Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Essay by mca1686High School, 10th gradeA-, March 2004

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In Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck used the theme of loneliness to show that loneliness is unhealthy, and dangerous to a persons well being. He used the death Candy's Dog to symbolize the fate waiting for anyone who has outlived their purpose. Animal Imagery is used when Lennie drank like a horse from the stream. This caused the reader to imagine a huge man with the mind of a child. Foreshadowing occurred when Lennie and George had to hide in the irrigation ditch, because he wouldn't let go of the girl's red dress.

Imagery is the use of descriptive words to show the reader in detail what they are reading. In the Beginning of Of Mice and Men Animal imagery occurred immediately. The author wrote, " His huge companion dropped his blankets and flung himself down and drank with long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse." As the reader reads this one imagines a monstrous man uncontrollably gulping up the gross stagnant water.

The reader also must be thinking that Lennie must have the brain the size of a horse to drink water without purifying it beforehand. Animal imagery was not only used to describe the characters in this book, but also their movements, which gave an idea of the overall atmosphere. The author wrote, "Curly's fist was swinging when Lennie reached for it. The next minute Curly was flopping like a fish on a line." As the reader reads this, one gets a vivid picture of a small little man grabbing his bloody hand on the floor while a large beast hovers over him in fear. When Curly first entered the bunk before the fight began he started to have the actions of a dog. Steinbeck wrote, " Curly stepped over Lennie like a...