Literary Terms

1. Foreshadowing
The author foreshadowed the trouble Lennie would have and his death several times throughout the novel. At the start of the story, Steinback immediately introduced Lennie as a character that unintentionally caused problems for himself and George wherever they went. The incident with the woman in the red dress and being run out of Weed foreshadowed a similar situation would happen. However, this time it would involve Curley’s wife and running away from the Soledad ranch. George showing Lennie where to hide in the brush if something bad happened also foretold that an unpleasant fate for the man was imminent. Another example of foreshadowing was the death of Lennie’s puppy. The puppy symbolized the weak and vulnerable, and indirectly Lennie. When Lennie accidentally killed the animal, the reader could infer that he would be in the same situation and ultimately he would die, too. Finally, Candy’s dog and his feelings of guilt for not shooting the animal himself foreshadowed the final scene between George and Lennie. George shot Lennie because he knew it was his responsibility and he wanted to spare his friend the terrible outcome he would face with Curley’s men. He knew how much Candy regretted not doing it himself, and based his final decision on that.

2. Use of irony
Verbal Irony – occurs when an author or characters says one thing but mean something else
Eg. p. 12 George tells Lennie how much better his life would be without him or if he moved away. He doesn’t really mean it because he loves Lennie and enjoys his company.
p. 78 Lennie says Curley got his hand caught in a machine. That didn’t happen and everyone knows but he says it anyway.
Situational Irony – an inconsistency between what the audience or reader expects, and what actually happens.
Eg. p. 107 George shoots Lennie. As a reader, I didn’t expect George to be the one to kill Lennie.
p. 91 Lennie kills Curley’wife. What started off as a friendly conversation turned into an unintentional murder.
Dramatic Irony – occurs when an audience or reader knows something that a character does not know
Eg. p. 107 In his last moments, the reader knows Lennie is about to be shot by George even though he doesn’t.
p. 94 The reader knows Lennie has killed Curley’s wife and run away to hide in the brush, but George doesn’t know. He is outside playing horseshoes with the other men and has no idea about the gravity of the situation.

3. Alliteration - repeated occurrence of the same consonant sound at the beginning of several words in the same phrase
p. 70 “I never knew but I know now.”
p. 104 “…breeze blew…”

4. Symbolism
See blog post “What is symbolism?” below.

5. Animal Imagery
See blog post “Animal Imagery” below.

6. Tone effect
In the final scene on p. 106, the change in George’s usual rough voice greatly affects the mood. His softness and the quiver in his voice contrasts to Lennie’s giggles and happiness. It creates a sad, depressing atmosphere as the reader realizes the tragedy that is about to befall the two friends.

7. Perspective
This novel is written from the third person omniscient point of view. This means that it is written from the perspective of a narrator retelling the action that is happening, rather than from one of the character’s points of view. The reader does not get the opportunity to read what the characters are thinking and feeling, and has to make inferences and guesses based on their actions. I think the best perspective for the story would have been from George’s point of view. Although it might have made the novel somewhat less interesting and made the reader not have to think as critically to decipher the meaning of the character’s actions, it would have proven to be more insightful. It would have provided a background to George’s and Lennie’s histories and several important thoughts on the action.

8. Setting
The setting of this novel is in the early 1900’s in California, specifically the Salinas Valley. The importance of this setting is that it is during the Great Depression. It was a period of time where many people struggled to survive, to get jobs, and to make a living. It highlights the difficulties that George and Lennie went through. Keeping a job at that time was very hard, and Lennie’s disability made it even harder. Their dream to own their own piece of land with the state the country and economy was in emphasized its impossibility.

9. Diction
The author’s choice of vocabulary and the style of expression he used helped establish characterization and the overall authenticity of the novel. Steinback made the characters speak in a kind of southern/ranch slang typical to the setting, purposely writing with grammatical incorrectness and shortening words. For example, on p. 12 instead of George saying “You don’t have enough sense to find something to eat,” he says “You ain’t got sense enough to find nothing to eat.” This made the characters more believable because no one at that time was educated to a level where they spoke in full sentences consistently. It also really allowed the reader to picture the way the characters looked and worked on the ranch. The diction Steinbacl uses is particularly important to Lennie’s character because it emphasizes his retardation. For example, on p. 9 he says, “It ain’t nobody’s mouse. I remember a lady used to give ‘em to me – ever’ one she got. But that lady ain’t here.” The way he speaks and forms his sentences shows immediately that he is mentally challenged.

10. Theme
The novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ demonstrates several themes, including the concept of ‘Decisions, actions and consequences.’ It is shown specifically through the action that Lennie undergoes. Due to his mental condition, he does not always realize the seriousness or wrong-doing of his behavior. He is not able to think situations through clearly, often resulting in poor decisions that lead to trouble. For example, his decision to stroke Curley’s wife’s hair turned out disastrously because without realizing his strength, he unintentionally killed her. This ultimately led to a terrible consequence of death. Because of the magnitude of his decision and the effect it has on Curley and his men, his actions led to his shooting. The story shows that with all actions come consequences through Lennie’s ordeal, and how this idea can be applied to real-life.