Light Imagery In Of Mice And Men

John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men follows the journey of two men, George Milton and Lennie Small, who struggle through the navigation of working on a ranch in California and fulfilling their dreams together during a time of financial depression. The novel begins with George and Lennie traveling through the California wilderness to get to a new ranch just south of Soledad where they are going to begin new work. They had to leave their previous jobs in a town called Weed because Lennie had caused trouble with a girl by holding on to her red dress because he wanted to feel it, and this incident spiraled into rape allegations against Lennie. As George and Lennie make their way to the new ranch, Lennie; who is a large, but simple minded man; found a dead mouse and wanted to keep it to pet because he likes soft things. George, who is more serious and protects Lennie, takes the mouse away from him because even though it’s dead, he should not be messing with it. Lennie often does not realize his strength because of his mental incapabilities and as a result, he causes a lot of trouble and harm. George finds taking care of Lennie to be taxing, but he knows that their friendship is an important bond that he does not want to be without. In order to comfort Lennie in the wilderness, George tells the story of their shared dream to own their own ranch where they can follow their own rules and live as they please. When they finally arrive at the ranch the next day, George and Lennie

To show that man is surrounded by good and evil no matter where they are, Steinbeck describes the setting in a contrasting way to represent the good side and the bad side of nature. He

Imagery can be defined as the ability to form mental images of things or events. The Holocaust was the careless and brutal massacre of six million Jews by the Nazis, who were under the rule of Adolf Hitler, during World War II. In the book “Night” Elie Wiesel describes his harsh, devastating journey throughout the Holocaust by using imagery. During the novel “Night”, Elie vividly describes his experiences throughout the holocaust when they first arrive at Auschwitz and saw the fire, when Elie and his convoy arrive at Buna, and during the alert when a man tries to get an extra ration of soup.

The death march described in Chapter six in Night by Elie Wiesel is a striking and memorable moment. Throughout the march, the people are pushed to their limits and many do not make it. In order to create such a memorable scene, Elie Wiesel uses imagery to construct often inhuman descriptions of the people’s bodies and the surrounding events to create an intense and striking scene.

Edmond Burke once said: "Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it". After what can only be described as an endless year of torture and living hell, Elie, the novel's protagonist, is liberated from his misery and is free to return to a world that will never be the same. Elie disembarks this horrible journey of blood and flesh and sets about a new one, where he must find himself in a new world. Night is a memoir written by Elie Wiesel in 1956. Wiesel's use of imagery in the novel helps visualize the vivid horrors of the war and the nightmarish atmosphere in which the people were subjected to.

The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien is said to be one of the greatest children's novels of all time. The novel, due to its use of such characters as goblins, elves, trolls, giants, and others is in tradition, a fairy tale. The tale centers on a small hobbit by the name of Bilbo Baggins. It follows the journey of a band of dwarves, a wizard named Gandalf, and their robber, Bilbo on their way to retrieving treasure that had long been taken away from them. The hobbit traveled all over Middle-Earth, beginning with Bilbo's tiny hobbit-hole in the ground, to Mirkwood forest, to finally reaching the Mountain in which the dragon Smaug lives. Tolkien uses a large amount of imagery in his writing which can been seen through settings in The Hobbit. The

In Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, the imagery of light and dark is used to deepen the themes of the normal. Sometimes darkness or "light lifting" can mean more than one thing. In this essay I would explore this subject.

The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien is said to be one of the greatest children's novels of all time. The novel, due to its use of such characters as goblins, elves, trolls, giants, and others is in tradition, a fairy tale. The tale centers on a small hobbit by the name of Bilbo Baggins. It follows the journey of a band of dwarves, a wizard named Gandalf, and their robber, Bilbo on their way to retrieving treasure that had long been taken away from them. The hobbit traveled all over Middle-Earth, beginning with Bilbo's tiny hobbit-hole in the ground, to Mirkwood forest, to finally reaching the Mountain in which the dragon Smaug lives. Tolkien uses a large amount of imagery in his writing which can been seen through settings in The Hobbit. The

In the book Night, author, Elie Wiesel illustrates how the Jews had their humanity crushed by the Germans by using detailed imagery. Wiesel’s purpose was to show how the Jews were treated during the Holocaust, so others could change their perspective on it. The main theme presented in this book is the loss of religion. In the beginning of the book, the main character, Eliezer stated that he “believed”, implying that he doesn’t anymore. All the Jews had some form of hope at the start, but due to the major death occurring, their hope started to fade away.

The above passage is also an example of Steinbeck’s masterful use of imagery. Steinbeck’s vivid descriptions of the setting and the thoughts of the characters allow the reader to step into the story, as if they themselves had become a part of it. Another example of Steinbeck’s imagery occurs near the end of the novel, when the Joads are moving into a train car:

In the poem “The Guild,” Sharon Olds uses dark and light imagery to underscore the theme of alcoholism. Olds portrays a concern regarding a grandfather who passed on the legacy of alcoholism to his son. The poet reveals the darkness and the agony in the fireside scene in the beginning by using both light and dark imagery: “– my grandfather sat in the darkened room in front of the fire, the liquor like fire in his hand, his eye glittering meaninglessly in the light.” Here, the grandfather is sitting in a darkened room meaning there is no light and does not want to be alert to what is going around the room. He just wants to sit in the room alone. This dark imagery creates the barrier between the grandfather and the outside world, providing him

In the novella Kitchen, Banana Yoshimoto uses light and dark imagery to develop realistic characterization and to support her fantastical style, while effectively projecting pathos upon the readers. Throughout the story, Mikage unveils that life is a process of healing where grief and sadness are needed to truly appreciate happiness. Such abstract ideas and emotions are detailedly brought about by Yoshimoto’s usage of the four seasons of the year to provide a main timeline of the events concerning Mikage’s encounters with death, as well utilizing cosmos as a form of pathetic fallacy during the more miniscule experiences. In the grand scheme of the story, there

In “The Painted Door” by Sinclair Ross, it is evident that light is used to illustrate the degradation of Ann’s devotion to John as the night approaches and the time spent with Steven, due to John’s absence, lengthens. This is first demonstrated when the setting of a landscape with “bitter light” (1) is established. Despite the bitterness, caused by Ann and John’s non-communicative relationship, the light exemplifies that Ann retains a secure devotion towards John and is confident that he will return home no matter what circumstances. Moreover, this is demonstrated when Ann offers to “paint the kitchen wood-work… to make the room a lot lighter” (2). Although Ann is aware that painting the woodwork is an inconsequential task, as the paint will peel off, she is yearning to bring

Imagery is another important element which London uses to illustrate and emphasize his theme. In “To Build a Fire” Earl Labor sees the “mood and atmosphere, which is conveyed through repetitive imagery of cold and gloom and whiteness,” as being “the key to the story’s impact” (63). London does rely heavily on imagery to set the mood of the story, and in this way he draws a picture of the harsh environment that his character must endure. London uses imagery with such skill that the reader can almost feel the deadly cold of the environment and can almost hear the “sharp, explosive crackle” when the man’s spit would freeze in mid-air (119). Through the use of such vivid imagery, London guides the reader toward the realization of the story’s theme; the reader can visualize the man “losing in his battle with the frost” and therefor can picture man in his conflict with a cruel and uncaring universe (128). Symbolism is also an important element in “To Build a Fire”. David Mike Hamilton’s criticism, he says “the fire symbolizes life as does the white snow that falls at the beginning of the story.” He also views “the dark point in the midst of the stamped snow, foretelling the end of the fire, and thus of life” (2). I strongly agree with Hamilton’s criticism; “the dark point in the midst of the stamped snow” because it not only foretells the end of the fire but of the end of life itself.

Melville, Poe, and Hawthorne all tend to focus on the darker side of humanity in their writings. In order to allow their readers to better understand their opinions, they often resort to using symbolism. Many times, those symbols take the form of darkness and light appearing throughout the story at appropriate times. A reader might wonder how light functions in the stories, and what it urges the reader to consider. If we look carefully at these appearances of light, or more likely the absence of it, we can gain some insight into what these "subversive romantics" consider to be the truth of humanity. Hawthorne uses this technique to its fullest; however, it is also very