The Functions of Rabbits in Of Mice and Men

裴思远

Abstract： In 1930s， John Steinbeck， a distinguished Nobel Price owner， published the novel of mice and men， which depicts American labors life vividly at that time. During the Great depression， labors at low social class were suppressed and they were confused about their future， struggling hard but eventually failed. In this book， the images of animals appear many times， linking the physical world with America dream and imaginary hopes. This article singles out one animal rabbit and tries to analyze the function of it. From a kind of innocent animal in the future to a satire to Lennies dream， the development of the images of rabbits are linked with Lennies fate and changes， symbolizing the unrealistic hope， foreshadowing the tragic ending and revealing the society.

Key words： The American dream; Of Mice and Men; Rabbits

一、Introduction

The book “Of Mice and Men” written by Steinbeck in 1930s reveals American labors life： labors at that time endured poverty， bore toilsome jobs， earned little money and were exploited by leaders. Some labors， like Lennie， held a firm belief in their heart that one day they could live a stable and wealthy life， raising his favorite rabbits in the yard. Rabbits jumped before Lennie in his mind every time he considered his future. On contrary to that severe and tough environment， rabbits were soft and fluffy， reminding people of love and forming a strong conflict with the severe reality， and rabbits in this novel are not simply the animals， but they also help to convey a profound meaning. As a reoccurring item， the rabbits functions in the book are to symbolize， foreshadow， and reveal the true society at that time.

二、The Functions of Rabbits

（一） The Symbolic Meaning of Rabbits

Symbolism， a frequently used device in literature， can express a deeper and underlying emotion by means of another form， showing their inner connections. The symbols can demonstrate the authors feelings， push the story to develop and reveal the underlying information better. （呂伟民，王国明 1996）.

The rabbits symbolize labors hopes and dreams in that dark time. Suffering from austere environment， Lennie could endure all the exploitation once he thought about the rabbits waiting for him. All the poverty and suffering seemed negligible compared to “rabbits”.

Lennie， a big and strong guy， always longed for such a soft and small rabbit to pat. When George and Lennie were hurrying to a new ranch， Lennie was intractable and disobedient， which delayed the journey and bothered George. However， once George talked about the future rabbits， Lennie would behave himself well （Steinbeck 1993：10） and thats the origin of the hope. The fluffy rabbits made him relieved. Lennie imagined that in the future， on George and Lennies land， Lennie could have “millions of different colors rabbits” and attend them. （Steinbeck 1993：16） Having rabbits to attend showed that they wish to settle down， enjoying love， peace， and security， and innocent rabbits could bring such a feeling to them. They dont have to bear any hardship， and rabbits will accompany them forever. They regarded rabbits as a practical dream which would be realized someday， instead of a joke. so they planed how to raise rabbits and wondered how to protect them. As time flies， the future becomes clearer and clearer as if they can touch it. When Lennie knew that the cats might threaten the little rabbits， he breathed hard and said “You jus let em try to get the rabbits. Ill break their God damn necks.”（Steinbeck 1993：58） The rabbits had become his spiritual pillar， and he made up his mind to protect his dream. He was sure that all the difficulties would come to an end and the happy life was nearer. In order to fulfill the dream of raising rabbits， he even corrected every mistake that George pointed out without any hesitation. When he was discouraged toward life， he would beg George to tell about the land and rabbits （Steinbeck 1993：56）， and then he would be refreshed again and the future seemed full of hopes.

Although Lennie and George had to work very hard and bore the mean environment， the rabbits haunted in their mind， and they looked forward to the bright hope. Thus， the rabbits represent Lennies hope and his struggles no matter what he had to do. The fluffy animal reminded them of their inner softness and love that had long been discarded.

（二）Rabbits Foreshadow the Tragic Ending

The rabbits， beautiful and seemed tangible， only existed in Lennie and Georges minds. Rabbits foreshadow the tragic ending that labors could never achieve their dreams， though the dreams seemed so near and clear. The rabbits-like animals died in Lennies hands and when Lennie escaped and was dying， a huge rabbit sneered at him relentlessly.

First of all， rabbits were very delicate. Lennie once crushed several mice and a puppy dog， which showed that beautiful things faded away as Lennie purchased them. What accompanied his great desire was the disappearance and death of the beautiful animals. As a result， such unsophisticated animals couldnt survive.

Rabbits were very delicate and they were useless to sophisticated people， and the environment was very sinister. As a result， such unsophisticated animals couldnt survive. Lennie was also useless apart from his strength. He had nothing， and he was not smart， so he was often laughed at by Curley. His value was to work， or he would be expelled out of the ranch.

In addition， the rabbits themselves made fun of Lennies unrealistic hope， regardless of Lennies love. After killing Curleys wife， Lennie ran to the woods where he talked with a huge rabbit in his mind. The rabbit sneered at him， and it repeatedly said that “You crazy bastard. You aint fit to lick the boots of no rabbit.” and “He gonna leave you， ya crazy bastard.” （Steinbeck 1993：102）  These words seemed so powerful that Lennie himself was almost convinced by them. The rabbit， which was his hope and precious dream， now was telling him directly that all his efforts were in vain and he would never have rabbits and a place to settle down. Thats the trick of destiny， and Lennies insistence was such a lamentable joke. When George raised the gun and held it toward Lennie， Lennie pictured a piece of alfalfa and shouted “For the rabbit！” （Steinbeck 1993：105） At last， Lennie dies with his giggling and dream about rabbits. （Steinbeck 1993：106） Their dream broke， and people sank to darkness again without any hope.

The small animals died in Lennies hands and joked Lennie when he was desperate. The disappearance and dramatic attitudes of rabbits already revealed the ending： beautiful dreams would never come true， and what waited for labors were endless tragedy. By foreshadowing the tragic ending， the rabbits create a sense of sadness， which lingers forever.

（三） Rabbits Reveal the Society

In addition to symbolizing the hopes and foreshadowing characters tragic endings， the rabbits also reveal the conflict of society. Lennie was big， but he didnt want power. Instead， he wanted small rabbits， but such a small wish broke up. Rabbits arose peoples sense of compassion， which was the crux of the social conflict.

Lennie and George had to live in a narrow and harsh room with little equipment， and the physical work was very heavy. People couldnt find a place that belonged to themselves， and they lacked the sense of belongings. “Guys like us， that work on ranches， are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They dont belong no place. They come to a ranch an work up a stake and then they go inta town and blow their stake， and the first thing you know theyre poundin their tail on some other ranch. They aint got nothing to look ahead to.” （Steinbeck 1993： 13） People were under the great pressure of life， and they had no one to talk to. They were the working machines of the masters， and any attempts to fight against the hard time would result in death： starvation or killed by master. The dull and hard repetition of life went on， but what wait for them was still darkness.

Lennie is to some degree similar to the rabbits. They are both innocent and harmless， but their destiny is both sad. Lennie， who hadnt any evil thoughts， was like a child. He believed in rabbits， a childish wish， and he was heart-broken when he thought he would never meet George. Such an intimate relationship was rare and valuable at that time. He tried not to cause any trouble to George， and he acted with discretion all the time. When he didnt know how to behave， he would become embarrassed and act according to Georges order. Even when he was beaten by Curley， Lennie， such a big guy， didnt revolt against him before Georges agreement. The mismatch between his figure and his characteristic depicted his innocent. He would never hurt the world， but the indifferent world kept hurting him. In this way， Lennie was just like the rabbits. Small and frail Rabbits would be killed by cats or anything stronger， and Lennie would also die because of the persecution of other stone-hearted men. At the same time， because of his kindness， he couldnt survive in the world exactly like the rabbits， who were unrealistic.

Its just Lennies fear of making mistakes that led to his death. If he was wrong， he would lose the chance to raise rabbits in the future， and people around would criticize them. Thus， when he touched the hair of Curleys wife and she began to scream， out of fear， he broke her neck carelessly. The indifferent society was also the murderer of the case. Furthermore， the society was also the indirect killer of Lennie.

Driven by the American Dream， they were so lonely without any companionship. On the contrary， loneliness was something that was familiar to everyone， and it had been a general condition. When Lennie and George arrived at the new ranch， people felt ridiculous that they clustered together. “I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy”（Steinbeck 1993： 22） Furthermore， people had no trust to others. The humanity at that time was nearly lost. “Aint many guys travel around together... I dont know why. Maybe everbody in the whole damn world is scared of each other” （Steinbeck 1993：35） Undoubtfully， to earn a living and survive in the cruel world， they could trust no one， or their own life would be at risk. The loneliness and distrust gave rise to their hope of settlement and love， just as the rabbits which were soft and tender.

In fact， 1930s were the time when money-making prevailed and the economy depressed. （DiNardo and Peter J. P. 2005） The industrialization pushed the society to a dangerous extreme without love， care and consideration for others. It also forced labors to a poor trap， struggling hard to survive. In this way， all the attempts to pursue love and peace would fail when everyone was busy earning money and making profit. George and Lennie didnt have any land， so they had to travel to other farms to work. They were exploited by their masters， but they had no right to fight against the situation. No matter how Lennie yearned for the tender and lovely rabbits， he was tricked by fate. The world was big， big enough for industry; it was small， so small that people could hardly own their own land to feed rabbits. The industrialization confronted with traditional life style and values， and the merit of traditions lost. The famine caused many people starved to death without mercy. As a result， under the influence of the Great Depression， any attempt to control their own destiny and fight against tendency would fail.

三、Conclusion

The images of animals contribute a lot to the book. The rabbits vanished， and at the same time peoples hopes and dreams shattered. Small as human beings at that time， their hopes were so lowly that even the hope itself was a joke. The reoccurring rabbits push the story to move on， showing the beautiful and bright dream was intangible， and they secretly demonstrate us the tragic endings of these characters. The strength of labors was nothing compared to the whole competitive culture and cruel society. Additionally， they also reveal the true face of America in 1930s. The dreams and hopes about future are just like the furry rabbits， beautiful but cant come true. At last， the dreams disappeared with the fluffy rabbits， people sank to darkness without any hopes and the circle of misfortune went on.

Reference

DiNardo， Peter J. P. "Whose America？ Contesting the Meaning of America in the 1930s." OAH Magazine of History 19， no. 4 （2005）： 27-32.

Rafraf Shakil. “Unveiling Multiple Themes and Concerns： A Reading of John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men.” IMPACT： International Journal of Research in Humanities， Arts and Literature， Vol 6（2018）： 51-8.

Steinbeck， John. （1993）. Of Mice and Men. New York： Penguin.

呂伟民，王国明.论象征主义文学的基本特征[J].郑州大学学报.1996，04：38.

Fanbin Meng and Fengjuan Liu.“An Analysis of John Steinbecks Humanistic Concern in Of Mice and Men” English  Language  and  Literature  Studies;  Vol.  8（2018）： 39-44.