Literary Devices

Imagery
Imagery is used to help the reader make more of a connection with the setting, characters, or events in a piece of literature. The most common kind of imagery is "visual imagery," in which the author uses descriptive language to help the reader "see" the scenes and settings in the book, although imagery can be used to enhance any of the senses, such as olfactory imagery, tactile imagery, or auditory imagery.
"On one side of the river the golden foothill slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan mountains, but on the valley side the water is lined with trees -- willows fresh and green with every spring, carrying in their lower leaf junctures the debris of the winter's flooding; and sycamores with mottled, white recumbent limbs and branches that arch over the pool."

Characterization
Characterization is the defined presentation of a character in a literary piece -- it is the way the author presents a character's traits and personality. This is done either directly, through narration, or indirectly, through the character's thoughts and speech.
"The first man was small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features. Every part of him was defined: small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony nose. Behind him walked his opposite, a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws. His arms did not swing at his sides, but hung loosely."

Motif
A motif is a recurring element throughout a piece of literature -- it holds a symbolic significance to the story. A motif in Of Mice and Men is that of loneliness.
"Crooks said, 'I didn't mean to scare you. He'll come back. I was talkin' about myself. A guy sets alone out here at night, maybe readin' books or thinkin' or stuff like that. Sometimes he gets thinkin', an' he got nothing to tell him what's so an' what ain't so. Maybe if he sees somethin', he don't know whether it's right or not. He can't turn to some other guy and ast him if he sees it too. He can't tell. He got nothing to measure by. I seen things out here. I wasn't drunk. I don't know if I was asleep. If some guy was with me, he could tell me I was asleep, an' then it would be all right. But I jus' don't know.'"

Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing is a literary device in which the author provides hints or clues about what will happen later in the story. There are many examples of foreshadowing in Of Mice and Men, such as the following. This passage about Lennie's interest in petting mice, and the fact that that leads to their accidental deaths, foreshadows the later events in the book with both the puppy and Curley's wife.
"Lennie looked sadly up at him. 'They was so little,' he said, apologetically. 'I'd pet 'em, and pretty soon they bit my fingers and I pinched their little heads a little and then they was dead -- because they was so little.'"

Zoomorphism
Zoomorphism is the opposite of anthropomorphism, and is the assigning of animal traits to human characters.
"His huge companion dropped his blankets and flung himself down and drank from the surface of the green pool; drank with long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse."

Suspense
Suspense is the buildup of tension in a literary work, especially as the plot builds to a climax.
"Lennie turned his head and looked off across the pool and up the darkening slopes of the Gabilans. 'We gonna get a little place,' George began. He reached into his side pocket and brought out Carlson's Luger; he snapped off the safety, and the hand and the gun lay on the ground behind Lennie's back. He looked at the back of Lennie's head, at the place where the spine and skull were joined."

Mood
The mood is the general atmosphere created within the piece.
"Evening of a hot day started the wind to moving among the leaves. The shade climbed up the hills toward the top. On the sand banks the rabbits sat as quietly as little gray, sculptured stones. And then from the direction of the state highway came the sound of footsteps on crisp sycamore leaves. The rabbits hurried noiselessly for cover. A stilted heron labored up into the air and pounded down river. For a moment the place was lifeless, and then two men emerged from the path and came into the opening by the green pool.

Round Characters
A round character is a fully developed character -- the reader should have a good sense of the character's personality, appearance, opinions, etc. They have depth to them.
"This room was swept and fairly neat, for Crooks was a proud, aloof man. He kept his distance and demanded that other people keep theirs. His body was bent over to the left by his crooked spine, and his eyes lay deep in his head, and because of their depth seemed to glitter with intensity. His lean face was lined with deep black wrinkles, and he had thin, pain-tightened lips which were lighter than his face."

Flat Characters
A flat character is a character that is one-dimensional, with no developed characteristics. They are often just there to play a simple, though potentially crucial, role in story, such as the boss in Of Mice and Men.
"The boss stepped into the room with the short, quick steps of a fat-legged man. 'I wrote Murray and Ready I wanted two men this morning. You got your work slips?'"

Character Foils
A character foil is a character contrasted with another character in order to emphasize certain qualities of that character. An example of character foils in Of Mice and Men is Curley and Slim.
Slim: "A tall man stood in the doorway. He held a crushed Stetson hat under his arm while he combed his long, black, damp hair straight back. Like the others he wore blue jeans and a short denim jacket. When he had finished combing his hair he moved into the room, and he moved with a majesty only achieved by royalty and master craftsmen."
Curley: "His eyes passed over the new men and he stopped. He glanced coldly at George and then at Lennie. His arms gradually bent at the elbows and his hands closed into fists. He stiffened and went into a slight crouch. His glance was at once calculating and pugnacious."

Symbolism
A symbol is an object or concept that stands for another object or concept. In Of Mice and Men, Candy's dog is symbolic of the attitude towards things that are no longer very useful -- such as Candy himself.
"'Well, I can't stand him in here,' said Carlson. 'That stink hangs around even after he's gone.'He walked over with his heavy-legged stride and looked down at the dog. 'Got no teeth,' he said. 'He's all stiff with rheumatism. He ain't no good to you, Candy. An' he ain't no good to himself. Why'n't you shoot him, Candy?'"

Dialogue
Dialogue is the "talking" in the book -- the words the characters say are all dialogue.
"Lennie broke in. 'But not us! An' why? Because... because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why.' He laughed delightedly. 'Go on now, George!'

'You got it by heart. You can do it yourself.'

'No, you. I forget some a' the things. Tell about how it's gonna be.'

'O.K. Someday -- we're gonna get the jack together and we're gonna have a little house and a couple of acres and some pigs and--'

'An' live off the fatta the lan',' Lennie shouted. 'An' have rabbits. Go on, George! Tell about what we're gonna have in the garden and about the rabbits in the cages and about the rain in the winter and the stove, and how thick the cream is on the milk like you can hardly cut it. Tell about that, George.'"

Setting
The setting is the location(s) where the story takes place.
"A few miles south of Soledad, the Salinas River drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green. The water is warm too, for it has slipped twinkling over the yellow sands in the sunlight before reaching the narrow pool. On one side of the river the golden foothill slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan mountains, but on the valley side the water is lined with trees -- willow fresh and green with every spring, carrying in their lower leaf junctures the debris of the winter's flooding; and sycamores with mottles, white, recumbent limbs and branches that arch over the pool."

Theme
Themes are the main points, concepts, or ideas the author is trying to get across through his work. Though there are several themes in Of Mice and Men, one of the main themes is that of dreams.
"George's hands stopped working with the cards. His voice was growing warmer. 'An' we could have a few pigs. I could build a smoke house like the one gran'pa had, an' when we kill a pig we can smoke the bacon and the hams, and make sausages an' all that. An' when the salmon run up river we could catch a hundred of 'em an' salt 'em down or smoke 'em. We could have them for breakfast. They ain't nothing so nice as smoked salmon. When the fruit come in we could can it -- and tomatoes, they're easy to can. Ever' Sunday we'd kill a chicken or a rabbit. Maybe we'd have a cow or a goat, and the cream is so God damn think you got to cut it with a knife and take it out with a spoon."