ipl-logo

Of Mice And Men Literary Devices

749 Words3 Pages

Ruby Gravesen
ELA
Helbeing
February 21, 20223
Literary Analysis Of Mice and Men
The short novel Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck incorporates many themes within its pages. The short novel is set during the Great Depression and tells a tale of the threat and danger of believing in one's dreams, primarily the American Dream. The book teaches readers about the value of friendship and companionship, while teaching the sorrows of disaffection and solitude. John Steinbeck uses his writing style to put a morbid twist on the American Dream by using repetition and foreshadowing for later cure events. John Steinbeck builds up the themes of loneliness, alienation, and survival of the fittest through his characters.
John Steinbeck used the character Lennie Small to accentuate all the themes, Lennie is a large build man with an intellectual disability. Steinbeck uses plenty of repetition with this character, he has Lennie repeatedly asking to hear the “American dream”, and since Lennie is seen as unintelligent he asks his friend and companion, George, many questions with repetition; like a child that is asking or talking to a parent. …show more content…

Steinbeck uses the character Lennie as an example of the theme. As a result of Lennie’s mental disability, Lennie has the need to provide himself with sensory input; John Steinbeck has Lennie prove the input by feeling the need to pet and touch different textures such as mice. In the beginning of the story, the reader finds out that Lennie has stroked a mouse with his thumb so much that he kills the mouse. Lennie accidentally killing the mouse is an example of survival of the fittest, because Lennie is so large and much larger than the mouse that the constant stroking killed the mouse. John Steinbeck continues to use repetition with Lennie when George finds out Lennie killed the mouse. Lennie apologizes repeatedly which reinforces his child-like

Show More
Related

Of Mice And Men Figurative Language

608 Words | 3 Pages

Chapter 5 of John Steinback’s book, Of Mice and Men, vividly depicts Lennie immersing in a world of anger, sorrow, and worry after he tragically killed a little puppy. Lennie strategically employs passive voice to mask his responsibility for the dead puppy and his word choice shows his ambivalence towards the puppy. It’s evident that Lennie goes through a spectrum of emotions. Chapter 5 starts out with Lennie mournfully “[Stroking the dog] clear from one end to the other” (85).

Read More

Of Mice And Men George And Lennie's Relationship

1035 Words | 5 Pages

In John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men”, Lennie and George travel together to work. They discuss the trouble they experience with Lennie's touching things he shouldn't and how that forces them to run, hide, and constantly search for work. Throughout the book, Steinbeck gives just a small picture of all the trouble Lennie has caused and how George continues to guide him to get by. A problem with a girl leads us to chapter 1 and 6, and how they share in setting, but George and Lennie's interactions differ. The similarities and differences of chapter 1 and 6 show how Lennie and George's cohesive friendship with a bright future develops into a loving bond that had to end.

Read More

Literary Devices Used In Of Mice And Men

336 Words | 2 Pages

Literary devices used in Of Mice and Men include, foreshadowing, motif, and symbolism. The novel includes foreshadowing when George talks to Slim about how Lennie got them kicked out of Weed, it is foreshadowing for when Lennie inevitably will mess something up. This effects the story because it leads to Lennie makes a huge mistake by killing Curley’s wife, which leads to George killing Lennie. The book shows motif because there is Recurring events of violence are shown throughout the story, to form a motif. The impact this has on the story is Influential because Curley fought Lennie, Carlson killed Candy’s dog, and George kills Lennie.

Read More

Examples Of Foreshadowing In Of Mice And Men

568 Words | 3 Pages

"From the dusty fields of the Great Depression emerges a tale of friendship, shattered dreams, and the cruel reality of the American Dream - welcome to the world of Of Mice and Men.” Of Mice and Men is a classic novel by John Steinbeck, first published in 1937, Set during the Great Depression. The story follows the companionship of two migrant workers, George and Lennie, as they travel through California searching for work. The novel explores many traits of loneliness, friendship, and the downfall of the American Dream. Highlighting the harsh reality of life for those at the end of their social life.

Read More

How Does Steinbeck Use Foreshadowing In Of Mice And Men

757 Words | 4 Pages

The novella Of Mice and Men is a book by John Steinbeck on the lives of migrant farm workers working during the Great Depression, Lennie, who is developmentally delayed and George. The two have a dream of, what every farm worker has a dream of, land. A clearing is one of the prevalent settings.

Read More

Of Mice And Men Rhetorical Analysis

937 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout Steinbeck’s naturalistic novel, Of Mice and Men, He portrays two distinctively different men struggling to persevere and survive in an otherwise cruel world. Two migrant workers, George and Lennie thrive off the company of one another and the impossible dream that one day, they will acquire land and make a contented life for themselves. Through their friendship and constant hope for a better life, George and Lennie learn how to survive and cling to aspiration during the harsh Depression era. Steinbeck uses symbolism, irony, and characterization in his classic novel to illustrate the undying hope found in a desperate situation. Steinbeck uses symbolism to portray how people find hope in the direst situations.

Read More

Literary Techniques In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

137 Words | 1 Pages

Of Mice and Men was an excellent novel about two migrant workers traveling in Southern California, trying to make enough money to fulfill their dream of attaining their own plot of land. They have trouble accomplishing this goal when Lennie, the big and clueless on of the two, consistently makes mistakes, some of them being vital. The author, John Steinbeck, uses great techniques and literary devices that build up to the climax and resolution. Throughout the story, he describes how several characters all have/had dreams or goals, but none of them truly achieved those dreams. All of these literary devices, techniques, and the entire plot lead up to my thesis statement.

Read More

Of Mice And Men Symbolism Essay

980 Words | 4 Pages

“Workers of the world unite; you have nothing to lose but your chains” (Karl Marx). Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck tells the story of George Milton and Lennie Small, two farm laborers traveling from farm to farm together during the Great Depression. George and Lennie wish one day to save enough money to buy their own land and to live on their own. Of Mice and Men is a critique of capitalism. The characters of Lennie, Curley, and George show this through symbolism present in their character, especially during the fight between Lennie and Curley.

Read More

Of Mice And Men Quotes And Analysis

586 Words | 3 Pages

He shows anticipation for Lennie to defend himself because Lennie is precious to him.

Read More

Impossibility Of The American Dream In 'Of Mice And Men'

935 Words | 4 Pages

This novel was written during the Great Depression and served to be a reminder that the American Dream is not obtainable in a capitalist society. In his novel, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck shows this theme of the impossibility of the American Dream through the characters of George, Curley, and Curley’s wife. To begin, Steinbeck uses George, arguably the story's main character, to show that the American Dream is not obtainable. George takes responsibility for his mentally impaired friend Lenny, once his Aunt Clara dies. George’s American dream is to have his own land and work for no one

Read More

How Does Steinbeck Present The Impossibility Of The American Dream

338 Words | 2 Pages

A major theme in the novel written by John Steinbeck is “The American Dream”. The theme is presented as a sad illusion. The characters wish for the freedom to follow their own desires, which is an impossibility in the Novel. Despite this, most of the characters admit, at one point or another, to dreaming of a better life. John Steinbeck tries to show that inequality falsifies the American Dream.

Read More

Deity In Philo's Argument

921 Words | 4 Pages

Philo’s argument starts off with two premises: A “Deity” has unlimited power and knowledge, and anything that he wills, he will receive. Cleanthes and Demea both accept the premises to be true. Philo carries on by stating that since a “Deity” always receives what he wants, then he must not want neither man or animal to achieve happiness. Philo concludes his argument by stating that a “Deity” cannot be humane or compassionate because a man understands these phrases to show sympathy and concern for others. (p.63).

Read More

The Role Of Great Depression In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

1187 Words | 5 Pages

Lennie is triggered when certain things happen, like when he kills the mouse, he goes into another state of mind. When Lennie is not triggered he is described as an innocent, kind person or as others would say he is a big baby. Not many people see Lennie’s aggression except for George. George tries to handle Lennie 's anger with trying to demand him to do this or that but it never helps Lennie in the long run.

Read More

Johannes Kepler

164 Words | 1 Pages

This video mainly talks about Johannes Kepler and his believes. The video also talks about Newton’s law of universal motion, which explains why objects on earth fall with the same acceleration of 9.8m/s. This law can be demonstrated by using its formula which is F=Gm1xGm2/d^2. Where the two g’s equal the masses of the two objects, which is measured in kilograms. D represents the distance between the two objects.

Read More

Naturalism In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

1469 Words | 6 Pages

This relates back to naturalism, because Lennie gets himself into a situation that he cannot control. He does not understand that he has to be very careful with the puppy because it is so small, and he does not know his own strength. “What is clear is that Lennie’s body wins out over his mind repeatedly,- in the end with tragic consequences”(Keener 1215). Lennie is very kind- hearted, and never wants to hurt anyone. This quote explains that Lennie’s strength wins over his intentions.

Read More

More about Of Mice And Men Literary Devices

Related Topics

Open Document