Animals

Question 1

How is Lennie compared to animals throughout Of Mice and Men?

Answer 1

• Lennie is frequently described with animal imagery, emphasizing his strength and simplicity, e.g. “dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws” and “snorting into the water like a horse.”
• The animal comparisons highlight Lennie’s innocence and lack of malice—he acts on instinct, not cruelty, similar to animals in nature.
• Context: Reflects 1930s views on nature vs. industrial society. Lennie represents a natural purity in contrast to a corrupt, capitalist world.

Question 2

What does Lennie’s comparison to animals reveal about his character?

Answer 2

• Shows his physical strength, e.g. “strong as a bull” (George, Chapter 2), but also his inability to control that strength, which makes him dangerous.
• Reinforces his childlike innocence—like an animal, he doesn’t understand the consequences of his actions, as seen in the accidental killing of Curley’s wife.
• Context: Critiques utilitarian society where economic gain is so highly valued that lennies danger is overlooked due to his strength and potential to make money for the capitalists.

Question 3

How does Steinbeck use animals to foreshadow events in the novel?

Answer 3

• Lennie kills a mouse, then a puppy, then Curley’s wife—each death escalating, showing increasing danger in Lennie’s lack of control.
• Quotes: “He pet it harder” (about the puppy) mirrors his fatal grip on Curley’s wife’s neck.
• Context: Demonstrates the inevitability of failure for individuals in a harsh, capitalist society—paralleling the crushed dreams of itinerant workers during the Great Depression.

Question 4

What is the symbolism of the mouse in Of Mice and Men?

Answer 4

• The dead mouse Lennie keeps is a symbol of destroyed dreams—he loves soft things but ends up killing them.
• The novel’s title comes from Robert Burns’ poem To a Mouse: “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft agley,” suggesting plans often fail.
• Context: Reflects the shattered American Dream of 1930s migrant workers, who were powerless against larger forces like the Great Depression.

Question 5

What do the rabbits symbolize for Lennie and George?

Answer 5

• For Lennie, rabbits represent the ultimate dream of safety, happiness, and control—”millions of ‘em” (Chapter 1).
• Their unrealistic colors (red, blue, green) show how impossible the dream is—”Sure, George. Red and blue and green rabbits” (Chapter 1).
• Context: The rabbits symbolize the American Dream that was unattainable for many during the 1930s economic collapse.

Question 6

How does Candy’s dog symbolize attitudes toward age and usefulness?

Answer 6

• Candy’s dog is described as “no good to himself” (Carlson), mirroring Candy’s fear of becoming useless and discarded.
• The shooting of the dog foreshadows George’s decision to shoot Lennie himself—Candy says, “I shouldn’t ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog” (Chapter 3).
• Context: Reflects a capitalist society where people are valued solely for their economic contribution. Once they’re no longer useful, they are cast out.

Question 7

What does the water snake symbolize at the end of the novel?

Answer 7

• The water snake appears in the opening and closing scenes, reinforcing the cyclical structure and inevitability of Lennie’s fate.
• It symbolizes lurking danger and evil—an allusion to the serpent in the Garden of Eden, bringing corruption into a natural paradise.
• Context: Suggests the fall from innocence and the impossibility of maintaining purity in a corrupt world shaped by economic hardship