Symbolism In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice And Men

John Steinbeck is regarded as an important American writer in the1930s. His work Of Mice and Men is the second novel of his trilogy about agricultural labor in California. It was published in1937and renewed in1965. After it was published, it was made into a play as well as a movie and won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. The novel mainly talks about two ranch workers, Lennie Small and George Milton, each with a striking weakness and need, struggle to live in an unforgiving world. It is an allegory about commitment, loneliness, hope and loss, telling these universal truths in the realistic context of friendship and a shared dream.As one of the most important novel of John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men has drew great attention from1937till now. Since its publication, Of Mice and Men promptly became one of the ten most popular novels in the United States. Both at home and abroad, many critics have analyzed it in detail and have made comments on it. Their comments are so different that even some of them conflict with each other. The research field of Steinbeck is various and most of the research mainly focuses on the following points:the theme of his novels; autobiographical study of his life, his marriage, his literary career; the Eco-criticism study of his works is developing in recent years; research on his thoughts with theories, such as aesthetics, sociology, history, etc. Based on the research situation in China and overseas, this thesis will thoroughly analyze the novel Of Mice and Men, mainly studying the covered symbolic meaning in the novel.This thesis consists four chapters.Chapter one is an introduction of the Great Depression and John Steinbeck. Firstly, the thesis is going to introduce the great depression, including the influence of the Great Depression on literature. Secondly, it continues to introduce Of Mice and Men and its research condition in China and overseas. Finally it states its research method and perspective. Based on textual analysis, this thesis will analyze the covered symbolic meaning in the title, settings, animals and characters.Chapter two is about the symbolic meaning in the title and setting. The title and the settings of the novel were carefully chosen by John Steinbeck. The title has a symbolic meaning. Firstly, it implies that people have similar fate with mice. Secondly, it reveals that human beings have indifferent relationship among themselves just as the relationship between mankind and mice. The settings play a very important role in highlighting the theme of the novel. The opening scene and the ending scene of the novel shares an identical background, the aim of such an arrangement is to highlight Steinbeck’s intentions of writing the novel. It is one of the strategies to strength the manifestation of the novel.Chapter three mainly talks about the symbolic meaning in animals and other characters. There are a lot of animals in Of Mice and Men, such as mice, snakes, rabbits, and dogs. Animals are very important symbolic things that Steinbeck uses in his works. Other minor characters in the novel also show their miserable living conditions.Chapter four is the conclusion of the thesis. From the above four chapter’s analysis, it is easily to notice that there are lots of symbolic images such as the title, the settings, animals, characters in the novel. Steinbeck models a set of characters by using symbolism, handling a theme genuinely rooted in American life at the1930s. The novel shows the loneliness and frustration of the people. Steinbeck also shows his great concern for the weak and makes all of the readers reflect on life from a new perspective.