Skip to main content

What does the barn symbolize in Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men?

The barn symbolizes, or represents, animalism. While it is a safe place for the animals, and a place where the people feel that they are less inhibited, it is also a place in which characters display behavior that is more indicative of their fundamental nature. 


In Chapter 4 of Mice and Men, since George has gone to town with the other men, Lennie comes to the barn to pet his puppy; however, he notices the light in Crooks's room, so he stops. He is met with hostility by Crooks, a defensive hostility issued from years of rejection:



"You go on get outta my room. I ain't wanted in the bunk house, and you ain't wanted in my room....Don't come in a place where you're not wanted."



Once Crooks realizes that Lennie is simple-minded, his hostility dissipates; nevertheless, because of naturalistic impulses, he cruelly toys with Lennie, as he enjoys his advantage over this white man. He asks,



"...s'pose George went into town tonight and you never heard of him no more....They'll tie ya up with a collar, like a dog."



Suddenly in his fear, Lennie stands over Crooks and contradicts him. Fearful of the physicality of this big man, Crooks tells him to sit down. Then he explains,



"S'pose you didn't have nobody? ...S'pose you didn't have nobody....S'pose you had to sit out here and read books?" 



Then, Candy enters and Crooks invites the swamper in, although the man has never been in his room before. Candy speaks of the dream of owning a place, but Crooks cynically derides him, "...you'll won't get no land. You'll be the swamper here till they take you out in a box."


Hearing the men, Curley's wife appears, rubbing the nails of one hand with the thumb and forefinger of her other hand, as though she were sharpening claws like a cat. After looking at all of the men, she says, "They left all the weak ones here....I know where they all went." Then, she berates the three men, telling them that they are all afraid of each other. "Ever'one of you's scared the rest is goin' to get something on you."


Continuing her insults, Curley's wife figuratively digs her claws into the men because they will not tell her how her husband hurt his hand. Then, she notices the men's hostility as she looks "from one face to another, and they were all closed against her." But, before she leaves, she turns to Lennie and tells him that she is glad that he "bust up Curley a little bit," adding that she would like to "bust him myself."


In the next chapter, death enters the barn as Lennie's big "paws" first kill the puppy, and then in fear they try to keep Curley's wife quiet when she cries out.



She struggled violently under his hands....her eyes were wild with terror. He shook her then...and her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck.
He pawed up the hay until it partly covered her.... Curley's wife lay with a half-covering of yellow hay.



The calm of the barn for the animals is now gone. "The horses stamped and snorted...and they clashed the chains of their halters" as they sense the death that disturbs their environment.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

etymology - Origin of the greeting "Sweet dreams".

Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What are the similarities between the relationships of the characters in The Outsiders and Romeo and Juliet?

At first glance, it might appear as if the characters in  The Outsiders  by S. E. Hinton and  Romeo and Juliet  by William Shakespeare do not have much in common; however, when one isolates the core of the conflicts, it becomes clear that the relationships in both stories are rooted in rivalry and secrecy.  In both  The Outsiders  and  Romeo and Juliet , an overarching theme is rivalry. While   socioeconomic status separates the greasers from the Socs in The Outsiders , last names separates the Montagues from the Capulets, who appear to be relatively equal in terms of socioeconomic status. Due to these rivalries, there are instances of deadly interactions in both stories. In  The Outsiders , Johnny kills Bob (whether his actions were justified or not is debatable). In  Romeo and Juliet , Romeo kills Tybalt and Paris, and Tybalt kills Mercutio. These deaths have profound effects on the main characters. In Ponyboy's case, the Johnny's death and other events in the novel inspire h...
Post a Comment
Read more