Symbolism In Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

A symbol is anything that represents a larger idea, especially a material object representing something compact. A symbol can also represent a theme or moral to the story. It gives the reader something deeper to think about, and find other possible connections to different characters or objects overall. The novella Of Mice and Men captures many deep connections and displays various themes for the reader to obtain. Steinbeck uses numerous symbols that grow into greater themes throughout the novella such as Curley’s wife, the bunkhouse, and Candy’s dog.

To begin, one crucial symbol talked about alot is Curley’s wife. In chapter 2, George and Lennie meet Curley’s wife for the first time, and the others have some thoughts about her. On page 28,

The other men have labeled her a “tart” and other names later in the story. She also “has the eye” which means she’s a flirt even though she is married she tends to go around the farm looking for other men. The men think of her as property and and give her no respect or dignity. Later in the story, Curley’s wife also seems to be lonely and wanting attention. “ ‘I get lonely,’ she said. ‘You can talk to people, but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad. How’d you like not to talk to anybody?’” The quote identifies that Curley’s wife often gets lonely, causing her to flirt. The cause of her feeling lonely is most likely because Curley is controlling over her. Even though the

When George and Lennie first arrive in the bunkhouse, they notice a table used for playing cards. In ch. 3, the men are playing cards around an old table, this is a bonding moment for all of them. This might just seem like a normal game, but if you look deeper you can tell they almost seem like a family and not just a bunch of strangers playing cards. If you think about it, these guys have a lot in common. They may not all come from great, supportive families and they are all definitely just trying to make money to one day leave the farm. Ever since Lennie and Curley have met, there has always been tension, even if Lennie didn’t know it! When Curley and Lennie got in fight everyone was behind Lennie. “Slim smiled wryly. He knelt down beside Curley. ‘You got your senses in hand enough to listen?’ he asked. Curley nodded. “Well, then listen,’ Slim went on, ‘I think you got your hand stuck in a machine. If you don’t tell nobody what happened, we ain’t going to. But you jus’ tell an’ try to get this guy canned and we’ll tell ever’body, an’ then will you get the laugh’ “ (Steinbeck 64). The quote proves that the bunkhouse is also a safe place. The way Slim stood up for Lennie and made sure that Curley wouldn’t get him fired, was a way of saying ; what just happened in here, stays in here! It is also a safe place because even though Lennie and George were the new guys, they never picked a fight just cause,