Critical Analysis of Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men

A detailed Summary of Critical Analysis of Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men


In Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" the characters struggle with loneliness and loss of dreams. These themes are highlighted by the use of parallels that tie the novel together. The relationship between Candy and his dog parallels that which exists between George and Lennie. There are also parallels between the outcasts and Lennie which emphasize the pain of lonliness. The opening scene mirros the final scene.

The relationship between Candy and his dog parallels that which exists between George and Lennie. To the men who live in the bunkhouse, Candy's dog is nothing more than a "dragfooted sheep dog, gray of muzzle,...with pale, blind old eyes," (p. 24) but Candy sees him as a companion. To George, Lennie is more than a "big guy" (p. 25) who can't speak for himself. On the ranch Lennie is suspected to be of no value because of his lack of intel


ligence, and Candy's dog is thought to be of no importance because he has no teeth, can hardly see and can't eat. The dog is "no good to [Candy]" (p. 44) and he is "no good to himself" (p. 44). After Lennie kills Curley's wife, he's no good to George or himself. Carlson's luger, which is used to shoot Candy's dog in the back of the head, is also used by George to shoot Lennie in the back of the head. Slim had said earlier that he wished "somebody'd shoot [him] if [he] got old an' a cripple" (p. 45) and he also acknowledges that George has to shoot Lennie, telling him that he "hadda" (p.107). Both Candy's dog and Lennie are killed out of love. Candy feels that his dog no longer needs to suffer and George never wants Lennie to suffer for a crime he did not mean to commit.

The opening scene of the book mirrors its final scene. In the beginning the

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Approximate Word count = 581
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels

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