“A guy needs somebody- to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody…” In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the novella is centered around the idea of loneliness. Two migrant workers - George and Lennie, travel to various farms and work where they’re needed. Lennie, a slow man who’s disability isn’t quite specified accidentally provokes trouble causing George, his caretaker and best friend, and himself to move frequently. Steinbeck uses foreshadowing to develop the theme of loneliness for land, loneliness for attention, and loneliness for companionship.
George and Lennie roam around, never settling in one place. They yearn for land, and often picture a “dream farm”, some acreage to enjoy for themselves. George is successfully able to describe this farm to Lennie, in order to keep him preoccupied with an end goal in mind. George knows this farm will not come to be, that something may come up …show more content…
With Lennie, he seems more happy, only that he doesn’t like getting into trouble with George. When he unintentionally kills a mouse he finds, he tries to hide his mistake, “George snapped his fingers sharply and at that sound Lennie laid the mouse in his hand” (8). Lennie accidentally killing this mouse displays that he has no control over his own strength. This incidental death foreshadows that there may be more casualties coming. In the poem To a Mouse by Robert Burns, he states, “The best laid schemes of mice and men often go askew” anticipating that regardless of George’s best plans, something may go wrong. Burns’ poem was a big inspiration for Of Mice and Men. Reading back, foreshadowing is used throughout the entirety of the book, and much like the quote from the poem, the ending can be predicted. Although Steinbeck utilizes foreshadowing to show loneliness for attention, he also uses foreshadowing to illustrate loneliness for
George and Lennie roam around, never settling in one place. They yearn for land, and often picture a “dream farm”, some acreage to enjoy for themselves. George is successfully able to describe this farm to Lennie, in order to keep him preoccupied with an end goal in mind. George knows this farm will not come to be, that something may come up …show more content…
With Lennie, he seems more happy, only that he doesn’t like getting into trouble with George. When he unintentionally kills a mouse he finds, he tries to hide his mistake, “George snapped his fingers sharply and at that sound Lennie laid the mouse in his hand” (8). Lennie accidentally killing this mouse displays that he has no control over his own strength. This incidental death foreshadows that there may be more casualties coming. In the poem To a Mouse by Robert Burns, he states, “The best laid schemes of mice and men often go askew” anticipating that regardless of George’s best plans, something may go wrong. Burns’ poem was a big inspiration for Of Mice and Men. Reading back, foreshadowing is used throughout the entirety of the book, and much like the quote from the poem, the ending can be predicted. Although Steinbeck utilizes foreshadowing to show loneliness for attention, he also uses foreshadowing to illustrate loneliness for