Foreshadowing in Of Mice and Men
John Steinbeck in the novella, Of Mice and Men (1937), uses foreshadowing in such a way that the reader can almost exactly predict what’s going to happen. His symbolism connects the foreshadowing together so that it is more understandable and easier to infer what is going to happen next. Steinbeck utilizes foreshadowing in the most important pieces of the book: George’s warnings to Lennie, Lennie’s mice, and Curley’s wife. In Steinbeck’s novel, he emphasizes foreshadowing, particularly when George is constantly reminding Lennie where he should go if there’s trouble, ‘ “…Lennie, if you get in any kind of trouble, you remember what I told you to do?…Down by the river?” “Yeah. I remember. Oh, sure I remember! …show more content…
“Well, he seen this girl in a red dress. Dumb bastard like he is, he wants to touch ever’thing he likes. Just wants to feel it.” (41) George is telling Slim about what happened in Weed that got the pair kicked out. Earlier, when Curley’s wife is described, there is a lot of red, similar to the girl in Weed. ‘She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red…She wore a white cotton dress and red mules, on the insteps of which were little bouquets of ostrich feathers’ (31). The reader understands what happened in Weed and can infer that something similar will happen to Curley’s wife because of the similarities in color they have. The warnings from George about Curley’s wife continue throughout the novella, insinuating that something bad is going to happen. 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
John Steinbeck in the novella, Of Mice and Men (1937), uses foreshadowing in such a way that the reader can almost exactly predict what’s going to happen. His symbolism connects the foreshadowing together so that it is more understandable and easier to infer what is going to happen next. Steinbeck utilizes foreshadowing in the most important pieces of the book: George’s warnings to Lennie, Lennie’s mice, and Curley’s wife. In Steinbeck’s novel, he emphasizes foreshadowing, particularly when George is constantly reminding Lennie where he should go if there’s trouble, ‘ “…Lennie, if you get in any kind of trouble, you remember what I told you to do?…Down by the river?” “Yeah. I remember. Oh, sure I remember! …show more content…
“Well, he seen this girl in a red dress. Dumb bastard like he is, he wants to touch ever’thing he likes. Just wants to feel it.” (41) George is telling Slim about what happened in Weed that got the pair kicked out. Earlier, when Curley’s wife is described, there is a lot of red, similar to the girl in Weed. ‘She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red…She wore a white cotton dress and red mules, on the insteps of which were little bouquets of ostrich feathers’ (31). The reader understands what happened in Weed and can infer that something similar will happen to Curley’s wife because of the similarities in color they have. The warnings from George about Curley’s wife continue throughout the novella, insinuating that something bad is going to happen. 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