Allusion
John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men contains many stylistic devices to help paint a better picture in the audience's mind. One way Steinback does this is through allusions. An allusion is a reference to a well-known person or object outside of the story. One allusion is to a well known boxing organization, the Golden Gloves. The Golden Gloves are first mentioned when Curly went running to the barn looking for his wife and Whit said, "... Curly's handy, God damn handy, Got in the finals for the Golden Gloves..." (Steinbeck 54). This allusion is used to show the reader that Curly is an amuater boxer and a very sucessful one, Another allusion is Carlsons German Luger which was a very popular pistol at the time the novel was written.
Another allusiion, and probablly the most important of all the allusions in the novel, is the title. Of Mice and Men is an allusion to Robert Burns' poem "To a Mouse". Readers who are firmilair with this poem understand Of Mice and Men to a deeper comprehension than those unfirmilair with it. When criric Peter Lisca talks about Of Mice and Men, he too also mentions the relationship between the novel and "To a Mouse" when he states, "The titles isself, however, relates Of Mice and Men to still another level which is implicit in the context of [Robert] Burns' poem:
'But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane,
In Proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes o' mice and men
Gang aft a-gley
An' leave us not grief an' pain
For promis'd joy.'
In the poem Burns extends the mouse's experience to include mankind; in Of Mice and Men Steinbeck extends the experience of two migrant workers to the human condition" (344). This perfectly sums up the moral theme of the novel. It shows how allusions can drastically change the meaning of an enitre novel, and if the reader wasn't careful enough would completely miss it. Allusions are a fantastic tool for writers to use to help convey a message to their audience, and John Steinback did it perfectly.
Another allusiion, and probablly the most important of all the allusions in the novel, is the title. Of Mice and Men is an allusion to Robert Burns' poem "To a Mouse". Readers who are firmilair with this poem understand Of Mice and Men to a deeper comprehension than those unfirmilair with it. When criric Peter Lisca talks about Of Mice and Men, he too also mentions the relationship between the novel and "To a Mouse" when he states, "The titles isself, however, relates Of Mice and Men to still another level which is implicit in the context of [Robert] Burns' poem:
'But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane,
In Proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes o' mice and men
Gang aft a-gley
An' leave us not grief an' pain
For promis'd joy.'
In the poem Burns extends the mouse's experience to include mankind; in Of Mice and Men Steinbeck extends the experience of two migrant workers to the human condition" (344). This perfectly sums up the moral theme of the novel. It shows how allusions can drastically change the meaning of an enitre novel, and if the reader wasn't careful enough would completely miss it. Allusions are a fantastic tool for writers to use to help convey a message to their audience, and John Steinback did it perfectly.