Allusions In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Decent Essays
Well as my colleagues have already talked about many other allusions in John Steinbeck’s book Of Mice and Men I have just one question for you. Why do we need allusions in the stories we read? To put it simply as Mr. Frank Deford would say “the proof is in the pudding.” Or in our case the connections weaved not only throughout John Steinbeck’s book Of Mice and Men, but also throughout Arthurian Legends. As we take a closer look at how the Holy Grail, femme fatale character, and fellowship it will reveal not only the connections, but also help to give an answer to my earlier

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    The human issues come up in the first chapter of the book because when George tells the story about getting run out of the weed because Lennie does not understand right from wrong so he don’t understood also accused of attempting rape when really he just wanted to touch the girl’s dress because he thought it was so pretty but instead of listening to his explanation and being given a fair trial a lynch mob forms to capture Lennie. This was good example of a person being understanding and treated wrong because he have a mental handicap with is human right issues…

    • 102 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In his novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses imagery of light and trees to foreshadow an unhappy ending. In the beginning of the chapter, the willow trees are “fresh and green with every spring,” and the sycamore trees have “mottled, white, recumbent limbs and branches that arch over the pool;” but, as the chapter progresses, “the sycamore leaves whispered in a little night breeze” (Steinbeck 1, 16). When the chapter starts, the imagery of the trees is very bright and promotes an image of beauty and joy; this symbolizes the temporary happiness of George and Lennie. However, at the end of the chapter, the description of the trees is much more eerie, and hints at sadness to come. The author also uses imagery of light as a symbol; at first,…

    • 235 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    John Steinbeck, author of the novella Of Mice and Men, uses symbols, images, and figures of speech to convey his image of the two main characters, George Milton and Lennie Small. Though the reader may be unaware of its effect in the beginning, Steinbeck’s descriptions drastically affects how you view the characters throughout the novella. Lennie Small is anything but small physically. His ability to reason is small, but his body is powerful. Described with words like huge and shapeless, one has to wonder if Lennie Small is even a human.…

    • 242 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Through Lennie’s physical power he is often incapable of controlling himself resulting in disasters for instance the unintentional killing of animals such as the mouse. Slim’s puppy is a symbol, which embodies the triumph of the strong over the weak. Lennie kills the puppy accidentally by ‘petting it too hard’ equally in the way that he ‘petted the mouse too hard’; however he fails to acknowledge his own strength. Even though no one is stronger than Lennie, he can be portrayed as a harmless animal as he is unconscious of the vicious powers that surround him. The author has used irony to show that no matter what mental state you are, you can still own a certain degree of an alternative form of power.…

    • 364 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    We can never truly see what our fellow man is going through Nobody can teach someone else how to grow up. Every person experiences different things and handles certain situations their own way. It isn't fair for someone to tell a person how to handle something they know nothing about.…

    • 245 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Although both The Pearl and Of Mice and Men are both written by John Steinbeck and have many similarities, such as the destruction of the main character’s dreams, their resolutions are extremely different. Although both books have a character who was extremely close to the main character die at the end, the manner of death of these characters are very different. Unlike how Lennie was very peacefully shot and was happy right before he died, Coyotito was killed in a much more depressing way. The death of each character in each novel is vastly different, but they both effectively crush the living character’s dream. Some may say that the resolution of the two stories are the same because a character dies in each, however they could not be more different.…

    • 1013 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In closing, Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, uses foreshadowing to warn or inform the reader of possible things to come. His combined use of symbolism and foreshadowing bring the reader a sense of bad things to come for Lennie and George, particularly Lennie. Steinbeck’s purpose is give elaborate symbols and detailed foreshadowing so that the reader may either dread or wish for the next thing to…

    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The real Characters Have you ever felt a weight on your back, felt as if you're carrying another person? Well, this story is for you. In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, George, the main character, is placed with the burden of taking care of his large friend with a mental disability, who seems to find trouble everywhere they go. During their adventure George gets in trouble on their first job and then they are forced to move to another farm to work and get money. Lastly in the book Lennie kills the boss's wife and he is searched for and george mercy killed him because the boss would have made him suffer.…

    • 660 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck’s main theme is loneliness. Every character in the book is lonely. Through the loneliness, there is one character who understands more than others: Slim. Slim fits the archetype of a wise man, or a sage. Archetypes are made to show common traits in characters.…

    • 1058 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In 1937 John Steinbeck wrote the novella Of Mice and Men, in order to express his societal conscience about America in the 1930’s. Of Mice and Men is about visions, friendship and hope. It’s a story about the nature of human visions and ambitions and the forces that work against them as it is the story of two men. The principal theme of this bestselling novel is that humans give importance to their lives and to their futures by creating dreams. Without dreams and goals, life is a limitless stream of days that have diminutive joining or meaning.…

    • 989 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    John Steinbeck makes many of his characters pure archetypes in the book Of Mice and Men. In the book Of Mice and Men, Lennie is constantly forcing George to move from town to town and George can not settle down and make a life for himself. George is constantly telling Lennie about the dream that they both have, which is to have their own small farm with animals that they can tend to. Many people today have dreams that help drive themselves to work hard and save up their earnings. Slim is the leader who everyone respects and looks up to, mainly because Slim is the second hand man.…

    • 594 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Rejected and misunderstood John Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902 in Salinas, California. Even in high school English was his strong suite. He worked at various jobs and one in particular as a ranch hand on some of the local ranches. Later this took him to use the settings, people, and images used in Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck graduated from high school and went on to Stanford University.…

    • 1195 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Steinbeck's novel of mice and men written in 1973 has a very in depth plot that pulls on your heartstrings. It is the story of George and Lennie a couple of vagrant workers in California during the depression, struggling to make their dreams come true while dealing with loneliness and the burden of Lennie’s disability. It ends in tragedy and sorrow, but the way the book was constructed and the rhetorical strategies used by the author easily convince the reader that George’s actions in the end were justified. One major strategy used by the author to justify George's actions is characterization.…

    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The book Of Mice and Men is full of puzzling examples of the human condition, from Lennie and his mental disability to Curley’s wife messing with all of the men’s heads. With characters like these two, the book exploits the human condition that concerns circumstances life has gives you. John Steinbeck brings to life what being a laborer in the American depression meant to the men and one woman who had enough personality to stand out. George, Slim, Curley, and Lennie are all very different people with lives that make them have different views and priorities.…

    • 391 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Steinbeck's uses of Biblical allusions portrays the dangers of the sins and hopelessness in the lives of men, and it's consequences that can't be undone. Steinbeck's many biblical references in Of Mice and Men each conveyed their own significant meaning, teaching a specific lesson. For example, the parallel relationship between George and Lennie with Cain and Abel would portray the futility of brotherhood in our lives. (‭‭Genesis‬ ‭4:8-12 NIV) As Cain killed Abel, George murdered his own "brother" too.…

    • 1169 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays