OMAM animals

Question 1

intro

Answer 1

• a reoccurring image set throughout his novel.
• Steinbeck explores the vulnerability and instinct-driven nature of his characters
• Through his repeated comparisons between humans and animals, he blurs the line between the two - suggesting that in a brutal world shaped by economic hardship, survival often depends on strength and utility.

Question 2

topic sentence 1

Answer 2

Through Lennie’s fixation on petting mice and tending rabbits, Steinbeck explores the fragility of innocence and the vulnerability of those around him, while also using the rabbits as a powerful symbol of the dream that keeps both men going.

Question 3

topic sentence 1 quotes

Answer 3

“That mouse ain’t fresh, Lennie; and besides, you’ve broke it pettin’ it.”

‘And I get to tend the rabbits … Lennie giggled with happiness’ - Lennie’s last image before he dies

Question 4

topic sentence 1 context

Answer 4

References title (Robert burns poem) and the mouse also symbolises the most vulnerable of society, the mouse is at mercy’s it can’t control and it subjected to hardship they can’t do anything about

the mouse symbolises Lennie -> foreshadows Lennie’s death as due to their shared vulnerability they inevitably die

For Lennie the rabbits represent an escape from the obstacles he faces as a mentally-disabled man.
The rabbits are the embodiment of the dream and Lennie is constantly yearning for this - they also represent the failure of the dream -> Robert Burn’s poem ‘To a mouse’

Question 5

topic sentence 2

Answer 5

Steinbeck uses Candy’s dog to reflect the cruel reality of a society that values utility over compassion, highlighting how the vulnerable are cast aside once deemed no longer useful.

Question 6

topic sentence 2 quotes

Answer 6

‘drag-footed sheepdog’ ‘pale, blind old eyes’ - represents Candy -> frail, powerless and insignificant to this scene

‘Why’n’t you shoot him Candy?’ - now the dog no longer serves a purpose the only rational decision is to get rid of it -> are essentially also talking about Candy who has no role like his dog

Question 7

topic sentence 2 context

Answer 7

Ranch is a place of ruthless, emotionless decision making with no empathy.

men feeling disenfranchised -> acting in an animalistic way, to dispose of the weak one

In 1930s there was a lack of welfare state, so the government provided no help to people unable to work -> Candy’s an example of the marginalised workers who received no support -> no intrinsic value for the dog or candy, they are only valued when they were able to work

Question 8

topic sentence 3

Answer 8

In the opening and closing chapters of Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses the recurring imagery of animals to underscore the cyclical nature of life and the inevitable fate of the characters, reflecting both their innocence and vulnerability in a harsh, unforgiving world.

Question 9

topic sentence 3 quotes

Answer 9

‘a lizard makes a great skittering … rabbits come out of the brush … deer that come to drink’ -idyllic and Edenic to portray a sense of natural harmony -> nature is at ease, peace, tranquillity and co-existence

‘the beak swallowed the little snake while its tail waved frantically’ - animals are no longer in harmony, humanity is represented by the nature -> savage, ruthless and brutal -> the cycle of predatory behaviour goes on and on

Question 10

topic sentence 3 context

Answer 10

We are drawn into thinking it will be idyllic but at the start of chapter 6 we return to the picture of this scene;

however this is after all the horrible things happen so we now perceive the new setting in a different way -> cyclical structure, we return with a different understanding -> symbolises the conflict and confrontation we’ve seen throughout,

represents the damaged, broken society that Steinbeck wanted to bring awareness too -> his Nobel prize speech ‘for courage, compassion and love’ -> animals are the personification of man’s disharmony