Wild Workers
More than 4,000 species of animals migrate throughout the year. Just like animals that migrate, during the 1920s a lot of workers would relocate for new jobs. Many of these workers were animalized by business owners displayed in the novel Of Mice and Men. This realistic fiction by John Steinbeck presents figurative language and symbolism that often describes Lennie as an animal, ultimately illustrating the harsh treatment of migrant workers by comparing him to animals. Also, Steinbeck discusses Lennie using animal imagery that depicts him as childlike and unintelligent but expresses his true capability of strength.
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. To
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In particular, he suggests, “Get him, Lennie. Don’t let him do it”(63). George's choice of words proves that he acts as if he’s Lennie’s owner telling his dog to attack. In other words, the comparability to animals unveils the true intentions of higher ranked workers towards migrant workers. In addition, Steinbeck claims, “They’ll take ya to the bobby hatch. They’ll tie ya up with a collar, like a dog”(72). Crook’s explanation of punishment for Lennie if he were to defend George uncannily resembles action taken against a troubled dog. Steinbeck's focus on figuratively and symbolically describing Lennie’s treatment as animal-like correlates to the jarring conduct of America’s elite towards the