Of Mice and Men: Point of View, Allegory, and Irony By Emilie Mitala, Sabrina Resuta, Emma Herwig, and Cassidy Ermigiotti

Definitions Point of View: the narrator’s position in relation to a story being told First Person POV- story is told from the narrator’s perspective, uses “I”, “my”, and “we” Second Person POV- story is told from your perspective, uses “you” and “your” Third Person POV- story is told from someone’s perspective who is not involved in the story and knows one character’s thoughts, uses “he”, “she”, “it”, and “they” Third Person Omniscient- same perspective as third person POV, but knows all character’s thoughts

Point of View Third Person POV Steinbeck’s description of George: “The first man was small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features” (2) Doesn’t introduce with judgement or any assumptions about personality Steinbeck’s description of Slim: “…he moved with the majesty only achieved by royalty and master craftsmen” (33), “He was a jerkline skinner, the prince of the ranch” (33), “His authority was so great that his word was taken on any subject” (33), and “His ear heard more than was said to him, and his slow speech had overtones not of thought, but of understanding beyond thought” (34) Makes many judgements about Slim, assuming that he is like royalty to the rest of the ranch Initially lets the reader assume what George’s personality is like. You couldn’t assume much from this part besides the fact that George could be hardworking because of his “sharp, strong features” and that he may spend a lot of time outside because of his “dark face”. You don’t fully get a feel for George’s personality until he starts interacting with Lennie later in the chapter. Slim is perceived as a “prince” and shows that he is held very high in the eyes of the workers on the ranch. Steinbeck tells us exactly what kind of person Slim is; he is wise, he is perceptive, and he is seen as a “light” of sorts for the workers. Steinbeck leaves next-to-nothing to the imagination and does all of the assuming for us.

Definitions Allegory- a story that reveals a hidden meaning, typically moral or political Irony-  Situational: an event that is the opposite of what one would normally expect Verbal: use words to mean something different than what they actually mean; sarcasm Dramatic: audience is aware of something the audience doesn’t know

Allegory In the book, Lennie does not show any judgment of race of people, and they tend to like him because of his naivety – shows moral meaning of race not making someone any different in the long run Ex: Lennie wanting to go into Crooks room,  despite Crook explaining that he isn't wanted, "...but I can't play because im black. They say I stink." (Steinbeck 68) The way Curley's wife was also treated is a symbol of how women were treated and looked upon back then Ex: "You can talk to people, but I can't talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad. How'd you like not to talk to anybody?" (Steinbeck 87)

Allegory Lennie's character shows how people with mental disabilities/ the handicap are looked upon in the world. Ex: "Jus' nuts, said Crooks. I don’t blame the guy you travel with for keepin' you outa sight." (Steinbeck 69) This quote was said by Crooke when Lennie came into his room. Lennie showed no judgment towards Crooke, when majority of the people would, and just wanted to make friends. Crooke responded unkindly and began toying with Lennie by making him believe that George would not come back for him.

Irony: Situational   Pg. 15: "'What are you gonna say tomorrow when the boss asks you questions?' -- "I...I ain't gonna... say a word'"        Lennie remembers what George told him, though from what we've read, we would expect him to forget. Pg. 68: "'You got no right to come in my room', 'well, what do you want?'"      It's expected that Crooks wouldn’t let Lennie stay, because of how he talks to him, but he does let him. Pg. 75: "He[Candy] made no attempt to enter", "Candy seemed embarrassed"     It's unexpected that Candy comes into Crook's room, and talks with him, because of his prejudice, and how he acted before he entered.      

Irony: Verbal and Dramatic   Pg. 32: "'She's purty,' said Lennie. 'Yeah, and she's sure hidin' it'"      Verbal: When George says this, he means the opposite of what he meant, he undermines how Curly's wife acts.      Pg. 99: "She took Lennie's hand and put it on her head", "Lennie's big fingers fell to stroking her hair"     Dramatic: The reader knows that something bad is going to happen, but Curly's wife thinks it will be fine.