray under the living qualities of animals. “Lennie dabbled his big paw in the water…” (Steinbeck 3). Steinbeck compares

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

‘Of Mice And Men' by John Steinbeck is a classic novel, tragedy, written in a social tone. The authorial attitude is idyllic, however, as the story develops it changes into skeptic. It is evident that Steinbeck knew the setting and places he is writing about.