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The Effects of Foreshadowing in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men

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The Effects of Foreshadowing Of mice and men is a short but captivating novel by John Steinbeck. He uses many literary techniques in his novel, but one of the many that can keep his readers on their toes is foreshadowing. Steinbeck uses parallel structure to foreshadow upcoming events in the novel. Some readers feel that this technique makes the book predictable, therefore taking away interest, but others think this technique is what creates the excitement to see if their predictions turn out to be correct. Nonetheless the technique is one that shapes the book. Steinbeck uses foreshadowing with different components of his novel, one being the characters. When reading about Candy it’s obvious that he has a strong connection with his dog, …show more content…

The very end of the book ends in the same setting when Lennie runs and hides to the brush after killing Curley’s wife. George talks to him about their plans with the rabbits just like he did that night, and that’s when he kills him. The details in the beginning gave the readers hints about what was going to happen near the end when George came to find Lennie. 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. During scene one, George discovers a dead mouse in Lennie’s pocket. This angers him, as Lennie has seemed

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