Foreshadowing In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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When George decides to kill Lennie at the end of the book, many events of foreshadowing come to mind. In the book Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses many literary elements in this story. However, foreshadowing seems to be one that has been used most in this story. On the other hand, some foreshadowing examples stand out much more than others. The most important ones were the problem that happened in Weed, when the mice and dogs were killed, and when Lennie accidentally killed Curley’s wife. The first example of foreshadowing that we saw in this book was the problem in Weed. In the first few pages of the book, Steinbeck explains to us what happened to the main characters in Weed. It starts off with two partners working in a place called "Weed". The larger man, Lennie, holds onto a girl's red dress because he likes "petting things", and the woman starts “squawking” since she is afraid. His partner, George, has…show more content…
Right after he killed the puppy by accident, Curley’s wife coincidentally walked into the barn and asked Lennie what had happened. After a brief conversation, Lennie mentions that he enjoys petting things. Curley’s wife said “When I’m doing my hair sometimes I jus’ set an’ strple ot ‘cause it’s so soft….. Feel right aroun’ there an’ see how soft it is.” (Steinbeck, 90). Lennie starts stroking her hair softly, and gradually starts petting it harder. Eventually, he starts petting it pretty hard and grabbing onto it. Curley’s wife resists and Lennie grabs onto her hair and doesn’t let go, just like what happened in Weed. After a little bit, he closes his hand over her mouth and violently shakes her until she had “flopped like a fish.” Lennie had broken her neck, just like he had done with the puppies and the mice that he had been given. He realizes that he killed her, and runs to the place that George had told him to go to in case of any trouble which is the brush by the
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