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How Does Steinbeck Use Of Foreshadowing In Of Mice And Men

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Steinbeck makes the tragedy of Of Mice and Men apparent to the readers by portraying an ideal setting and dream. This foreshadows the concept of ideas being “too good to be true.” He also used the foreshadowing of other events. The story began in an ideal state. There was many uses of imagery to show that everything was perfect. Right off the bat, in the first paragraph, Steinbeck set the scene: “…but on the valley side the water is lined with trees — willows fresh and green with every spring, carrying in their lower leaf junctures the debris of the winter’s flooding…” (pg 1) The whole first two paragraphs were packed with descriptive imagery, making the setting peaceful and serene. This makes the reader interpret a fairytale type mood, as fairytales don’t always stay perfect, like they started. The dream was also brought up many times. George and Lennie’s dream of buying land and Lennie getting to tend the rabbits. It made the reader curious as to whether they were going to achieve this dream or not. …show more content…

This came up many times, the first being when Lennie killed the mouse after trying to pet it, while they were walking on the path. Then, Lennie accidentally killed a pup while trying to pet it and then killed Curley’s wife by shaking her too hard and stopping her from breathing. None of these deaths were on purpose, but Lennie just kept unintentionally putting things and people to harm. “I di’n’t mean no harm George.” (pg 65) The repetition of Lennie’s murders is important because it was emphasized so many times in a range of only one hundred and seven pages, so clearly there is a reason Steinbeck included them. He wanted to foreshadow death. More specifically, a death in which the killer had no desire to kill. George didn’t want to kill Lennie in the end, you could tell it was difficult for him. “The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger.” (pg

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In the Novel Of Mice and Men written by an American author John Steinbeck, there were many Foreshadowing points that gave readers a hint of what events might occur further on in the story. Some of the Examples of Foreshadowing in the novel was when Lennie and George was walking to a new ranch to work and finds a dead mice on the side of the road, and when Carlson shot Candy's dog. These two examples were signs of Foreshadowing that gave reader a hint of what might happen as they kept on reading. In the Novel Of Mice and Men one of the main Points that was Foreshadowed was when Lennie and George were walking to anew ranch, where they will be working and Lennie spots a dead mouse on the side of the road and he picks it up and puts it in his

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“...As they move wearily from harvest to harvest, there is one urge and one overwhelming need, to acquire a little land again, and to settle on it and stop their wandering”. Steinbeck says this in The Harvest Gypsies to express how the american dream was desired greatly by wanderers in California during The Great Depression. In the book Of Mice And Men, by John Steinbeck, Lennie’s life was very similar to the wanders in The Harvest Gypsies. He was a wander in California and had a dream of owning a ranch. He failed to achieve his dream of the ranch.

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The novel Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck is a gripping tale of two men and their lives during the Great Depression. George Milton and Lennie Small are two migrant workers who travel together finding work. They take on a new job “bucking barley” at a ranch in central California for the ranch owner and his son. While working at the ranch they encounter Curley the ranch owner’s son and his wife, a flirtatious woman. The story reaches a climax when Lennie unintentionally kills Curley’s wife and runs back to the Salinas River just as George instructed.

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The most famous line from Of Mice and Men, “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go arise,” demonstrates the theme of how intentions of futuristic times often become demolished. Steinbeck implements foreshadowing, characterization, and symbolism to develop the theme throughout the plot. John Steinbeck communicates the theme by foreshadowing Curley’s wife being uses murdered, George taking the life of his best friend, and Lennie and George’s incomplete dream. In the novella, Steinbeck explains Lennie’s fascination with petting soft objects. Starting in the first chapter, Lennie picks up the mouse to pet it and then strangles and suffocates the creature .

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John Steinbeck wrote, “George raised the gun and his hands shook, and he dropped his hand to the ground again.” George’s actions allude to the fact that he doesn’t want to kill Lennie. Lennie is his best friend but he knew it had to be done to put Lennie out of misery. He didn’t want Lennie to keep being punished for things he didn’t understand or mean to do.

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In the story “Of Mice and Men” the author John Steinbeck uses foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is when the author gives hints and clues what will happen later in the story. John Steinbeck uses foreshadowing to give the reader clues about the ending of the book Of Mice and Men. Four examples of Steinbeck’s use of foreshadowing is the first clue is the title, the second clue is lennie petting soft things and not knowing his own strength, the third clue is characters dreams aren’t going to come true, and the last clue is when candy’s dog get’s shot in back of the head and says he should’ve shot his dog himself. The first example of foreshadowing in “Of Mice and Men” is the title.

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In the end, George was justified in killing Lennie but he had trouble with killing his friend. He showed that he “shivered”(Steinbeck 106) after he shot Lennie and he wouldn’t kill a good friend without a legitimate reason. George knew that either way, Lennie would die from either Curley or he had to do it. And he did not want Curley to kill him so he made Lennie think of happy things right before his death so it can be peaceful. He was pressured.

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Even though Lennie would forget half of the story, George would still tell him the story. In the drawing I drew a rabbit which represents George and Lennie's relationship between each other. George and Lennie are in a search for a job in California which they cross through a river in salinas. George and Lennie had a conversation that if something goes wrong on the new

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In John Steinbeck's novel, Of Mice and Men there is an ample amount of foreshadowing that is used to foretell upcoming events. Instead of using people's thoughts and dreams as tools of foreshadowing, he uses actual events to foretell future events. Steinbeck uses smaller scale situations to predict the outcomes of much more complex predicaments. The unique way he includes this literary device in the novel causes you to overlook some of the foreshadowing while reading, and then recognize its significance many chapters later.

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Although Lennie loves mice, he is inept at handling feeble creatures. George notices the mouse and addresses it by saying that: “‘That mouse ain’t fresh, Lennie...you’ve broke it pettin’ it’” (Steinbeck 9). The euphemism that George uses for death suggests that the mouse’ death was not intentional, nor sadistic. Lennie roots his intentions in kindness, but his strength overpowers this emotion.

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After killing the puppy, as well as Curley’s wife, Lennie knows he has messed up. He feels awful about what he has done and immediately begins to feel guilty. Though it is not his fault, Lennie’s behavior, no matter how hard he and George both try, can not be controlled. He did not mean to hurt her, but he killed Curley’s wife. It is seen many times in the book how much Lennie cares about others.

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Optimism in the face of sorrow Oscar Wilde once said, “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” In Of Mice and Men By John Steinbeck, the characters and their dreams are optimistic. Despite the book's somber plot, and the many oppressive setbacks they face, the characters remain intent on reaching their dreams. John Steinbeck gives a sense of hope for the characters by creating humble and attainable dreams. Since the plot of the novel only takes place in four days, the story exposes the past and present but keeps the future concealed.

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Title Of Mice and Men is set in California during the Great Depression. The Depression was a hard time in history for many Americans due to the lack of money, lack of work, and often lack of family. Many men had to search for jobs all alone. Americans felt depressed and hopeless during the Depression because they say no hope or good in the future. Steinbeck establishes a desperate mood and makes the reader prepare for tragedy by using words with negative connotations and by foreshadowing.

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