Of Mice And Men Analysis Blog

Analysis of Detail


From his first paragraph, John Steinbeck sets the scene in Of Mice and Men through his use of imagery as he describes the natural world as a parallel to later events in the novella.

In the beginning of the book Steinbeck says "the Salinas River drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green" When I hear the term river I think of movement, wealth,and jobs. This was a great parallel of George and Lennie because, they were on the the run and they were looking for a job so they can build some wealth. Also when I hear the term green, I think of nature and new life. That is a parallel to Lennie because he is full of life like a child. When I saw the word deep i thought of something strong, and grounded. which describes George perfectly. Even though, he is not physically strong like Lennie, he is mentally strong. Also, George is grounded because, even though, he says he would leave Lennie, we all know he never would.

The quote,"slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan mountains" Has a great parallel to George and Lennie. Lennie is rocky because he is unstable. George is strong because he is able to handle Lennie. The Mountain represents the challenges and hardships they go through.

In the next quote Steinbeck talks about a path beaten hard. When I hear that I think about a long hard journey, which connects to George and Lennie's journey. The quote also talks about tramps walking on that path, which foreshadows the appearance of Curley's Wife who is referred to as a tart.

Another quote in the book that foreshadows what happens in the book is, "under the trees leaves lie deep and so crisp" The word trees represents something tall and strong. Obviously that parallels Lennie he is very big and strong. He is strong, he can pack more barely than anyone can, he crushed Curley's hand, and killed the puppy by petting it too hard. Also the part in the quote about how the leaves lie deep makes me think about a place to hide. Which foreshadows the part after Lennie kills Curley's Wife he has to run and hide in the brush.

There is another quote that talks about a limb worn smooth by men who have sat on it. The word worn represents something old and familiar. That parallels Candy's dog. He is old and has been with Candy all of his life. Also the word limb represents something weak. Which parallels Curley. Curley is very weak in character, he is always trying to fight people just because he is insecure about his size.

Analysis of Point of View

The third-person objective point of view solidifies the solitary lives these men lead.

One example is when the men try to convince Candy that he should kill his dog. I understand where the men where coming from because Candy's dog was old, blind, and could barely walk. These men thought they were trying to help, but actually Candy couldn't let the dog go. That dog had been with him for years, Candy even said that he had him since he was a pup. That dog was the only family Candy had.

Another example is the quote, "Crooks did not see him...on raising his eyes...a scowl came to his face," Of all these men Crooks was probably the loneliest, because he was not allowed in the bunkhouse because he was black. He scowled at Lennie because Lennie came in while he was applying cream for his hurt back and that was a time of vulnerability for him. Also because he was used to being alone all the time, that he had a certain hardness that he wanted to portray to other people.

Analysis of Tone

The tones of hope and commitment reflect Steinbeck's view of George and Lennie.

In this story George was very committed to Lennie. He made a promise to Lennie's Aunt Clara that he would take care of him, and he honored that promise. Lennie was very hard to take care of, because he would get into trouble. Most people would put him in an institution and forget about him, but George would stay with him. It was sad, because Lennie would always offer to go away, but George would always say no.

In this book we were taken on an emotional roller coaster ride, but we were always given a glimmer of hope when Lennie would ask George to tell him how they were going to live off the fatta the lan'. George would always say they were going to get a stake and buy a piece of land. He would tell how they would work on their land and be self sufficient and Lennie would get to tend his beloved rabbits. Every time George told Lennie their dream I would root for them to achieve it in the end, but we all know how the book ends differently.

Theme.

The theme would would be that we are our brothers keeper. We are responsible for the people around us, but only in certain times. When we have made a commitment to take care of our brother then we are our brothers keeper . For example, George made a commitment to take care of Lennie.

Migrant Mother

Migrant Mother is a series of photographs taken by Dorthea Lange of a woman and her children. Lange was following farm laborers.

When I saw the pictures I just felt bad for this woman and her children. I saw the pain in the woman's eyes. I could also see that she was trying to stay strong for her children. Her facial expression showed that she had so many emotions swirling in her. She was scared and desperate, but she also had determination on her face. It was as if she wasn't going to let her situation beat her.

In one of her pictures the woman had her wedding ring on. For most people living in poverty, the ring would be one of the first things to be sold for money. However this woman decided to hold on to hers. I think she did this so she could remind herself that there were better days and better days to come.