* Compare and Contrast Essay Example of Mice and Men
Steinbeck uses many techniques to present the characters of Lennie and George in ‘Of Mice and Men’. This in turn then reveals many insights into what may happen to the two characters as the novel progresses. The reader can tell lots about Lennie through the description of his character’s physical looks and actions ‘opposite, a huge man, shapeless of face.’
•From this physical description, the reader can analyse that Lennie is the uncivilised character. He is featureless, an image of an animal with the basic instincts to stay alive. He is extremely strong and very large. However, we can see that his brains are only a tiny proportion to his build. The fact that Lennie is walking behind George mirrors their relationship, Lennie is in tow following.
•The reader’s beliefs that Lennie is not smart are confirmed by actions soonafter: ‘dabbled his big paw in the water and wiggled his fingers so the water arose in splashes.’This shows a very childlike image of Lennie. He looks like a brute yet his mind hasn’t entered the basic stages of adolescence. That is why he is fascinated by water splashes, or touching fur and soft material. Thus, this foreshadows the fact that when Curly’swife offers Lennie to play with her hair, he will not refuse and get into trouble
The reader can also see that Lennie does not know his own strength: ‘I pinched they’re heads a little and they was dead.’The reader can see that Lennie cannot judge his own strength. It empathises his animal instincts and how he is strong, but he does not know it. He will do whatever he thinks is best when he is in trouble, completely discarding the fact that he is in the civilised world. The reader gets an image of a bear trying to live with humans. This also foreshadows that Lennie will kill the pup and Curly’swife.
•George is the man who looks after him, it is a weird pairing as they both act and look completely different: ‘small, strong hands, slender arms.’Steinbeck describes George in detail to contrast the
•From this physical description, the reader can analyse that Lennie is the uncivilised character. He is featureless, an image of an animal with the basic instincts to stay alive. He is extremely strong and very large. However, we can see that his brains are only a tiny proportion to his build. The fact that Lennie is walking behind George mirrors their relationship, Lennie is in tow following.
•The reader’s beliefs that Lennie is not smart are confirmed by actions soonafter: ‘dabbled his big paw in the water and wiggled his fingers so the water arose in splashes.’This shows a very childlike image of Lennie. He looks like a brute yet his mind hasn’t entered the basic stages of adolescence. That is why he is fascinated by water splashes, or touching fur and soft material. Thus, this foreshadows the fact that when Curly’swife offers Lennie to play with her hair, he will not refuse and get into trouble
The reader can also see that Lennie does not know his own strength: ‘I pinched they’re heads a little and they was dead.’The reader can see that Lennie cannot judge his own strength. It empathises his animal instincts and how he is strong, but he does not know it. He will do whatever he thinks is best when he is in trouble, completely discarding the fact that he is in the civilised world. The reader gets an image of a bear trying to live with humans. This also foreshadows that Lennie will kill the pup and Curly’swife.
•George is the man who looks after him, it is a weird pairing as they both act and look completely different: ‘small, strong hands, slender arms.’Steinbeck describes George in detail to contrast the