How Does Steinbeck Use Ethos In Of Mice And Men

When world renowned author, John Steinbeck wrote Of Mice and Men, America went into an uproar, because he created a detailed and realistic account of the time period as he tells the tale of the main characters, George and Lennie. Readers are forced to contemplate their own past experiences and how those have affected the way they perceive their fantasies. He depicts the grit, dedication, and harshness of the reality it takes to reach our dreams. In his novel Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses symbolism, parallelism, and pathos to portray the American Dream through the lives and deaths of the characters. John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men portrays the American Dream through symbolic characters. During this time period racism was still an

Readers grow fond of Lennie and feel a strong bond with the fictional character. The author does this on purpose, so that when the climax occurs, the reader either feel ecstatic, grief-stricken, relief, etc. In chapter six, pathos is revealed when George is about to shoot Lennie, but shows hesitation when his “... hand sh[akes] violently”(Steinbeck 106). As one reads the novel, they notice the companionship between Lennie and George grows more affectionate, so when the moment comes for George to shoot Lennie, they are left heartbroken. John Steinbeck uses pathos to make the story climatic and suspenseful, so the readers are not disinterested. The Pathos that Steinbeck uses in the novel ties into the fact that now that Lennie is gone, George will not be able to fulfil and move on to their American Dream. Emotions can get in the way of our dreams, because they stop us or our loved ones from moving forward from the

Parallelism is used to show the changes and differences between two different important events. In the beginning of the novel, George and Lennie have their eyes set to get their own land and a ton of animals together. In chapter six George realizes that he has to kill Lennie, because of what he did. When George finally did the dreadful deed, “... [h]e look[s] steadily at his right hand that held the gun”, and at that moment George knew that he could not accomplish the American Dream him and Lennie created together (Steinbeck 107). Because Lennie is now gone, the American Dream vanished with him. The parallelism between the event differences demolished the American Dream that George and Lennie