Biblical Imagery In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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

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