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Theme Of Innocence In Of Mice And Men

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In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the character Lennie best exemplifies the trait of innocence. First, when Lennie and George were walking to the ranch, Lennie found a dead mouse which George made him get rid of. Lennie then said, “I wasn’t doin’ nothing bad with it George. Jus’ strokin’ it” (Steinbeck 9). This shows how Lennie likes childish things like soft textures and small animals. This quote shows innocence because children are often very innocent, and Lennie acting like one makes him innocent as well. Next, when Curley walked into the bunkhouse asking where his wife was, he noticed Lennie smiling at the memory of the ranch. Curley assumed Lennie was laughing at him and started to fight him. However, Lennie would not fight
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406 Words | 2 Pages

Steinbeck’s “mouse” can be represented by his character Lennie. Lennie is given animal-like traits. Some examples on page 3 are how Lennie is “like a horse,” and has “big paws.” George also says he’ll “put you [Lennie] in a cage” on page 11. Lennie is often forgetful of his past like how mice only focus on the present.

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483 Words | 2 Pages

The story begins, Lennie has a dead mouse in his pocket because of his fixation with touching soft things. but he doesn't understand his own strength. “ that mouse ain't fresh, Lennie; and besides, you've broke it pettin’ it.” ( Steinbeck page 9.)

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434 Words | 2 Pages

Which means Lennie hurts animals and other people without meaning to. On their way to the bunkhouse, Lennie keeps petting a dead mouse in his pocket, when George says “you've broke it pettin' it.” (Steinbeck 9). Killing a little mouse by petting it is a splendid case that displays that Lennie has jurisdiction over his strength. Lennie was “gently” petting the mouse and snapped the little mouse's neck, Ironically Lennie adores soft furred creatures.

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731 Words | 3 Pages

This proves that Lennie is innocent and that Curley is the one who caused his own unfortunate incident in the bunkhouse. The quotation shows that George is even more to blame than Lennie is because George was the one that told him to do it, and that Lennie proclaimed that he did not want to hurt

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1305 Words | 6 Pages

In chapter 3, Curley got mad at Lennie for smiling because Lennie was thinking about the ranch, and the rabbits. Curley starts beating up Lennie and Lennie won’t defend himself. He starts crying and asks George to make him stop. He eventually just grabs and crushes Curley’s hand but that was after George told him to defend himself. This also shows he’s a child because he’s crying because someone is beating him

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1358 Words | 6 Pages

He ran furiously out of the barn.” (Steinbeck 96) This quote shows the anger that Curley had towards Lennie, proving that if given the chance, he would have killed Lennie. George taking Lennie’s life allowed him to die with someone who he loves and trusts, not to be killed by someone who has nothing but hatred for him. George’s actions were not to hurt Lennie, but of an act of love and care for Lennie.

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450 Words | 2 Pages

Although Lennie loves mice, he is inept at handling feeble creatures. George notices the mouse and addresses it by saying that: “‘That mouse ain’t fresh, Lennie...you’ve broke it pettin’ it’” (Steinbeck 9). The euphemism that George uses for death suggests that the mouse’ death was not intentional, nor sadistic. Lennie roots his intentions in kindness, but his strength overpowers this emotion.

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790 Words | 4 Pages

John Steinbeck's novella 'Of Mice and Men' contains various important themes. One of the significant themes of this novella is hope, friendship and loneliness, determination that empowers a man to endeavour with a feeling of self-esteem. In this novella, Loneliness is presented to be one of the dominant themes. The composer outlines the depression of ranch life in the mid 1930's and shows how individuals headed from town to town in an attempt to discover kinship keeping in mind the end goal was to escape from forlornness.

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747 Words | 3 Pages

Innocence is a word used to describe someone 's purity. Children are prime examples of innocence, as they don’t have judgments and don’t understand mature topics. In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the reader can interpret innocence as the growing up of the children. Specifically, Jem Finch showed a loss of innocence as he grew up. He showed his loss of innocence by not playing games, his more mature use of words and body language, and his different view of the world around him.

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737 Words | 3 Pages

Of Mice and Men; A Literary Analysis “I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that 's why,” says George in the book Of Mice and Men. John Steinbeck wrote this book about two boys who took care of each other mentally and physically throughout. They endure many journeys together and are able to suffice over very little. They show the strength in friendships in many dissimilar ways and make diligent decisions that some may never be able to make. Of Mice and Men is not only about two friends and their journey together, but as well as giving one a deeper meaning of the book, such as showing the nature of their dreams, the characters as archetypes, and if the killing of Lennie is justified in the end.

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479 Words | 2 Pages

Curley is not going easy on Lennie. It does not matter how much Lennie gets hurt because Curley does not care. He would beat Lennie within an inch of his life if he could. Curley takes his authority too far when he gets physical with Lennie. Curley abuse of power is unacceptable especially because it involves

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752 Words | 4 Pages

Loss of Innocence Is mankind inherently evil? Perhaps children aren’t actually innocent. Nature versus nurture has been a discussion for years whether we develop our personalities from where we grow up or if we are born the way we are. Lord of the Flies written by William Golding, illustrated the theme of loss of innocence; a matter on youth having to quell life’s reality. The effects of the island the novel takes place in posts a violent demeanor on the boys stranded on it.

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596 Words | 3 Pages

When Curley tried to talk to Lennie and George answered for him, Curley seemed almost angry about this. He started talking to George in a harsh way and while George could’ve easily just backed off and let Lennie talk to this tough person, he stood up for Lennie and talked back to Curley. This will be significant to the story because now Curley knows that Lennie and George will stand up for each other and he will not challenge either one of them. This quote shows how strong their friendship

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1163 Words | 5 Pages

In the novella Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck often employs animal imagery to dehumanize Lennie, in order to allow the reader to justify George putting him down at the end of the novella. As Steinbeck’s use of animal imagery progresses throughout the novel, Lennie is dehumanized by being compared to an animal that only hinders George’s pursuit of happiness. Starting with Lennie’s introduction, Steinbeck influences how the reader perceives Lennie. During the reader's first encounter with Lennie, he is described as walking “heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws," (Steinbeck 2). Steinbeck’s diction invokes animal imagery by comparing Lennie’s movements to that of a bear, which immediately dehumanizes Lennie to the reader.

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1469 Words | 6 Pages

George tries to defend Lennie after the rest of the ranch workers find out what he has done to Curley’s wife. He explains that Lennie cannot help getting himself into dreadful situations, but he has never done them on purpose. This quote ultimately proves that

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