How does Steinbeck use foreshadowing in his novel, Of Mice and Men?

Firstly lets tackle understanding foreshadowment as a technique. Foreshadowing essential means to hint or relate an early part of the text to a later event, for example, in Of Mice and Men we learn early on that Lennie likes to pet mice and other small, soft creatures but tends to accidently kill them as he doesn't realise his own strength. We could then look at the later event of the death of Curley's wife and Lennie's puppy and make a link between the two. Perhaps Steinbeck was 'hinting' at what was to come by exposing, from the offset, Lennie's over-loving and unaware nature.

KG
Answered by Katie G. English tutor

5237 Views

See similar English GCSE tutors

Related English GCSE answers

All answers ▸

Explore the ways in which the writer of the great Gatsby presents corruption


How should I approach revising a character for GCSE essays?


GCSE To Kill A Mockingbird Question - Who are the mockingbird figures in the novel and what is their significance to the novel as a whole?


How are ideas about power presented in Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning