In John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, the use of nature is portrayed as another way readers can predict what might happen next. In most cases, the setting is often introduced at the beginning of the chapter in Of Mice and Me and that is one of the only places it is introduced. If we did not have nature in the story, it would be incomplete and hard for readers to understand. Steinbeck portrays foreshadowing of nature through mood of how it is presented, imagery of how it is described, and finally symbolism in nature.
First nature is portrayed through foreshadowing by mood. Due to the fact that the nature and setting is presented at the beginning of the chapter, Steinbeck wants us to know what to feel for what is to come. In the sentence “Although there was evening brightness showering through the windows of the bunk house, inside it was dusk.” (Steinbeck 38)
…show more content…
Through symbolism, Steinbeck is able to prove the beauty of nature itself and how it can take over something worse than it. At the end when Lennie is about to be killed, he starts to describe his happy place which puts him at ease. When Lennie was describing this, “An’ you get to tend the rabbits” Lennie giggled with happiness. “An’ live on the fatta the lan’.” (Steinbeck 103) he was able to find peace in such a stressful time. This shows that the power of nature was able to take over someone so they did not expect what was going to happen next. Although some might argue that nature has nothing to do with what the actions of characters are. It is apparent, that through these reasons Steinbeck wanted readers to believe they can. So, in Of Mice and Men Steinbeck used mood, imagery, and symbolism to show the true power of nature and how it is portrayed. Thus, giving readers a new and better understanding of how the symbolism of nature it able to help readers discover what is to
Peter Lisca’s analysis on “Motif and Pattern in Of Mice and Men” clarifies that Steinbeck’s misunderstood usage of symbols, actions, and language convey motifs and patterns that connects the beginning of the book to the end. Lisca implies that the first and primary usage of symbolism was the area near the river where the story initiated and ended. He insinuates that the cave that Lennie mentioned twice and the river George ordered Lennie to visit when in danger symbolizes as “a safe place” and innocence while becoming “translated into terms possible in the real world” (Lisca 1). In addition, Lisca also advocates that the rabbits serve as symbols to dramatize Lennie’s devotion for his safe place, but also to “define the basis of what desire on a very low level” (Lisca 2).
In Emerson’s article, Nature, the passage shows great value of how man and nature can be similar. The article shows in many ways how man can represent nature, and how nature can represent everything. Emerson’s Nature can be related to Guy Montag’s journey into nature in Fahrenheit 451, and the author’s ways of showing similarity between man and vegetable can be presented as showing how nature is mixed in with literature and humans.
John Steinbeck, an American novelist, is well-known for his familiar themes of depression and loneliness. He uses these themes throughout a majority of his novels. These themes come from his childhood and growing up during the stock market crash. A reader can see his depiction of his childhood era. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck shows the prominent themes of loneliness, the need for relationships, and the loss of dreams in the 1930s through the novels’ character.
Nature. Nature exists ever since the beginning of time when God created earth. Nature shaped and molded mankind in its cultures, societies, and philosophies over the course of nature’s existence. Nature influenced people’s way of living, the way they act and react, the way people view what they see, the way they think, and the way people learn and believe for centuries. People used nature in designing their art. People crafted art in forms of music, paintings, and literature overflowing with imagery, atmospheric tones and moods, symbols, and themes influenced by nature. David Guterson too used nature to mold and shape his novel, Snow Falling on Cedars. Guterson was able to make is themes flourish and shine through his artistic and symbolic use of nature incorporate in the novel’s plot. Guterson achieved capturing and touching readers’ hearts through his themes unfolded from the help of nature being used symbolically.
Imagery is shown through two hallucinations that Lennie has before the end of the book. He has just escaped the ranch because of the accidentally killing of Curley's wife. Lennie also realizes that George will not let him tend rabbits on a farm, which was the desire that he wanted the most. After all George said, "But you ain't gonna get in no trouble, because if you do, I won't let you tend the rabbits" (65). Constantly throughout the book, Lennie pesters George about taking care of rabbits on a farm of their own; tending rabbits was Lennie's dream. As he hides near the river where he and George stayed the night before going to the ranch, Lennie begins seeing his Aunt Clara. But Aunt Clara was speaking in Lennie's voice. She begins to blame
The theme of Mice of Men by John Steinbeck is that mankind is unforgiving. In the first paragraph of the book we are presented with a very detailed description of the surrounding scenery “The water is warm too, for it has slipped twinkling over the yellow sands in the sunlight before reaching the narrow pool.”(Steinbeck 1). However, once men are introduced to the picture
John Steinbeck explores human experience in the novella ‘Of Mice and Men’ in friendship, loneliness and marginalisation. He does this through the characters as explained thought the paragraphs below.
The quote that inspired John Steinbeck was the best laid schemes often go off track can be seen in the novel of Mice and Men. When Curley's wife met a man in her childhood that offered her to be an actress but the chance went away and she later died. Then Curley wanted to be a professional boxer but the dream never happened and he became a farmer then got his hand broken for trying to be tough. George and Lennie were going to buy a farm to live off the fat of the land then Lennie had to get in trouble and George had to give up the dream and kill Lennie for what he had done.
In the book Of Mice and Men there are many examples of naturalism. The main areas where naturalism mostly happened was in the beginning and towards the end of the book. Naturalism in its own is far more powerful than man. Steinbeck uses naturalism in the book because characters have free will but are also at risk by internal and external forces.
When asked about John Steinbeck’s career, people often refer to Steinbeck as a playwright, journalist, and a well-known novelist. The book Of Mice and Men is a popular novel by John Steinbeck and a required read for most high school students. Most of Steinbeck 's novels have a central theme focusing on the relationship between man and his environment. The American dream for George and Lennie, two of the main characters in Of Mice and Men, is to have a place of their own, to be respected, and to work hard for everything they earn and deserve. In Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, the land and a hope of a better life becomes the talisman of an American dream for Lennie and George that is left unfulfilled.
Characters are a big role of the symbolism in this book. One of the characters, Lennie Small symbolizes innocent, mentally impairment, and physical strength. Lennie is a character who has mental disability, is tall, and strong. "Tired and tired [...] but it didn't do no good"(Steinbeck 4). This quote shows that he is not that smart. He keeps trying to remember something that George tells him but it turns out he can never remember it. "Curley's fist was swinging when reached for it [....] Curley sat down on the floor, looking in wonder at his crushed hand"(Steinbeck 63-64). This quote is from where Curley mauled Lennie. So George told Lennie to attack back. So Lennie took one of Curley's fist and started to squeeze it. As an aftermath, Curley's hand was bleeding and broken. This show how strong Lennie is because he was able to broke his fist is less than a minute with one hand. Lennie character really symbolizes everything Steinbeck wanted to.
At the beginning, the author describes his movement using a metaphor, as Lennie “[drags] his feet… the way a bear drags his paws” (p.2), to show that he is much alike a bear physically. In addition, Steinbeck uses a simile to emphasize Lennie’s animal-like behaviour, as he “[drinks] wit long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse” (p.3). By comparing his physical and behavioural characteristics, this can foreshadow that the author implies that Lennie is seen as more animal than human because of his metal disabilities. George further makes it evident when he infers that “somebody [would] shoot [him] for a coyote if [he] was by [himself]” (p.12). This shows that people are scared of him and his unpredictable, animal-like behaviour because of the lack of understanding about mental health during the early 1900s. Furthermore, this can be the foundation for the theme where the lack of communication and understanding with the mentally disabled can lead to dire and tragic
Steinbeck develops the theme of power through his depiction of the foreshadowing natural world. Nature remains the only constant in a world of sporadic variables and power is accentuated in its duplicity. Externally nature appears mellifluous, tranquil and unperturbed, internally however lies something far more sinister. The clearing into which George and Lennie stumble may resemble The Garden of Eden, but is in fact a place with dangers lurking at every turn. The rabbits that sit like ‘grey sculptured stones’ ‘hurry noiselessly’ for cover at the sound of footsteps, hinting at the predatory world that will inevitable destroy George and Lennie. Through this, Steinbeck exposes nature as a powerful but vicious symbol of the cruelties of life, as its external beauty establishes a sense of purity which the world cannot sustain.
Lennie's greatest difficulty seems to be remembering; and it is the lack of the ability to remember that ultimately leads to his tragedy at the end of the book. In the novel, Steinbeck seems to reinforce Lennie's characteristics of strength, kindness, childlike manner, and somewhat animal-like personality. In this paper, I will focus on these characteristics. Strength Even though Lennie's last name is Small, he is, physically, just the opposite: a large man with great strength. This strength is represented numerous times throughout the novel.
In the literature of the time period in England, nature served in a way to connect an individual to their own self. What is meant by "the individual's own self" are the inner emotions that a person rarely gets a chance to express in an outwardly fashion due to social constrictions, fear, inability to properly express these emotions, etc. Nature was used as a gateway for self-expression and thus through this the individual was able to allow their emotions to flow out onto paper. Sometimes it is easier to convey one's feelings through an outlet of which other people also understand. In sixteenth century England, many people understood the use of nature imagery as a means of self-explication and therefore writers of the Renaissance era used it to their advantage.