Of Mice and Men
Prompt #20 · Of Mice and Men
Prompt Type: Symbol/Motif
Mice appear in the title and recur as victims of Lennie's affection throughout the novel. Analyze how Steinbeck uses this motif to develop the theme of how innocence and love can become destructive forces. Explain how it contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
Quote 1
“They was so little,” he said, apologetically. “I’d pet ’em, and pretty soon they bit my fingers and I pinched their heads a little and then they was dead—because they was so little.”
Chapter 1
Argument
Early in the novel, this quote directly introduces the mice motif and establishes the tragic pattern: Lennie's innocent desire to pet soft things leads to death because he cannot control his strength, demonstrating how love becomes destructive through lack of awareness.
Quote 2
"God damn you," he cried. "Why do you got to get killed? You ain’t so little as mice." He picked up the pup and hurled it from him.
Chapter 5
Argument
This quote shows the motif's evolution from mice to the puppy, revealing Lennie's growing frustration and inability to understand why his affection kills; his comparison to mice demonstrates the escalating pattern of destruction that innocent love creates.
Quote 3
“I like to pet nice things. Once at a fair I seen some of them long–hair rabbits. An’ they was nice, you bet. Sometimes I’ve even pet mice, but not when I could get nothing better.”
Chapter 5
Argument
This quote explicitly connects mice to Lennie's broader compulsion to pet 'nice things,' revealing how the motif represents his innocent desire for tactile comfort that inevitably becomes lethal, foreshadowing the ultimate tragedy when this pattern extends to Curley's wife.
Quote 4
Chapter 3
Argument
This quote parallels the mice motif by showing another instance where love and loyalty become destructive through inability to act—Candy's regret mirrors how Lennie's affection kills what he loves, both demonstrating that innocence and attachment lead to harm when one lacks the power or awareness to protect what matters.
Quote 5
“And she continued to struggle, and her eyes were wild with terror. He shook her then, and he was angry with her. "Don’t you go yellin’," he said, and he shook her; and her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck.”
Chapter 5
Argument
This quote represents the motif's tragic culmination, where the pattern established with mice escalates to human life; Lennie's innocent terror and anger—the same emotions that killed the mice—now kill Curley's wife, proving that destructive innocence inevitably grows beyond small victims to catastrophic consequences.