Lit Analyses #3

1) For my third Literary Analyses I chose to read Of Mice and Men.  The novel primarily focuses on Lennie and George our main characters. In the story George is the brains and talker of the two, While Lennie is basically the muscle.Throughout the story we learn that the biggest motivator for both characters is their dream of settling down and owning their own farm. The biggest conflict stopping them from reaching their goal is Lennie because of his unusual addiction of petting things. The setting takes place in Soledad California where our characters receive jobs. Other characters that play major roles is Curly,Candy, Slim, and Curly's wife. Throughout the story the antagonist is Curly and his wife. We see them have an impact at the end of the story when Lennie accidentally kills Curly's wife, Which leads the unfortunate conclusion of the story where George shoots Lennie in the back of the head.
2) From my point of view the theme of the novel would be Innocence. The idea of Innocence primarily has to do with Lennie. Because of Lennie's mental disability his sees the world in a whole different perspective then the other characters in the story, His perspective being warm and innocent almost like a child. His innocence can also make up for all the accidental actions that he did. It seems to fit in with Steinbeck's insistence that characters be treated without judgement.
3) I felt that the tone was sentimental because we experience both characters dream and hopes for the future. Each one of them working hard and saving up everyday to reach their goal. Throughout the story you also see brother relationship between George and Lennie, George acting as the older brother always taking care of Lennie and his actions.
4)  Literary elements that I saw throughout the novel was Foreshadowing, symbols, and tone. I saw Foreshadowing when Lennie accidentally kills the puppy foreshadowing the fact that his going to commit some kind of murder later in the novel, Another example of Foreshadowing is Candy's decision of killing his dog because of his disability, Which helps George make his decision of killing Lennie at the end of the story. Some symbols we see in the novel is the ongoing dream of having a farm, The second one being Mice, The most important symbol being Candy's dog with helps reinforce the stories ending. Tone played a key role in the novel because it helped the reader understand the novels key points easier and help establish the true relationship that both Lennie and George had.