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Use Of Imagery In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

884 Words4 Pages

To be one’s protector, one must be capable of both mental and physical strength, and yet to be protected, one must have the same. Moreover, in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the companionship of the two main characters represents not only the complications of an unconventional dynamic, but a much deeper message. With creation of realistic characters and use of description to effectively create an atmosphere allows readers to delve into the austere truth of the Great Depression. Hence, Steinbeck’s use of characterization and imagery helps set the overarching theme of being one’s brother’s keeper in harsh realities. Firstly, characterization of the two main personas: the strong protector, and the protected weak creates a memorable bond that is tested from the beginning of …show more content…

As the characters are first introduced, the dynamic between the two main characters is odd and remarkable, and sets the theme and conflict. In particular, the narrator states that as they walked together, even in the open Lennie stayed behind George, illustrating Lennie’s subconscious tendency to follow George without thinking. Moreover, Lennie is impressionable and relies on George, which further legitimizes George’s responsibility for both his wellbeing and Lennie’s, and also notions the importance that the two remain together, as Lennie may not be able to fend for himself without George. Aside from their size, George is depicted with strong features, while Lennie is illustrated as intellectually inferior and innocent, which is of great importance to the conflict. Likewise, George is small and quick and defined, while Lennie is his opposite, a huge man, shapeless of face, contrasting the notion of strength mentally versus physically. Although George is the leader in their relationship, he does not have the strength to be a capable protector of

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Mike Rose author of “Blue Collar Brilliance” he reminisces about his childhood and how he was observing his mother at work and how much she multitasked and how he experienced the blue collar work. His purpose was to describe how people integrate physical and mental work is in the field and supports people in the blue collar field. I felt as if I was at a dead end job and earning nothing from it, but Mike Rose’s article influenced me that I was actually learning and gaining skills at my work place. His intended audience would be blue collared workers and white collar workers. Rose informing that blue collar workers are also educated people even though they do not have a degree.

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Literary Devices Used In Of Mice And Men By John Steinbeck

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The novel starts with a rich depiction of the setting. Steinbeck utilizes graphic dialect to show that the area is a place of rest. The particular colors, foliage, and creatures that are specified make a relief, notwithstanding for those young men and men from the farms who beat a way to the water. For instance, Steinbeck utilizes the imagery to propose that this place is a position of solace and that the Salinas River is a

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Multiple Literary Techniques In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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Steinbeck utilises multiple literary techniques in order to further character development in his novel, Of Mice and Men especially in advancing and displaying George and Lennie’s relationship in particular. The most profound appearing to be the application of symbolism throughout the novel. Symbolism is a literary element used in literature where objects, characters and locations are utilised so that they represent ideas with more significance than the objects literal meaning.

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Why Does Steinbeck Use Animal Imagery In Of Mice And Men

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Steinbeck’s introduction of Lennie infers he has animalistic characteristics that he’s ‘a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders: and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws.’ Steinbeck’s vocabulary in this phrase teaches us a lot about Lennie, for example we can understand he is a physically big person from the adjectives like ‘huge’, ‘large’, and ‘wide’. Also describing his eyes as ‘pale’ could be indicative of the knowledge behind them, or more accurately the lack thereof. It suggests that in reality he has a tendency to be absent-minded. Within this description of Lennie, we come across the first piece of animal imagery, where Steinbeck presents Lennie as a bear who ‘drags his paws’.

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How Does Steinbeck Use Imagery In Of Mice And Men

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How Does Steinbeck Present George And Lennie's Relationship

528 Words | 3 Pages

So at some times, the relationship they have almost makes them seem as if George is just the boss of Lennie. Some of the conversations they have and things George says are so impersonal it makes one wonder if George likes Lennie at all. “If I was a relative of yours I’d shoot myself” (24). It almost seems as if they are in a survival relationship. Two people that are put together because they can not feel they can make it on their own.

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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.

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Friendship In Of Mice And Men

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Symbolism In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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Is euthanasia ever okay in the world we live in today? In the book Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck, George shot Lennie to save him from future suffering and danger. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses symbolism and characterization to portray that George is right about shooting Lennie. Steinbeck uses symbolism to assert that George is right about shooting Lennie. In the ranch, there is a controversy about Candy’s dog.

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John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is a short novel that packs a punch and really looks back at America’s past and mistakes. Steinbeck paints a picture of the late 1920s and early 1930s through two men, George and Lennie. George looks after the mentally challenged Lennie and must take action by soon ending Lennie’s life. The characters in the novel all struggle with heartbreaking conflicts but, no one else suffers more than Lennie and George. These conflicts are often supported imagery in the text.

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The Use Of Animal Imagery In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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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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