John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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Of Mice and Men is a short novel written by John Steinbeck and was first published in 1937. The novella is written during the Great Depression, which greatly influenced the narrative techniques used in the novel, such as the style of writing, structure, language, time, place, imagery and symbolism of the short novel. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck takes special care to engage the reader in the plot by using carefully considered narrative techniques. Steinbeck uses poetic language to build the imagery of the opening scene of the farm. Steinbeck uses descriptive language to create a vivid picture of the natural world and to convey to the reader dreamlike images of the settings. Wildlife is referred to only in the opening and closing scenes,…show more content…
Typically, a novella usually lacks subplots and consists less conflicts than a novel. The short novel consists of six chapters. Steinbeck's narrative method is not particularly interesting but effective in a way. The structure of the novella is clearly defined and quite simple: each chapter is an extended episode, not chapter based. The structure is almost circular and rounded as the events in the end mirrors the beginning and the action ends in the same place as it began. Some things happen while others, which have happened, are re-visited, such as when George tells Slim about the incident in Weed and when Curley's wife tells Lennie about her past. Of Mice and Men is originally written as a play. The structure of each episode reflects its origin and most of them began with a detailed description of the setting. John Steinbeck sets the scene to introduce the main characters involved in the plot. This gives the effect of the opening of curtains on stage for a…show more content…
A symbol is a thing that represents or signifies something else. Steinbeck uses a lot of animal imagery throughout the novella to give specific characteristics and personalities of the character and to make comparison in the form of metaphors. “Dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws.” This is how Lennie is first introduced in scene 1. “Snorting into the water like a horse.” This describes how Lennie drinks thirstily from the surface of the green pool. “Slowly, like a terrier who doesn’t want to bring a ball to its master” describes Lennie as he reluctantly hands over the dead mouse to George. “Strong as a bull.” also describes Lennie as a good worker physically. These descriptions are certainly appropriate to illustrate Lennie as he frequently acts in the simple and natural way of an
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