How does John Steinbeck use animals in ‘Of Mice And Men’? Essay

For the duration of Of Mice And Men, derriere Steinbeck makes references to zoologys and animal behaviour in portraying the characteristics of the characters. Not only does he do this, moreover as well as uses actual animals as a medium in which to show emotions and symbolisms. It is this piece which I plan to explore in this short essay.In the claim of the book, Steinbeck chose to mention mice, taken from part of a poem by Robbie Burns, who wroteThe beat laid plans of mice and menGang aft aglee and leave us goose eggBut grief and pain for promised joy.This is quite apt considering what happens in the book and it could be tell that the book revolves around the poem. Steinbeck lets the reader bang that the story will contain animal references from the beginning of the book.On the starting line page, rabbits atomic number 18 menti whizd coming out of the brush to sit on the mainstay in the even soing. Later in the chapter, Lennie says to George, I remember about the rabbi ts, George, to which George responds, The wickedness with the rabbits. Thats all you ever can remember is them rabbits. It is strange that rabbits be mentioned both in nature and in converse dialogue in the same section. However, it is non so much the rabbits that Lennie is looking forward to, but the dream of something better, his ideal world. George takes it upon himself to ground Lennie, bringing him back to reality. Their relationship is involved and we only get glimpses of their history together. This technique is used by the author so that the reader can come up with their own interpretations.Lennie is draw further on dragging his feet a little, the way a agree drags his paws, creating imagery that Lennie is homogeneous a bear. When the majority of people hear the volume bear, they immediately think vicious, ferocious, or even wild. Steinbeck makes it clear that Lennie is none of these things but is in fact a gentle hulk who is unaware of the impression he makes upon others. The imagery of a bear is contradicted later on when Lennie is again described to have animal characteristics, those of a terrier. When he is slowly coming towards George, he approaches, draws back, and approaches again.When the pair have at the ranch, a whole batch of characters are introduced, including Candy and his dog. This is not the only dog on the ranch, as deoxidize also owns one, one which is pregnant. Candys dog symbolises old age and the past man Slims represents animation and things to come. When Candy is bullied into having his dog shot out-of-pocket to its annoyance of others on the farm, it is the separation of a connection to the past, a tie that has been severed. Around the same time, Slims dog gives experience and puppies are introduced into the world.The killing of Candys dog is a impelled action to begin to erase the old and to celebrate for the future. It could be said that this is reflected in the American Dream that happened during the Great De pression. The characters in Of Mice And Men are all working towards a goal or aspiration. George and Lennie realize this when they enter at the ranch and they see that what they have now is a impertinent start. A chance to clear their past and work towards the future.The theme of life being reflected in nature is not uncommon for the rest of the book, and John Steinbeck makes several other references to death and how life continues to move on scorn it, as though death is an integral part of life, how it is unavoidable and should be honoured, not mourned.This theme plays an important role in the scene where Curleys married woman meets Lennie in the barn. Before she even enters, George has already killed one of Slims puppies by stroke it too hard. This is reinforcing the image of him being bear-like, how he doesnt know his own strength. When the nave character of Curleys Wife begins to flirt with him, he says that he likes to stroke soft things and so begins stroking her hair. Whe n she begins to struggle, Lennie gets scared and doesnt realize that he breaks her neck. In the book, it says that her body flopped like a fish. The reader is now left with the image of a bear with a flailing fish in its paws, not in a malignant way, but in one that is trying to serene it down.When Lennie rushes off to the brush where George told him to hide if anything goes wrong at the start of the book, he is met by two apparitions, one of his aunt Clara, and one of a giant rabbit. The rabbit is a connection to the dream that Lennie held at the start. Steinbeck is trying to bear to the reader that the dream that these people in the Great Depression held was too unrealistic, how a series of unfortunate events leads to the compete destruction of the dream.