The Use Of Animal Imagery In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
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. As Lennie falls to his knees to gulp water “much like a horse” from the river, Steinbeck exercises diction to invoke animal imagery, relating Lennie’s manner of drinking water to a horse, bending down to drink from a river (Steinbeck 3). Steinbeck then inserts George’s comment that Lennie …show more content…
However, 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
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.
Of Mice And Men Figurative Language
608 Words | 3 PagesChapter 5 of John Steinback’s book, Of Mice and Men, vividly depicts Lennie immersing in a world of anger, sorrow, and worry after he tragically killed a little puppy. Lennie strategically employs passive voice to mask his responsibility for the dead puppy and his word choice shows his ambivalence towards the puppy. It’s evident that Lennie goes through a spectrum of emotions. Chapter 5 starts out with Lennie mournfully “[Stroking the dog] clear from one end to the other” (85).
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.
John Steinbeck Dehumanize Lennie Small
1305 Words | 6 PagesIn John Steinbeck’s 1930’s classic novella, Of Mice and Men, we are introduced to one of the main characters, Lennie Small. Lennie is developed as a mentally handicapped, who doesn’t know his strengths and weaknesses, who forgets everything, and who acts like a child. By this development, Steinbeck dehumanizes Lennie in order to show the mentally handicapped population has no chance of achieving the American Dream. Lennie doesn’t know his strengths and weakness, and how to control his strengths. At the end of chapter five, Curley’s wife comes into the barn, where Lennie is alone.
How Does Steinbeck Use Of Foreshadowing In Of Mice And Men
1170 Words | 5 PagesSteinbeck describes Lennie and other issues on the farm with great detail and paints a picture in your mind. On the farm, Lennie is described as many things, though in the text Lennie is described as “Strong as a bull”(22). This paints a picture in the reader's mind of a very strong man. Steinbeck could also be referring to Lennie as an animal inferring that he has no self-control. As we can see in the text the many things Lennie has been unaware of killing.
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.
Of Mice And Men Rhetorical Analysis
578 Words | 3 PagesHe compares Lennie to an animal during his fight with Curley, saying he, “covered his face with his huge paws and bleated with terror”(Steinbeck, 62). His comparison of Lennie shows the naturalist writer in him and explains that man is cruel and detrimental just like wildlife. Another example of Steinbeck’s honest tone is when George is trying to explain to the boss why Lennie isn’t speaking, saying, “I’m ain’t saying that he’s bright. He ain’t. But I say he’s a God damn good worker”(Steinbeck, 23).
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.
Naturalism In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
1469 Words | 6 PagesAn innocent conversation between Lennie and Curley’s wife tragically results in her death. Lennie playing around with a small puppy and mice result in the puppy’s death and countless mice relates back to the concept of naturalism because Lennie cannot control his strength. His situations spin out of control, because he does not know what he is doing. George says that, “‘Lennie never done it out of meanness,’... All the time he done bad things, but he never done one of em’ mean” (Steinbeck 95).
Dehumanization In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
384 Words | 2 PagesAnalytical Paragraph Assignment Of Mice and Men provides us with plenty examples of dehumanization that guide us to conclusions, or insights or feelings of dehumanization. Some examples of this is the dehumanization of Lennie, Crooks and Curley’s wife. Of Mice and Men perfects the traits of dehumanization of Lennie by relating him to a number of animals like the horse. Steinbeck dehumanizes Lennie by comparing him to a horse when George says, “His huge companionship dropped his baskets and flung himself down and drank from the surface of the green pool; drank with long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse” (Steinbeck, 2). Furthermore, Steinbeck helps us, by dehumanizing Crooks, living in a barn, to animals, to visualize how poorly Crooks is treated.
How Should George Shot Lennie
466 Words | 2 PagesIn John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men,George and Lennie are two guys that are heading to their next job. Lennie is a giant and forgetful guy who does not always know what he is doing. George, on the other hand,is the opposite. He is short and knows what he is doing when it comes to work. Lennie was dangerous to everything around him and he also liked to pet soft things.
Of Mice And Men Rhetorical Analysis
937 Words | 4 PagesGeorge and Lennie share an unbreakable bond, despite their contrasting appearances and personalities with George being “small and quick”, while Lennie is “a huge man, shapeless of face, with large pale eyes and sloping shoulders” (Steinbeck 2). Even though they are so different, their personalities complement each other, and their undying friendship gives them hope and companionship in their desperate situations as migrant workers. Furthermore, throughout the novel, it is apparent that George takes care of Lennie through every obstacle he finds himself in, even though he is incapable of doing the same for George. Steinbeck also characterizes Lennie as innocent and animalistic to connect him to nature. He compares Lennie to animals in the barn describing the way he drinks water as, “snorting into the water like a horse”, and saying he “dabbled his big paw in the water” (Steinbeck 4-5).
Responsibility In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
435 Words | 2 PagesIn the book, Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck tells a story about to men named George and Lennie, and how they went to work on a ranch. Throughout the story we see Georges struggles with Lennie and how they escalate. George benefited from having to take care of Lennie, which suggests that responsibility is good for character, but also requires many sacrifices. George enjoyed being with Lennie, but it was not easy for him.
Similarities Between Lennie And Frankenstein
334 Words | 2 PagesLennie Smalls of Of Mice and Men is a character often and rightfully compared to the Creature from Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. Through their similarities and their differences, Lennie and the Creature prove the idea society brutalizes those who differentiate from societal norms. Lennie and Frankenstein’s creature have shared attributes, both physical and mental, that contribute to them being outcast by and attacked by the general population. One shared trait between the man and the zombie is their immense and, often described as grotesque, sizes. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Lennie is described to be a bear, large and boarish to the point where anyone who sees him remarks on his size; and in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein;
Of Mice And Men: Lennie Character Analysis
450 Words | 2 PagesAlthough 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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