Animal Symbolism In Of Mice And Men By John Steinbeck
America was hit with times of struggle during the Great Depression, an era of economic decline that lasted from 1929-1939. Because of the Depression, many people dealt with little pay, unemployment, hunger, and even the loss of their homes. At this time, people worked as migrant workers, traveling from farm to farm, enduring hard labor to get the little pay they could to survive. Of Mice and Men is a 1937 novella written by John Steinbeck. It follows two migrant workers, George and Lennie, during the Great Depression. Because Lennie is mentally disabled, he relies on George as a parental figure, despite them being of similar ages, so they travel together around California working at ranches. The novella is about George and Lennie’s time working at a ranch in Salinas, California as they try to work towards their dream of owning a farm and living off the land. Throughout the book, Steinbeck uses different animals to represent certain themes and characters. Animal symbolism is prevalent through the usage of rabbits to symbolize hopes and freedom, Candy’s dog to …show more content…
On page 15, George and Lennie are talking about the land they want to live off of when George says, “When we get the coupla acres I can let you tend the rabbits all right.” Previously, Lennie had killed multiple mice whilst petting them, so he wanted an animal that was less fragile: rabbits. Lennie hopes to be able to raise rabbits on the farm he and George dream of. Although Lennie does not fully grasp what owning their own land means, because to him, he gets to have fun tending rabbits, it eventually becomes a symbol of his and George’s dream. The rabbits are also a symbol of freedom. George and Lennie are going from ranch to ranch, working for other men. If they realize their dream of owning a piece of land to farm on, they can finally stop working for others which would give them
How Does Steinbeck Use Figurative Language In Of Mice And Men
680 Words | 3 PagesTo begin, Steinbeck’s application of figurative language expresses Lennie as an animal showing how he is mindless and needs George as a caretaker. For example, “Lennie dipped his whole head under, hat and all, and then he sat up on the bank and his hat dripped down on his blue coat and ran down his back” (3). This conveys how Lennie symbolically, like a dog, drank the water by dumping his entire head underwater. The average man like George scooped the water to drink it presenting Lennie as not bright.
How Is Animal Imagery Used In Of Mice And Men
943 Words | 4 PagesHumans and animals are more alike than most people would think. They often act the same way, and do similar things. Animal behaviors are used to describe humans and their actions, especially in literature. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, he uses naturalism to get his point across. Steinbeck uses animal imagery to emphasize power, including how Lennie has physical power over other people, George has power over Lennie, and Curley and his wife are seen as weak and helpless.
How Does Steinbeck Present Lennie's Mental Disability
761 Words | 4 PagesIn Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck utilizes Lennie’s mental disability to demonstrate that his dream of a farm will be a place of acceptance for Lennie. Lennie is not accepted into society due to his mental disorder. When George tells the charming story of the dream, Lennie adds, “An’ rabbits, George” (Steinbeck 3.57). Lennie is insistent on including the rabbits because he is the rabbits.
How Does Steinbeck Use Figurative Language In Of Mice And Men
876 Words | 4 PagesGeorge and Lennie’s farm is a symbol of hope and freedom. They continued to work hard in pursuit of this dream, in hopes that they would have their own farm where they would not have to worry about what was next. Furthermore, both George and
Foreshadowing In Of Mice And Men
753 Words | 4 Pages"And I get to tend the rabbits" (Steinbeck 105). Rabbits were what George and Lennie were talking about just moments before Lennie dies. George knew that this innocent idea of tending rabbits would calm Lennie down so his last thoughts would be something that brought him joy. By using the motif of rabbits Steinbeck shows how Lennie would have never been able to survive off that dream and how having innocent dreams can blind you from the real
Of Mice And Men Quote Analysis
1818 Words | 8 PagesEarly in the novel it is made clear to the reader the dream farm is a huge motivation for Lennie and George when
Similarities Between Of Mice And Men And The Great Gatsby
913 Words | 4 PagesGeorge describes how they would live on this farm to Candy and Lennie alone in their bunk, "An' we could have a few pigs… All kin's a vegetables in the garden, and if we want a little whisky we can sell a few eggs or something, or some milk… we'd have a little house an' a room to ourself.” (Steinbeck 59) The small speech George makes describing how they could live, realizing how close to this dream they possibly are. This dream keeps Lennie working and staying with George because he wants to pet animals whenever he can without hurting them because this was promised from George.
'To A Mouse': A Literary Analysis
1627 Words | 7 PagesIn the story, George and Lennie move around looking for work on farms, so that they can one day use their money to buy a house on their own. Unfortunately, Lennie often makes mistakes causing them to leave a job early before making their money. At one farm, they meet a man named Candy who
The Importance Of Dreams In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
974 Words | 4 PagesGo on, George! Tell about what we’re gonna have in the garden and about the rabbits in the cages and about the rain in the winter and the stove, and how thick the cream is on the milk like you can hardly cut it.” (Steinbeck 14) Lennie, who is a big man; that does not know his own strength, wants to be on a farm with his companion, George. He wants the farm to have different things such as a garden, pigs, cows and most of all rabbits. He likes rabbits because they are soft, so he can pet them, but big enough to not get hurt when he pets them.
Imagery In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
1630 Words | 7 PagesThe novella ‘of Mice and Men’ was written by John Steinbeck in the 1930s. It is set in a difficult period of time when America was sunk in deep depression. However, themes of loyalty shine brightly throughout the novella. He shows that even though Americas economy is in tatters, loyalty can still be as prominent. There were also distinct themes of disloyalty, mainly between characters.
How Is Lennie Presented In Of Mice And Men
775 Words | 4 PagesLennie on the other hand is Large, strong, but is mentally slow and cannot seem to fully comprehend all situations. Lennie loves to pet and hold soft things, whether it is a dead mouse, a nice dress, or even a puppy. Lennie also does not know his own strength, and these two characteristics that Lennie possesses makes him a somewhat dangerous man. George and Lennie head to a ranch so they can acquire enough money for their dream job of owning their own ranch, where Lennie can tend to the rabbits, and where no one is the in charge of them. At the farm they met many characters.
How Does Steinbeck Create Change In Of Mice And Men
852 Words | 4 PagesAfter Lennie dies, the tension and suspense are released, and the commotion caused by it has been resolved, making the environment peaceful again, which is just like how if Lennie survived, there would have been more issues that would cause him to die in a worse outcome. III. When introducing the two main characters, Steinbeck connects this to establishing the setting in the first and last chapters through rabbits to symbolize Lennie’s dream of tending to rabbits to outline the difference between the beginning and the ending and to show character development. A. Steinbeck introduces the rabbits as it represents George introducing the idea of the farm to Lennie, who gets to tend to the rabbits as a way for them to go on “Rabbits come out of the brush to sit on the sand in the evening” (1) B. Once the rabbits are introduced, they connect further to the dream by Candy joining the dream, making it possible to follow through with the dream and forming it in to a solid goal “On the sand banks the rabbits sat quietly as little gray, sculptured stones”
The Use Of Animal Imagery In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
1163 Words | 5 PagesIn 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.
How Does Steinbeck Use The Connection Of Animals In Of Mice And Men
1041 Words | 5 PagesIn the book of mice and men, I believe that Steinbeck uses the significance of animals as a sign of false hope, as well as a sign of power in different characters. Throughout the book of mice and men Lennie always seems to be associated with the “Rabbits” which are a part of his dream, the dream of one day owning a farm. The biggest part of this dream to Lennie was the opportunity he would get tending the rabbits. When reading the book carefully I noticed that the rabbits symbolize Lennie's realization of when he's in trouble.
How Does Steinbeck Use The Symbolism Of The Dog In Of Mice And Men
1039 Words | 5 PagesCandy is old and crippled but has been able to make use of himself by cleaning and doing various jobs on the ranch. However, he cannot continue this for much longer and knows it. He fears what will happen to him when he is no longer useful to the ranch. This makes Candy desperate and explains why he is so eager to form connections to George and Lennie as well as their dream. Another symbol Steinbeck utilizes to develop characters is the color red.
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