Literature Analysis "Of Mice and Men"

General 1. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is the story of George and Lennie, two childhood friends who travel to the Soledad, California to work at a ranch. Due to Lennie being mentally handicapped and not having a very great past (especially shown with his killing of soft things while petting them), he relies on his friend George who is in a way Lennie’s caretaker and the one who does the talking for the both of them. his friend. Once arriving at the ranch, George and Lennie begin working in return for small payment and housing. They meet several men on the farm, and are able to befriend all of them except for Curly, the farm owner’s son who later gets his hand broken by Lennie when angered by not knowing where his wife was. Candy, the farm’s oldest worker, has a dog that gives birth to a group of puppies, and is later killed to end its suffering. Candy gives Lennie one of the puppies, because he knows that Lennie likes soft things. Wanting to pet his new puppy Lennie sneaks out. Just as the mouse in the beginning of the novel, Lennie’s strong hands kill the puppy, causing him to freak out. Hearing the commotion Curly’s wife tries to calm him down by letting him pet her soft hair. Again Lennie’s strong begin to hurt Curly’s wife who screams which cause him to panic and he snaps her neck. When the men find out what’s happened they set off to find Lennie and hang him. George gets to Lennie first, and puts him out of his misery by shooting him in the back of the head as a final act of kindness/protection for Lennie. 2. The theme I got from the novel was the Importance of companianship. Throughout the novel many of the characters reveal their loneliness. Curly’s wife in the novel does not feel a great sense of companionship with her husband so she constantly seeks the attention of the other men. Candy becomes very sad and lonely when having to put down his dog and longtime companion. And Curly is constantly being overly protective of his wife due to the lack of companionship between his wife and him. The only characters that seem to get through the novel without this lack of companionship 3. I got that Steinbeck’s tone was realistic and honest as he expresses many points without being around the bush but straight forward; telling it how it is. • "You'd drink out of a gutter if you was thirsty." Chapter 1, pg. 3 • Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place. . . . With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don’t have to sit in no bar room blowin’ in our jack jus’ because we got no place else to go. If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us.” • “I seen hundreds of men come by on the road an’ on the ranches, with their bindles on their back an’ that same damn thing in their heads . . . every damn one of ’em’s got a little piece of land in his head. An’ never a God damn one of ’em ever gets it. Just like heaven. Ever’body wants a little piece of lan’. I read plenty of books out here. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land.” 4. Imagery: "A few miles south of Soledad, the Salinas River drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green. The water is warm too, for it has slipped twinkling over the yellow sands in the sunlight before reaching the narrow pool. On one side of the river the golden foothill slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan mountains, but on the valley side the water is lined with trees - willows fresh and green with every spring, carrying in their lower leaf junctures the debris of the winter's flooding; and sycamores with mottled, white, recumbent limbs and branches that arch over the pool." Pg. 1 Diction: Steinbeck’s diction in the novel is all colloquialisms.“Well, he’s a pretty nice fella. Gets pretty mad sometimes, but he’s pretty nice. Tell ya what—know what he done Christmas? Brang a gallon of whisky right in here and says, ‘Drink hearty, boys. Christmas comes but once a year.” CH 2 Syntax: "On one side of the little room there was a square four-paned window, and on the other, a narrow plank door leading into the barn. Crooks' bunk was a long box filled with straw, on which his blankets were flung." pg. 66 Foreshadowing: ‘’Course you did. Well, look. Lennie—if you jus’ happen to get in trouble like you always done before, I want you to come right here an’ hide in the brush.” Tone: Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place. . . . With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don’t have to sit in no bar room blowin’ in our jack jus’ because we got no place else to go. If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us.” Mood: “I seen hundreds of men come by on the road an’ on the ranches, with their bindles on their back an’ that same damn thing in their heads . . . every damn one of ’em’s got a little piece of land in his head. An’ never a God damn one of ’em ever gets it. Just like heaven. Ever’body wants a little piece of lan’. I read plenty of books out here. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land.” Symbolism: "You seen what they done to my dog tonight? They says he wasn't no good to himself nor nobody else. When they can me here I wisht somebody'd shoot me. But they won't do nothing like that. I won't have no place to go, an' I can't get no more jobs." Ch.3, pg. 60 Hyperbole: “His authority was so great that his word was taken on any subject, be it politics or love.” Chapter 2 Characterization: 1. Direct Characterization: “A powerful, big stomached man came into the bunk house. His head still dripped water from the scrubbing and dousing. "Hi, Slim," he said, and then stopped and stared at George and Lennie. Direct Characterization: "Behind him walked his opposite, a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, and wide, sloping shoulders; he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws." Indirect Characterization: "Ya know, Lennie, I'm scared I'm gonna tangle with that bastard myself. I hate his guts. Jesus Christ!" Indirect Characterization: "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." 2. The Syntax and diction only seem to change in the novel in Lennie’s dialogue, due to the author expressing his mental handicapped. The rest of the characters syntax and diction only changes slightly to represent their personality in the novel. For example Curly’s wife dialogue is very flirtatious, Curly very tempered and short. 3. The characters in the book all remain static except for maybe George who comes to the realization to put Lennie out of his misery at the end of the novel but his overall personality is the same as it was at the beginning of the novel. 4. What I came away with from the novel was that without companionship life is miserable and when you have this companionship there are those who want to pick it apart.