Of Mice And Men Quote Analysis

The story, “Of Mice and Men” follows George Milton and Lennie Small as they dream of the freedom that owning their own land will bring. Through their ambition and perseverance on the farm, you see the hardships and struggles brought to them from social injustice, loneliness, and mistrust. John Steinbeck, through his use of foreshadowing, symbolism, and motif portrays a compelling theme of loneliness, strength, and human tendency in his novella, “Of Mice and Men”; In a competitive, unfair, or lonely community, people tend to give in to human nature and use strength or oppression as a way to make them feel better about themselves, or appear a more powerful figure in their society.

It is evident from the beginning of the book that Steinbeck uses

A great representation of a symbol is in the passage, “Why he’s dead,” she cried. “He was so little,” said Lennie. “I was jus’ playin’ with him...an’ he made like he was gonna bite me...an’ I make like I was gonna smack him...an’...an’ I done it. An’ then he was dead. (87)” In this passage, the death on Lennie’s puppy represents the victory of the strong over the weak, not only through force, but through the power of words as well. Many times in a community, people, as symbolized by Lennie resort to human tendency without thinking about or realizing the consequences of their actions. For example, Lennie did not mean to kill his puppy, but did because he realized the true magnitude of his power only after his puppy was dead. Another example of a symbol in this story is Candy’s dog. In the passage, “During the conversation Carlson had refused to be drawn in. He continued to look down at the old dog. Candy watched him uneasily. At last Carlson said, “If you want me to, I’ll put the old devil out of his misery right now and get it over with. Ain’t nothing left for him. Can’t eat, can’t see, can’t even walk without hurtin’. (47)” you see that Candy’s dog represents people who get beaten down physically and verbally in their community. Sometimes in a society you work so hard to get what you want, that when you finally achieve your goal you no longer have the strength or will to enjoy it. After so many years of tending sheep, Candy’s dog is in a sense worthless to the farm when he finally gets to enjoy his freedom. This symbolizes how after being beaten down by your peers, job, and community, you become unable to achieve your full potential and live your life to the fullest. The symbols of Lennie’s puppy and Candy’s dog show that you may not realize your physical or verbal power over another person or animal. In the case of Lennie’s puppy, he did