How Is Imagery Used In Of Mice And Men

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a realistic novel that depicts the life of two common men set in in the Great Depression. The two main characters, George and Lennie, are practically opposites in terms of disposition and appearance and yet are best of friends. Steinbeck uses a wide variety of literary devices including imagery, foreshadowing, and symbolism to convey meaning and to add richness and clarity to his text as well as allowing his readers to better understand and enjoy his story. Steinbeck has used imagery to show the reader of Lennie’s appearance, foreshadowing is used many times in the novella such as when George tells Lennie what to do if he gets in trouble, and lastly symbolism is something that Steinbeck has used well in

Steinbeck has used this literary device to give the reader a deeper understanding of Lennie’s appearance.” a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws. His arms did not swing at his sides, but hung loosely.”(Steinbeck, 1937, page 4) In this quote, it is quite obvious that Steinbeck has used imagery. He has shown the reader through the use of imagery what Lennie’s physical appearance is. This allows the reader to have a visual image in their head about what Lennie looks like and therefore allows the reader to better understand the story. Another use of imagery is when Curley’s wife lay dead on the floor and Steinbeck has seized that opportunity to use imagery to show what the dead body of Curley’s wife looked like, and for the first time in the book, it was shown in a positive light. “And the meanness and the plantings and discontent and the ache for attention were all gone from her face she was very pretty and simple and her face was sweet and young.”(Steinbeck, 1937, page 91) When looking at this quote, the reader will realize that all life from Curley’s wife was gone and that if her character was to be judged purely on her appearance she would have been seen in a more positive light, this of course was projected to the reader through the use of imagery. This literary device

For example, George and Lennie’s dream to live on a farm and do whatever they please. This symbolizes the American Dream, it also symbolizes their friendship as the both share the same goal. Another form of symbolism is when Candy’s dog gets shot. ”You seen what they done to my dog tonight? They says he wasn’t no good to himself nor nobody else” (Steinbeck, 1937, page 60). As the reader sees this quote they will understand that the death of Candy’s dog symbolizes how if a person is not contributing or useful to society then they are better off dead. Candy also seems to realize this fact as he knows that after his time he will not be able to get a job anywhere. One of Steinbeck’s more subtle ways of showing symbolism is the card game that George plays, solitaire. George playing solitaire represents the idea that all ranch workers are alone and only have themselves. This is especially seen when George is forced to kill Lennie and therefore he becomes a solitary man himself. Solitaire itself is even derived from the Latin word “solus” meaning alone. Not only the game symbolize loneliness, it also symbolizes Lennie’s intelligence as George knows that no game is worth play due to Lennie’s lack of understanding and intelligence capacity and therefore he plays a game for one person even though there are many games to be played with others. Steinbeck’s use of symbolism