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Symbolism In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

1401 Words6 Pages

Character Development, Symbolism, Author’s Message, Oh My!
Of Mice and Men, it is not just a band! Of Mice and Men was originally a short novel written by John Steinbeck in the 1930s. Regardless of its shortness in length, though, it is a rather deep and emotional book with quite a few messages behind the fictional storyline. These messages, however, cannot be found right off the bat. One must read the book in its entirety and really absorb the messages Steinbeck teaches to actually learn and understand the meaning behind them. The messages he writes are shown throughout other devices, which include the development of the characters, symbolism within them, and a little bit of imagery to completely put the plot together. The characters are, naturally, the biggest part of the novel, because they create the story. Steinbeck’s development of his characters in Of Mice and Men is progressive, meaning he does not tell their …show more content…

It is hinted at that the two have been together for a long time, so their bond is strong, even if George may not really enjoy Lennie’s company sometimes. “Lennie cried. ‘George wouldn’t do nothing like that . . . He’ll come back tonight . . . Don’t you think he will?” (Steinbeck 71). This quote from the book shows Lennie literally freaking out just because another character, Crooks, was purposefully trying to trick him into believing that George had been hurt and was not coming back. It shows his attachment to George, and his fear of being alone. George does not like to leave Lennie alone, either, mostly because he does not want Lennie to do something that might get them into trouble, but readers can also pick up on an emotional attachment to Lennie as well. Steinbeck puts a lot of emotion into his storyline, which in turn makes the readers become emotionally attached to these characters, and he builds on that emotional attachment to really get his main messages

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George shows he’s protective of Lennie by saying, ‘“It ain’t your fault,” he said. “You don’t need to be scairt no more. You done jus’ what I tol’ you to. Maybe you better go in the washroom an’ clean up your face.”’ (Steinbeck 65).

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In the novel, ¨Of Mice and Men,¨ the author, John Steinbeck, develops complex characters which opens the story up for interpretation. Steinbeck uses both direct and indirect characterization, which forces the reader to infer important traits about each characters. An example of a character is Crooks, a colored man working on a ranch during the Great Depression. Being the only black man on the ranch, Crooks is often looked down on as a stable bunk, and is not respected as the other men are. Because of this, Crooks is perceived as powerless.

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