Animal Imagery in 'of Mice and Men'

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Animal Imagery in ‘Of Mice and Men’ In the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’, the author, Steinbeck, uses animal imagery to portray the setting and characters. The first indication of this is within the title, which comes from Robert Burns’ poem ‘To a mouse’: “the best laid schemes o’ Mice and Men often go wrong’. This suggests that Lennie and George are portrayed as mice and man, as Lennie seems to follow George like a lost dog, or in the case of the poem, a mouse. It also portrays Lennie as small, whereas he is in fact a large, burly man who could appear aggressive at first, but in reality he is only a harmless mouse. The poem also reflects the story and background of the two main characters, George and Lennie, in the first chapter. Their original plans had ultimately failed, and they were left wandering in the wilderness for work in one of the toughest times in history, which shows that their ‘best laid scheme’ of working in the town of Weed, has in fact gone wrong. The context of the poem is also very reflective of the story, as the poem is about the journey and survival of a field mouse. This is very significant as it shows that George and Lennie are not the only ones struggling in this culture and that there are many, many other individuals who set off in the same means with similar aspirations. The fate of Lennie’s treasured mouse also hint at the foreshadowing of George and his travelling partner’s fate, Lennie while on the road in pursuit of employment. Steinbeck favours the use of animal imagery, even more so in the characterisation of George and Lennie, most particularly Lennie. He is firstly introduced as a contrasting character to George, in appearance at least. His walk is described as that of a bear and he is illustrated as a ‘shapeless... huge man’ and could easily be mistaken for threatening. He is, like a panda bear, in appearance aggressive and

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