How Does Steinbeck Use The Connection Of Animals In Of Mice And Men

Mira Al Nowais

Ms. Broseseker

English 9

16 January 2023

Question: How does steinbeck use the connection of animals and characters in order to symbolize power in certain characters?

Animals are a huge part of mice and men, Steinbeck uses the symbolization of animals to characterize certain characters in the book, such as lennie and crooks. A key feature in this book is the way lennie perceives animals, lennie has an inner child personality but the strength of a bear, his physical strength reaches the extent to where he doesn’t know how strong he really is. In the book of mice and men, I believe that Steinbeck uses the significance of animals as a sign of false hope, as well as a sign of power in different characters.

Throughout the book of mice and men Lennie always seems to be associated with the “Rabbits” which are a part of his dream, the dream of one day owning a farm. The biggest part of this dream to Lennie was the opportunity he would get tending the rabbits. When reading the book carefully I noticed that the rabbits symbolize Lennie's realization of when he's in trouble. I say this because everytime Lennie does something “bad” he always connects his actions to the way that George will perceive him after. “Might jus’ as well spend all my time tellin you things and then you forget em, and i tell you again.” (4). “ Tried and tried,

Candy and his dog are both old, handicapped, and essentially useless on the ranch. Candy lost his right hand in an accident, and his dog is nearly blind. Candy's only job on the ranch is to "swamp" out the bunkhouse, because he is considered too old to engage in hard labor. Similarly, Candy's dog serves no purpose on the farm and wanders aimlessly around the ranch. Candy and his dog represent what happens to everyone in the economically depressed country once they become too old to work and provide for themselves. Once individuals are no longer useful, they are disposed of and let