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John Steinbeck’s Short Novels: Understanding Characters and the Meaning of Animals

Jönson, Lydia LU (2025) ENGK70 20251
Division of English Studies
Abstract
Dogs, gophers, ants, and frogs pop in and out of Steinbeck’s literature, and while they
might escape unnoticed at a first glance, these animals serve a significant role to the
storytelling. The question is what purpose animals serve in some of Steinbeck’s short
novels. I argue that animals in the six novels primarily serve the purposes of mirroring
characters and emphasising depth, empathy, and complexity in how these characters
are perceived. In this analysis, aspects like symbolism, mirroring, anthropomorphism,
and anthropocentrism are explored. Firstly, I provide a short background. Then, I
examine animals with small roles in the short novels and how they mirror characters,
followed by a study on dogs in the short novels and how... (More)
Dogs, gophers, ants, and frogs pop in and out of Steinbeck’s literature, and while they
might escape unnoticed at a first glance, these animals serve a significant role to the
storytelling. The question is what purpose animals serve in some of Steinbeck’s short
novels. I argue that animals in the six novels primarily serve the purposes of mirroring
characters and emphasising depth, empathy, and complexity in how these characters
are perceived. In this analysis, aspects like symbolism, mirroring, anthropomorphism,
and anthropocentrism are explored. Firstly, I provide a short background. Then, I
examine animals with small roles in the short novels and how they mirror characters,
followed by a study on dogs in the short novels and how they, in addition to also
mirroring, further add depth and empathy to characters. Lastly there is an analysis of
the animals connected to Jody in The Red Pony and Lennie in Of Mice and Men, who
both have deeply complicated relationships with different animals and who can be
understood in a more complex manner because of these animals. These findings could,
hopefully, aid in providing a deeper understanding to Steinbeck’s literature. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Jönson, Lydia LU
supervisor
organization
course
ENGK70 20251
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
John Steinbeck, animals, characters, anthropomorphism, anthropocentrism
language
English
id
9202644
date added to LUP
2026-03-06 10:51:56
date last changed
2026-03-06 10:51:56
@misc{9202644,
  abstract     = {{Dogs, gophers, ants, and frogs pop in and out of Steinbeck’s literature, and while they
might escape unnoticed at a first glance, these animals serve a significant role to the
storytelling. The question is what purpose animals serve in some of Steinbeck’s short
novels. I argue that animals in the six novels primarily serve the purposes of mirroring
characters and emphasising depth, empathy, and complexity in how these characters
are perceived. In this analysis, aspects like symbolism, mirroring, anthropomorphism,
and anthropocentrism are explored. Firstly, I provide a short background. Then, I
examine animals with small roles in the short novels and how they mirror characters,
followed by a study on dogs in the short novels and how they, in addition to also
mirroring, further add depth and empathy to characters. Lastly there is an analysis of
the animals connected to Jody in The Red Pony and Lennie in Of Mice and Men, who
both have deeply complicated relationships with different animals and who can be
understood in a more complex manner because of these animals. These findings could,
hopefully, aid in providing a deeper understanding to Steinbeck’s literature.}},
  author       = {{Jönson, Lydia}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{John Steinbeck’s Short Novels: Understanding Characters and the Meaning of Animals}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}