Of Mice and Men: Point of View, Allegory, and Irony

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

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)

Irony: Situational Pg. 15: "'What are you gonna say tomorrow when the boss asks you questions?' -- "I...I ain'tgonna... 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.

Of Mice and Men: Point of View, Allegory, and Irony