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How Does Steinbeck Use Light In Of Mice And Men

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Dark and light, the hopes and dreams of an other or the lost of hope. Steinbeck used many types of symbolism and foreshadowings throughout the story Of Mice and Men. He used it to get his point across to the reader. Steinbeck used the lives of George and Lennie to show how american society was in the 1930’s. George and Lennie aren’t like your typical workers. Lennie has a human disablity, so George has to get him out of trouble from time to time. Steinbeck’s use of symbolism with light and dark connected the story with how the society makes it hard for someone to follow their dreams, with hidden setting details, different characters and their experiences, and the use of the characters’ dreams. Steinbeck’s use of detailed hidden meanings of light and dark, to connect the story with his larger point. At the beginning of the story it starts out very hopeful with George and Lennie going to a new place and being interviewed for a job on a ranch. Steinbeck used light to show that this point in the story they had hope, but Steinbeck never tells you that light means hope instead he used detailed hidden meanings. For example in chapter one, the setting starts off in a bright valley where George and …show more content…

For example in chapter six, as George holds the gun in place: “Lennie turned his head and looked off across the pool and up the darkening slopes of the gabilans” (Steinbeck 105). During this scene George told Lennie Lennie to imagine the dream farm out in the distance. Steinbeck had used this part because he wanted the reader to see that the american society during this time in history made men lack emotion, that people wanted company and fulfillment from another, and that this society was unfair with the power people had over one another which made it hard to go somewhere in their lives. The used of the characters’ dreams being lost helped Steinbeck get this larger point

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George and Lennie are migrant workers, which mean they go from town to town looking for any work they can get frequently. This book had its tragic at parts and it showed how dreams can be crushed very easily. John Steinbeck in his book, Of Mice and Men,

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The book, Of mice and men, was made by the author Steinbeck. In the book it shows how two long term close friends try to find work, but it is very difficult for them. As they were doing well at the job they are at, they are forced from the job because of a horrible accident. In of mice and men, the author uses foreshadowing in when they are running away from the people, when lennie like to touch nice things, and how lennie reacts when he is hurt to achieve that lennie will make a mistake, and have to be brought down.

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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.

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John Steinbeck uses foreshadowing to show that people's plans often do not go accordingly. This event is found throughout the story on many different occasions. For example, the title,”Of Mice and Men” relates to a poem written by a Scottish farmer. The poem states,”The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” Steinbeck used this to show the reader that the dreams and hopes of people are often not attained, and the reader can find this is true in the story.

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In the novel Steinbeck has symbols for something that was important in the book. The whole reason why Lennie and George got the job was so they could make enough money to save up, get a house, and have a couple of acres. This is symbolic because the whole novel is about these two people having a dream, that they hope will come true and that this job will help with that dream coming true. This helps with the theme because it shows how important this dream is for them and that they are working their hardest for the dream to come true. In the novel it states “O.K. Someday-we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and-” (Steinbeck, page 14).

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The importance of dreams help motivate certain characters to chase after them. For example, George and Lennie have a dream of owning their own ranch. In the novel it states “Tell about that place, George…”(56).In which Lennie wants to be reminded about.

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Steinbeck uses light as a motif in the novella, the purpose of using the light is foreshadowing the events that would be coming up later in the novella. Crook’s can be an example, “...and his eyes lay deep in his head, and because of their depth seemed to glitter wit intensity.” ( “Of Mice and Men” pg.67). The word “depth” had shows that Crook is intelligence because he’s educated. He had his own privacy and books but it still can;t change the loneliness about Crook.

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Desmond Tutu, a South - African social activist and retired Anglican priest once said “ Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness”. Of Mice and Men is a novel which revolves around the lives of struggling farmers and how they still maintain hope despite their hardships. The symbolic representation of light embodies the hopes and the American Dream, whereas the dark epitomizes the harsh realities and truths of their lives. Steinbeck uses light and dark to foreshadow the upcoming events in the forlorn lives of the migrant workers. He also combines aspects such as the setting and characters with light and dark to paint a vivid picture in the reader’s mind as to how the world of the migrant workers looks like.

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Hope, Disaster and Everything in Between In Of Mice and Men, author John Steinbeck tells the story of George and Lennie, two friends who encounter both good and evil forces during their work in 1935 California. Steinbeck illustrates these forces in his characters, motifs, and plot, pitting images of lightness and darkness against one another throughout the novel. In analyzing how Steinbeck manipulates light and dark imagery through the hopes and dreams of the men, the negative forces acting against George and Lennie, and the complex personalities of major characters, it becomes clear that everyone is a mixture of good and evil. Steinbeck uses light to illustrate the hopes and dreams characters have for the future.

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Steinbeck uses the imagery of light and dark to foreshadow how the American Dream will never come to fruition. Crook’s room is described as a clean room, yet it is void of any brightness and hope. Because he is an African American other ranchers don't think he's worthy enough to share their space with because of the segregation during the Great Depression. “ In the stable buck's room a small electric globe threw a meagre yellow light” (Steinbeck 66). The light in Crook’s room is ‘meagre’.

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The workers during the Great Depression, which is the setting of the book, thought the American Dream belief was an illusion. All of the ranch hands dream of happiness, but none of them get it. Just because their dreams don’t come about the farm, it still plays an important role in the novel. The dream George and Lennie have, holds their friendship together. The dream gives them life, even though they don’t achieve it.

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799 Words | 4 Pages

The characters in Of Mice and Men all have original and unique characteristics inside of them, but no matter how different, they all have the same reactions of giving up when thinking about dreams. The main characters George and Lennie, recently unemployed migrant workers, move to a new ranch for work. Thrown into a cruel, misshapen life that doesn’t end well for the majority of characters, George and Lennie find themselves in a dilemma that seems all too familiar. John Steinbeck uses the characters in Of Mice and Men to show that dreams are fragile and they need friends to support them.

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From the development of the first Model T to the start of petroleum production in the Middle East, 1908 was a year of change and discovery. While some fought to hold on to old sentiments, such as Mayor Mark Breith who announced that "women are not physically fit to operate automobiles", others cheered for the Olympic games and marveled at scientific and technological feats. Just like with generations past, this time of creativity and inspiration was reflected in art and by artists with works such as W. E. B. Du Bois’s The Souls of Black Folk (1903) or L. Frank Baum’s iconic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900). In this time of change, E.M. Forster used various literary techniques in his novel A Room With a View to demonstrate that clinging to

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737 Words | 3 Pages

In this literary novella, Steinbeck digs into the idea of the nature of dreams and that each man must make sacrifices or battle some other outside force to make a dream come true. This follows with the theme that humans give meaning to their life and future by creating dreams. George and Lennie both have vast dreams that influence them in different

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1067 Words | 5 Pages

By using characterization, conflict, and imagery to develop his characters Lennie and George, Steinbeck shows his readers that in any circumstance, good or bad, karma will appear and bring people the things they deserve. The touching and painful ending of Steinbeck's story shows chaos in a peaceful place in which Lennie is dying and yet still existing through all three devices: the characterization of both Lennie and George, the results of the conflicts they faced, and a vivid description of Lennie's death. Even after decades have passed since Steinbeck published this novel, Steinbeck's message to the reader stays the same, chaos can occur in even the most peaceful places. Never leaving people’s sides, always lurking in the shadows, waiting to

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