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Biblical Imagery In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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Biblical imagery in Of Mice and Men
In the novel of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck, Steinbeck uses underlying biblical imagery to get his message across. The two main characters, George and Lennie, have a strong companionship with one another as well as a quest for their own personal paradise. Steinbeck uses the stories of Cain and Abel, The Garden of Eden, and woman as temptress to portray themes of brotherhood, an ongoing quest for paradise, and woman as a temptation for failure. Steinbeck uses the biblical story of Cain and Abel to portray a theme of brotherhood between Lennie and George. In the story of Cain and Abel, Cain is unhappy that Abel's gifts conjure more praise from God than his, so he ends up murdering Abel out of spite. From the beginning of the novel, george and Lennie are very closely knit, almost like brothers. They always stick together traveling everywhere together. When Lennie gets in trouble, George has to act like his older brother and clean up the mess. Like Cain and Abel, George and Lennie’s relationship ends with the ultimate betrayal, fratricide. As Lennie gets in trouble again, George believes it is his responsibility as his brother to shoot Lennie himself saying “ sure, right now, I …show more content…

In the story of the Garden of Eden, Eden is a mystical paradise filled with fruits and flowers and anything man can want. Throughout the novel, George and Lennie dream of their own Eden, a farm in which they themselves are the owners. George and lennie think quite fondly of the memory, as they have always worked for others and never themselves. Their dream of “living of the fatta the land”(Steinbeck 14) is what drives them. Without this dream, they have nothing to strive or work for. Steinbeck uses the Eden myth to portray Lennie and George’s desire for a paradise of their own, which without it, they would lose the meaning in their

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The novella Of Mice and Men is a novel by John Steinbeck about two migrant farmers in Salinas,California working on a ranch during the Great Depression era. In the novel Steinbeck explores and conveys many themes such as loneliness and the idea of achieving the American dream. He does this through the use of allusion to further develop the meaning of the text in Of Mice and Men. By using these allusions Steinbeck is also able to enhance the characters and their actions in the novel. Steinbeck makes several allusions to the biblical stories Garden of Eden,The Story of Cain and Abel,and The Fall of Man to develop the meaning Of Mice and Men.

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East of Eden, by John Steinbeck, reflects the complexities in father/son relationships. The connection between a father and his son is vital to their development. The novel explores the impact of these relations is immense. The central allusion of the novel is comparing several characters to Cain and Abel, who were formed through their attempted relationship with their father-like figure, God. They struggled and vied for the attention, love, and respect of God, which subconsciously influenced their actions and thoughts.

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And George 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. " George and Lennie had be together for a long time and despite George constantly insulting and complaining about Lennie, he saw him as a friend and brother. George shooting Lennie execution style may seem cruel

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To begin, Steinbeck’s application of figurative language expresses Lennie as an animal showing how he is mindless and needs George as a caretaker. For example, “Lennie dipped his whole head under, hat and all, and then he sat up on the bank and his hat dripped down on his blue coat and ran down his back” (3). This conveys how Lennie symbolically, like a dog, drank the water by dumping his entire head underwater. The average man like George scooped the water to drink it presenting Lennie as not bright.

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