Literary Tools Used In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Steinbeck was a very skilled writer. In the novel, ‘Of Mice and Men’, Steinbeck used dogs as literary tools in several different ways. Throughout the novel, Steinbeck used dogs for symbolism, foreshadowing, etc. Some of these literary tools are very obvious, but others are hidden. If you look very deep into the novel, more than 10 should be found. In the beginning of the novel, George calls Lennie a good boy multiple times. For example, “Good boy. That’s swell. You say that over two, three times so you sure won’t forget it,” said George. Good boy is a phrase usually said to dogs, rewarding them for doing something good. Lennie was so childlike, that he almost acted as if he was a dog. That’s what George treated him as. This would be symbolism. Another area where

This novel was set during the Great Depression, which means people didn’t have much money. Slim had to drown the weakest because he needed the strongest to work. During this time period, people barely had enough money to take care of themselves. This would explain why Slim drowned the smallest pup. He wouldn’t have enough money to take care of it.

When Lennie walked into the barn with the puppy that Slim gave him, George yelled at him. George demanded Lennie to bring the pup back to his litter. Lennie trying to stay close to the puppy, shows his love for soft objects. It represents his attachment to nice feeling objects. (litcharts.com)

When Lennie realized that his puppy was dead, he decided to throw his puppy away. Soon after, Lennie got his puppy back. This shows that Lennie knew that he had done something wrong, but he love his puppy so much. Even though he knew that he would not be allowed to tend the rabbits anymore, he decided to retrieve the pup. This symbolizes that he knew that what he had done in that moment was wrong. George usually has to tell him that what he did was wrong, but in this moment he knew.