In the classic novel Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, there are several literary
elements conveyed. One major literary element that is implied in the story is theme.
Theme plays a major role because it conveys the message that the author is trying to
communicate to the reader about life and labor during the great depression. By using the
literary element known as theme, Mr. Steinbeck can convey his feelings about
agricultural labor in California through the eyes of his characters Lennie and George.
Many characters throughout the story Of Mice and Men can be characterized as
being mentally or physically handicapped. One such character is the swamper Candy. In
the novel Candy gets his hand caught in a machine. In return for his hand being lost,
Candy was given two hundred and fifty dollars and grief because he would never be able
to use his hand again due to medical science of the time. While talking to George in the
bunkhouse, Candy says,"They give me two hundred an' fifty dollars' cause I los' my
hand." pg. 58 In this quote, Candy explains to George about the compensation he got for
loosing his hand and how he planned to use the money to contribute to the dreams of
George and Lennie. Because of his accident, Candy is physically disabled and can only
One of the main characters in the story, Lennie, is handicapped mentally.
Compared to his pal George's keen eye sight, Lennie has pole eyes and is therefore to be
considered slow. When he asks for ketchup with his beans and doesn't get it, he throws a
tantrum and talks about moving to a cave where he could catch and keep a mouse and
live there by himself. Because of a mishap in Weed County because of his slowness, the
two are forced to leave there jobs and hide from a mob because of what Lennie did. "She
jerks back and you hold on like it was a mouse", George says to Lennie explaining about
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