Light Imagery In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

John Steinbeck, the author of the novella, Of Mice and Men, sets the story in the great depression, where itinerant workers travel to California to find work. Through the use of light imagery and setting the author develops the theme of the American dream. The literary devices also create an unrealistic impression of George and Lennie's dream, giving the reader a sense of pity.

The writer's use of light imagery creates a sense of condolence. On page 34, the writer employs the phrase "the sphere of light grew smaller", which connotes that George and Lennie's dream of having their own place is diminishing. The word "lights" symbolizes the hope of both characters to the future. Moreover, the direction of "lights" seems to be unknown, this may

On page 18, the phrase “ash pile” connotes death, which suggests that the dream is not alive and that there are no hopes for the characters to achieve their dream. The word “many’ also suggest that even though George and Lennie have tried to save enough money for a lot of times, they still have a long way to success, foreshadowing that the plan will fail once again. This creates a sense of sympathy as the plan seems unachievable. This can also be seen on page 21, “little stretch down the road”. The use of setting implies that even though the dream seems easy to achieve, George and Lennie still have a long way to make their dream come true, making the dream seems farfetched. The word “little” may also suggest that George makes the dream seems approachable to motivate them to work hard. In addition, the sense of compassion continues to develop on page 18. The phrase, “the limb is worn smooth by men” implies that many men have dreamt of having no control and not having to work for people. The word “worn” may suggest that many people attempt to achieve their own desirable dream but has failed. It creates a sense of concern for the readers as even how hard they try, the chance of achieving their dream is very