Of Mice and Men Symbol and Motif Daniel Boell, Jessica Kuo, Jessica Neary, Adam DeMilia, Caroline Sypawka

It is a representation of an abstract object, thing, or idea. Symbol: It is a representation of an abstract object, thing, or idea. 

Motif: A dominant, reoccurring idea in a literary composition.

Symbols in Of Mice and Men Candy`s dog Mice Rabbits The creek area The pistol The town and clubs

Candy's dog " 'I'm so used to him ,' he said softly. 'I had him from a pup.'      'Well, you ain't bein' kind to him keepin' him alive,' said Carlson" (Steinbeck p. 45).  " ' An s'pose they lock him up an' strap him down and put him in a cage' "(97).  Candy's dog is a symbol for Lennie. The relationship Candy has with his dog is very similar to the relationship George has with Lennie. George has been with Lennie to most of his life and feels responsible for Lennie. Just like how Candy feels responsible for his dog and regrets not putting down his dog himself. Also throughout the story Lennie is constantly compared to a dog and dehumanized.He is viewed at certain times more as an animal rather than a human. Specifically seen towards then end of the book after Lennie kills Curley's wife. 

Rabbits The rabbits represent Lennie's dreams and happiness.  Throughout the story, Lennie requests to hear the story of the land he and George will eventually acquire, and the part of this prospective future that brings him the most joy is that he will be able to own rabbits.  "'An' you get to tend the rabbits.' Lennie giggled with happiness. 'An' live on the fatta the lan''" (105).  George often reminds Lennie that if he gets the two of them into trouble, he will not be able to take care of the rabbits.  This is symbolic for the fact that if Lennie follows the rules, he remains happy. "But you ain't gonna get in no trouble, because if you do, I won't let you tend the rabbits" (16). The giant rabbit that Lennie envisions at the end of the story symbolizes his greatest fears coming out. His happiness would be destroyed if George left him all alone, so the rabbit reminds him of this. One of the major themes I the idea of chasing hopeless dreams. Lennie and George chase after the farm that they want to buy once they have enough money, but it is unrealistic.

Mice "'I could pet it with my thumb while we walked along'" (6). "'An' she stopped givin' 'em to ya. You always killed 'em'" (Steinbeck 9). "'I could pet it with my thumb while we walked along'" (6). The mice in the book and the mice featured in the title are related in some way. The title refers to the poem To A Mouse- On Turning her Nest up with the Plow which is essentially about how your plans can go wrong at any point and you don’t have control over it. This is similar to the overall theme of the book. Lennie has a problem with killing mice in the past and always killed them. These mice relate to the mice in the poem that had no control over their house being destroyed and their ultimate death. Lennie likes petting them because their soft but will eventually kill them because he has no control. This relates to the theme of the book because they had all these plans to buy their own land but in the end it all goes wrong. They also have no control over Lennie's eventual death.

The Creek area In the book there is a place, a starting place. It is there were we first meet the characters, George and Lennie. This area by a creek is a home base for the characters, in preparation for trouble George tells Lennie if he is in trouble to run here to the creek. The book also ends here at a point where Lennie feels at ease. Due to these thoughts of peace and the place acting as home base. The creek shore is symbolizing home for Lennie, it is his most peaceful place in real life. "The shade climbed up the hills toward the top. On the sand banks the rabbits sat as quietly as little gray, sculptured stones." (pg 1). "if you jus’ happen to get in trouble like you always done before, I want you to come right here an’ hide in the brush.”] (pg 15).

Carlson's Pistol Carlson's pistol, which was used to kill Candy's dog and Lennie, represents hoplesness. In Candy's dogs' case, he was getting old and usless, and was no longer useful, and when Lennie kills Curleys wife, trying to keep him alive becomes hopless because if george does not kill him Curley will. "George shivered and looked at the gun, and then he threw it from him, back up on the bank, near the pile of old ashes"