Rhetorical Techniques In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Rhetorical Analysis Essay

People’s realities are shaped by their experiences of failing while trying to achieve their dreams. For years people have shaped and/or destroyed their reality by trying to catch their dreams. People strive everyday to achieve their dreams, but in reality they never will. John Steinbeck uses many rhetorical appeals to help the reader understand how the American Dream can be with his experiences using ethos, paradox, and repetition.

Author John Steinbeck displayed multiple incidents using ethos in Of Mice and Men by using the main character George to have to be the role model for his mentally disabled partner Lennie, while trying to catch their American Dream. In the story, ethos was shown when Lennie broke Curley’s arm in a fight. Ethos was present when George ordered Lennie to fight back against

John Steinbeck used repetition to display the realities of the men be destroyed time after time while chasing their dreams. In the story, John Steinbeck uses repetition to show the internal and external problems created by the same idea in the story. In chapter five, Lennie goes on to cause more problems unintentionally, he killed his puppy unknowing it would die because “[he] didn’t bounce [it] hard” (Steinbeck 85). In chapter five he also killed Curley’s wife while playing with her hair, once he let go of her “she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck” (Steinbeck 91). John Steinbeck used repetition in the killings caused by Lennie to show how he unintentionally did it. Lennie was busy trying to have George’s dreams come true, even if Lennie was destroying his own reality. Repetition was used to show how their american dream was constantly becoming harder and harder to reach and they never even noticed. By using repetition, John Steinbeck refers to how Lennie’s mass killings would help destroy their reality’s while chasing their