What Are Some of the Similes in “Of Mice and Men?”
In “Of Mice and Men,” there are several similes including, “On the sands of the banks the rabbits sat as quietly as little gray stones” or “…drank with long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse.” The first simile compares the sands of the banks to little gray stones and the second simile compares the long gulps that Lennie drinks to a horse drinking.
The sentence “Slowly, like a terrier who doesn’t want to bring a ball to its master, Lennie approached, drew back, approached again,” which compares Lennie’s reluctance to approach to a dog. Another simile in the book describes the movement of a snake: “A water snake slipped along the pool, its head held up like a little periscope.” The book also contains the simile, “Suddenly Lennie appeared out of the brush, and he came as silently as a creeping bear moves.”
“Of Mice and Men” is a book written by John Steinbeck and looks at the predatory nature of human existence, the fraternity and idealized male friendship, the impossibility of the American dream, the corrupting power of women, loneliness, companionship, strength and weakness. The book follows the lives of George, Lennie, Candy and Crook. The book shows characters who are living in isolation. Steinbeck is able to capture the human truth of oppression in the book and demonstrates how it does not always come from the person with the most power.
A simile is a figure of speech and makes a comparison between two different things. It is different from a metaphor because it makes its comparison through the use of the words “like” or “as” and is therefore a direct comparison. Similes help to provide a vividness to the words used in a piece of writing or in speech.
