Steinbeck’s use of Foreshadowing in Of Mice and Men

In John Steinbeck’s famous novel Of Mice and Men, foreshadowing plays a large part in the reader’s experience. Almost every event that is important was foreshowed at some people, such as the multiple deaths that occur throughout.

In Of Mice and Men, of all of the characters Lennie is the primary focus of the majority of foreshadowing. Since Lennie has a reputation for getting into trouble, one can only expect that he would get into trouble yet again at a new location. The incident in Weed, shows Lennie’s like for soft things, and his inability to control himself when he becomes scared or nervous. So when Curley was introduced and and had a uneasy disposition towards Lennie, it seemed like a fight may occur between the two. Lennie killing his mice (although accidental) showed that although non intentional, Lennie was easily capable of killing anything that he could get his hands on. So when he killed his puppy and later Curley’s wife it didn’t come as too much of a surprise. Most if not all foreshadowing used in Of Mice and Men depicted an upcoming violent event, and each new fore...