In Of Mice and Men, the great
American writer, John Steinbeck, embellishes his narrative with figurative
language:
- Visual (colors) and auditory imagery,
along with personification, is used in the opening paragraph, a description of the
Salinas area:
1-2...the Slina River drops in close to the
hillside bank and runs deep and green. The water is warm...it has slipped twinkling
over the yellow sands in the sunlight...the golden foothill slopes curve up to the
strong and rocky Gabilan mountains [personification]...willows fresh and
green...sycamores with mottled, white, recumbent
limbs...
- Animal
imagery is employed in his description of Lennie Small, images that underscore the brute
strength of the man and lower intelligence as Lennie is likened to a bear. He is
portrayed as "dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his
paws."
3. His arms did not swing at his sides, but hung
loosely....Lennie dabled his big paw in the water and wiggled his fingers so the wter
arose in little
splashes...
- A
metaphoric description of Slim, the mule-skinner is given in section
3:
4.George looked over at Slim and saw the calm,
God-like eyes fastened on
him.
As Slim looks at
Candy's old dog, there is a metaphoric affinity to an
animal:
5.He
seemed to shake himself free for
speech
- Another
metaphor is found in the beginning of Section
3:
6. Slim reached up over the card table and turned
on the tin-shaded electric light. Instantly the table was brillaint with light; and
the cone of the shade threw its brightness straight
downward...
- In
Section 4, Crooks uses a simile when he taunts Lennie,
7. They'll tie ya up with a collar, like a
dog.
- In a
description of Crooks, figurative language is used:
8.Crooks face lighted with pleasure in his
torture.
- In
Section 4, the description of Curley's wife a simile is
used,
9.She breathed strongly, as though she had been
running.
- As the
men grow angry with her, she looks from face to face
10.and they were all closed against her
[metaphor]
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