Animals In Of Mice And Men
Following the Great Depression in 1929, John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, narrates the story of two migrant workers, George and Lennie, and their pursuance of the American Dream. Under entirely different historical backgrounds, Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident is a mystery novel narrated by Christopher, a fifteen-year-old mathematician with some behavioral difficulties. Steinbeck and Haddon both use animals to develop their respective story characters; however, while the use of animals acts as a catalyst for plot progression and a bridge between characters in The Curious Incident, it serves a more symbolic purpose, crucial to the reader’s understanding of the text, in Of Mice and Men. These works encounter the difficulty of illustrating …show more content…
The farm that George constantly describes to Lennie—those few acres of land on which they will grow their own food and tend their own livestock—is one of the most powerful symbols in the book. It represents a paradise for men who want to be masters of their own lives. For Lennie, this dream is simplified to the tending of rabbits and accentuates Lennie’s reliance on George. He acts out of loyalty and innocence for the sake of this dream, and is always in fear of George taking this promised land from him. After being oblivious of his own strengths and killing the dog, Lennie says that, “‘Now maybe Geaorge ain’t gonna let me tend no rabbits, if he fin’s out you got killed,’” (Steinbeck 121). Furthermore, Lennie’s puppy is one of several symbols that represent the victory of the strong over the weak. Lennie kills the puppy accidentally, as he has killed many mice before, by virtue of his failure to recognize his own strength. Like an innocent animal, Lennie is unaware of the vicious, predatory powers that surround him. Finally, Candy’s dog represents the fate awaiting anyone who has outlived his or her purpose. Once a fine sheepdog, useful on the ranch, Candy’s mutt is now debilitated by age. Candy internalizes this lesson, for he fears that he himself is nearing an age when he will no longer be useful at the ranch, and therefore no longer
Examples Of Foreshadowing In Of Mice And Men
1205 Words | 5 PagesAs the dog lost its serviceability, it lived on with age and suffered, thus had to be put down in order to prevent it from suffering any longer. Contrary to this, Lennie was one of the most useful members of the farm. His strength making it easy to do certain things, his mentality however, was something else, like that of an ignorant, innocent child. Even when a girl screamed, Lennie became “scared all he can think to do is jus’ hold on.” (Steinbeck, 41) Unbeknownst to Lennie and George, his natural innocence and ignorance, will whittle down his usefulness until nothing's left.
Of Mice And Men Lonliness Quotes
753 Words | 4 PagesCandy's dog eventually gets shot for no reason, other than the fact that the others do not like him. The dog was hated by the other men living on the farm. The sense of feeling that others do not like you is one of the main contributes to lonliness in the world today. Steinbeck attempts to allow readers to recognize this, and change their actions and words towards others to prevent this lonely state in
Examples Of Euthanasia In Of Mice And Men
1034 Words | 5 PagesLater in the bunkhouse, a distraught Candy says, “‘I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn't have let no stranger shoot my dog.’", foreshadowing George's reasoning for killing Lennie (Steinbeck 60). Later in the story, George uses this similar thought process when he decides to kill Lennie rather than let Curley torture and kill him. Steinbeck uses Candy and his dog to foreshadow George killing Lennie, conveying the prevalent idea of euthanasia and mercy killing
Book Report For Of Mice And Men
1208 Words | 5 PagesCandy is a old man, who has a old dog. Candys work mates convinced him that the dog should be shot. When the dog is shot Candy is lonely, and therefore wants to be a part of Lennie and Georges plans of owning there own
The Farm In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
118 Words | 1 PagesThe farm is imagenary and it’s like a real place to George and Lennie. The farm is where they want to be when they get enough money. The farm is a safe heaven for them and it’s also always been a dream for them to come true. This farm also becomes a sybol for Lennie’s and George’s relationship and a place where they can be independent and free.
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.
Indirect Characterization In Of Mice And Men
850 Words | 4 PagesIn 1937 in the midst of The Great Depression, John Steinback published ‘Of Mice and Men’. This story introduced two characters by the name of George and Lennie. The two friends travel across California looking for work. In the book, the author portrays Lennie a huge, strong, and slow learning man. With the authors indirect characterization about Lennie, some critics infer that Lennie is forgetful and never intends to hurt anyone.
The Use Of Animal Imagery In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
1163 Words | 5 PagesHowever, the way in which Steinbeck implements this “colorful language” is key to understanding why he used it at all. Ordinarily, an author would describe a character by their physical human traits rather than accentuating animal-like characteristics, which is how Steinbeck depicts Lennie. As a result of the utilization of Lennie’s animal-like depiction, Steinbeck subliminally dehumanizes Lennie in the reader's mind and justifies the death of animals at the hands of their masters. Ultimately, in Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck dehumanizes Lennie to the reader through the use of animal imagery, in order to allow the reader to justify Lennie’s death at the hands of his best friend, George as a warranted act of
Real Elements In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
1238 Words | 5 PagesIn the story Of Mice and Men, four living things are killed. Two are shot in the back of the head, and the other two are killed by somebody else’s bare hands. As strange as it sounds, the killings were solutions for some characters and complications for others. In this story by John Steinbeck, there are many different realism elements that are relevant. These elements include a few specifics like the rejection of the idealized, larger-than-life hero of romantic literature, the avoidance of the exotic, sensational, and overly dramatic, and the focus on the ethical struggles and social issues of real-life situations.
Hope In Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
118 Words | 1 PagesIn this chapter, the gloom is relieved by the hopeful planning of the three men — George, Lennie, and Candy — toward their dream. For the first time in his life, George believes the dream can come true with Candy's down payment. He knows of a farm they can buy, and the readers' hopes are lifted as well, as the men plan, in detail, how they will buy the ranch and what they will do once it is theirs. But while Steinbeck includes this story of hope, the preponderance of the chapter is dark. Both the shooting of Candy's dog and the smashing of Curley's hand foreshadow that the men will not be able to realize their
Candy Symbolism In Of Mice And Men
451 Words | 2 Pages¨They´ll can me purty soon, Jus’ as soon as i can´t swamp out no bunk houses they´ll put me on the county.¨ ( 88 ) . His word means very little on the ranch, nobody listens to him besides a select few. Soon , he won´t be able to do his work efficiently and will be layed off. Candy´s dog foreshadows what, in candy´s mind, will happen to him soon enough. Although not disclosed in the book, the readers know it will happen.
The Role Of Companionship In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
1216 Words | 5 PagesCandy’s character is one who represents the want for a companion, even though companionship can end in heartbreak. Carlson told Candy that he needs to shoot his dog, his loyal companion, “‘I’m so used to him,’ he said softly. ‘I had him from a pup…’”(50). Everyone leaves to find Lennie while Candy stays with Curley’s wife, “Old Candy lay down in the hay and covered his eyes with his arm”(108). The words “used to” are significant because it shows how Candy doesn’t know what it’s like to be without his dog, his companion, because he has had him for so long.
Setting Goals In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
602 Words | 3 PagesGeorge raises Lennie’s hopes by telling him “‘We’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres’” (Steinbeck 14). Throughout the book, Lennie wants to be continually reminded about this goal to keep his hopes high that eventually one day it might actually come true. Without George as a constant reminder of the farm, Lennie would have no motivation to work towards anything and they would just be mindless farm workers.
Examples Of Animal Imagery In Of Mice And Men
737 Words | 3 Pages“Curley stepped over to Lennie like a terrier“ (Steinbeck 62). With this quote Steinbeck is comparing Curley to a terrier and giving the terriers characteristics to Curley, based on the bigger message of perception that Steinbeck is trying to send you can perceive this as if Curly is a small innocent do like a terrier is or as an aggressive man also like the terrier is based on your past and knowledge. In conclusion, you can see how Steinbeck uses animal imagery to send the greater message of perception using Lennie, Curley, and Candy. He gives them the characteristics of the animal and leaves the reader's perception to perceive them as good or bad based on the reader's experiences and
Of Mice And Men And 1984 Analysis
1176 Words | 5 PagesBecause of Lennie's mental disability, he is required to be dependent on George. In the beginning of the novel as George and Lennie are making their way to the migrant farm, Lennie has a dead mouse in his pocket. Lennie feels that if he were to tell George concerning the mouse, he would yell at Lennie and be angry with him for his wrong doing. Ultimately, the more times George gets furious or impatient with Lennie, Lennie believes that George will not allow his dream of owning a farm in the future to come true (Owens). Likewise, Lennie's lack of consciousness from determining right from wrong, denounces his self character, leading to his own death.
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