the novel---Of Mice and Men?

Question

Steinbeck repeatedly uses hand umagery in his novel, like Lennie crushes Curley's hand, Curley keeps one hand soft by wearing a glove full of Vaseline, and Candy has lost one of his hands.

Can you Explain the significance of the novel's hand imagery?

Answer 1

Hands are also used symbolically throughout the novel. The men on the ranch are called “hands,” indicating that each has a job to do to make the ranch work as a whole. This takes away their humanity and individual personalities. They are workers, not men. Lennie’s hands, or paws, are symbols of trouble. Whenever he uses them—as he does on Curley—trouble ensues. Candy’s missing hand is a symbol of his helplessness in the face of advancing old age and his fear that he will be deemed useless and fired when only one hand is not enough. George’s hands are small and strong, the hands of a doer and planner. Curley’s hands are mean and cruel and one, of course, is crushed in the machine that is Lennie; Curley’s hand that he keeps soft for his wife is a symbol of his impotence and inability to satisfy his wife sexually. Crooks’ hands are pink, and Curley’s wife’s hands have red nails. Slim has large, skillful hands like those of “a temple dancer.” The hand images represent the essence of each person.



We learn early on that Lennie and George are on the run from the previous ranch where they worked, due to encountering trouble there with a woman. Misunderstanding Lennie’s love of soft things, a woman accused him of rape for touching her dress

Steinbeck explores different types of strength and weakness throughout the novel. The first, and most obvious, is physical strength. As the novel opens, Steinbeck shows how Lennie possesses physical strength beyond his control, as when he cannot help killing the mice.

Lennie’s puppy is one of several symbols that represent the victory of the strong over the weak. Lennie kills the puppy accidentally, as he has killed many mice before, by virtue of his failure to recognise his own strength. Although no other character can match Lennie’s physical strength, the huge Lennie will soon meet a fate similar to that of his small puppy

Lennie symbolises himself in action to be amused by soft things. Like when he strokes that ladies dress and she called out rape, this symbolises the power a white women had then.

I just swiped a few crib notes off the net. If you put in the title of the book you are studying you will get lots of data for whatever you are studying.

Great book... excellent movie. Both versions.

Answer 2

Hands? Hmmm...I think the hands are symbolic of the people's characters. Curley for instance is soft and weak on the inside like his soft and weak hands...i can't really remember this book; i read it last year in my English class. But now that you mention the hands i believe Steinbeck was doing that.

Answer 3

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that one can kill with ones hands as well as be gentle. Perhaps Steinbecks parents used their hands to punish him a lot as a child and he is somehow fixated on the power and authority contained in a hand.The pain and the gentleness that a hand can transfer to another person or thing. Hmmmm.

Answer 4

Lennie is of faded means and he won't be able to comprehend issues. George knows Lennie does not comprehend what may ensue to him for killing Curly's spouse and prefer sweet's dogs who became old (faded means) putting him down became the most humane element to do. extra effective to be killed by technique of a pal in a humane way than by technique of a stranger listed right here are some recommendations from sparknotes the words in charges are mine. slender appreciates George's friendship with Lennie, holding that it really is a welcome change in a international the position no man or woman ever “looks to provide a damn about no one.” [George cares about Lennie and sweet cares about his dogs] Carlson grants to kill the dogs painlessly, his insistence that the old animal ought to die helps a merciless organic regulation that the solid will put off the susceptible. sweet internalizes this lesson, for he fears that he himself is nearing an age even as he will not be useful on the ranch, and hence not welcome. [Later sweet regrets not capturing the dogs himself because it may were extra compassionate then leaving it as a lot as Carlson who would not care about the dogs]