Name: ______Period: ______
Of Mice and Men: Understanding Figurative Language
Directions: Write the correct response to complete each question and statement as you review the novel by exploring the figurative language used by author John Steinbeck in Of Mice and Men.
Symbol. Explain the symbolic meaning of each of the following character names and other concrete images found in the novel.
1.)Lennie’s surname, Small.
2.)Slim, the ranch foreman.
3.)Crooks, the stable hand.
4.)Curley, the boss’ son.
5.)Curley’s wife not being given a first name.
6.)The boss’ and Curley’s boots.
7.)Rabbits.
8.)The riverside.
9.)The death of Curley’s wife.
Simile. Each of the similes listed makes a figurative comparison between a person and an animal. Explain the literal meaning of the simile.
10.)“His huge companion . . .drank with long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse.” (3)
11.)“Slowly, like a terrier who doesn’t want to bring a ball to its master, Lennie approached, drew back, approached again.” (9)
12.)“Suddenly, Lennie appeared out of the brush, and he came as silently as a creeping bear moves.” (100)
Metaphor.
13.)In the fifth paragraph on page 33, to what three things is Slim compared?
14.)In the fifth paragraph on page 92-93, to what are the curls on the body of Curley’s wife’s head compared?
Personification.
15.)In the second paragraph on page 93, what two human characteristics are attributed to “time”?
16.)In the fifth paragraph on page 93, what human characteristic is attributed to “the barn”?
17.)In the last paragraph on page 16, what is given the characteristic of “whispering”?
Hyperbole. Circle the two excerpts that are examples of hyperbole.
18. A. “Used to sleep right in the same room, right in the same bed—all three.” (73)
B. “I wisht I could put you in a cage with a bout a million mice an’ let you have fun.” (11)
C. “Ever’time he comes into the bunk house I can smell him for two, three days.” (36)
D. “She slang her pups last night. Nine of ‘em. I drowned four of ‘em right off. She couldn’t feed that many.” (35)
Regional Dialect.
19.) Why does author Steinbeck use peculiar sentence patterns, intentional misspellings, and grammatical errors in the novel?
20.) How many uses of intentional grammatical errors can be found in the following excerpt?
“Nothing—I seen your light. I thought I could jus’ come in an’ set.” (68)
Conflict. List one example of each type of conflict listed. Answers should be specific events or times in the novel, not just character names.
21.) A. Character vs. Character
B. Character vs. Self
C. Character vs. Society
D. Character vs. Fate
Imagery. Read the opening paragraph of the novel. Beside each type of imagery listed, write an example from the paragraph. If the listed type of imagery is not used in the paragraph, write NA (not applicable) as an answer.
22.) A. sight—
B. sound—
C. smell—
D. touch—
E. taste—