Of Mice And Men Foreshadowing Analysis

1534 Words7 Pages
The novel's title provides immediate and ominous foreshadowing. Of Mice and Men is taken from a line of poetry from Robert Burns, who wrote, "The best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry." Therefore, before the story even gets fully underway, it is clear that George and Lennie's plans of having their own place in the world will go unfulfilled. The title also hints that George's plans of protecting Lennie are doomed to go awry.[wrong] Several events of first chapter foreshadow doom. George seems very worried that Lennie will not be able to remain quiet when they reach the ranch. He makes him repeat his vow of silence several times, which hints that Lennie will not remember and will likely get them into trouble by talking. George also…show more content…
The reader can get a sense of the tragic tone in the card game that Candy and George play together."They took places opposite each other at the table under the light, but George did not shuffle the cards. He rippled the edge of the deck nervously, and the little snapping noise drew the eyes of all the men in the room, so that he stopped doing it. The silence fell on the room again. A minute passed, and another minute. Candy lay still, staring at the ceiling. Slim gazed at him for a moment and then looked down at his hands; he subdued one hand with the other, and held it down. There came a little gnawing sound from under the floor and all the men looked down toward it gratefully. Only Candy continued to stare at the ceiling" (Steinbeck 41).The tone of tragedy is so obvious in George and Candy's card game. Although it's a game, and the game is suppose to supply pleasure, it does not! There is still that lurking sense of sadness and loneliness between the two characters. With each painting of nature and the heavy description of each character, the tragic tone is definitely there. However, what is so powerful about this tone is that it engages the reader to expect tragedy. The game of solitaire foreshadows George's fate, when he will eventually have to choose to live without Lennie's

More about Of Mice And Men Foreshadowing Analysis

Open Document