Symbolism means using an object, person, or place, to represent a larger, more abstract idea. It's like how the U.S. uses its flag - a very concrete physical object - to represent the more abstract idea of patriotism. Symbolism makes things easier, and it can really help an author get across what he or she is trying to say about a huge topic. Can you imagine if every author who wanted to talk about, say, religion, just went on pages and pages of tangents and explanations of his or her viewpoint? Ugh, nobody would want to read that!
In Of Mice and Men, a symbol appears in the very first paragraph. In this paragraph, Steinbeck describes a peaceful pool filled by the Salinas River in a lovely valley lined by golden foothills. The water is fresh, clean, and warm. The place is lined by beautiful trees. Sounds beautiful, doesn't it? Sounds like a sanctuary from danger - and this is exactly what this pool symbolizes for George and Lennie, the main characters. It represents the big, abstract ideas of safety and sanctuary. In fact, George actually tells Lennie to go there and hide in the brush if he ever gets into trouble again. So, not only is this a place of symbolic safety, but it's a place of real physical safety, too.
It's here George and Lennie camp for the night before journeying on to the ranch where they spend most of the novella. On the ranch, they encounter very bad things, have negative experiences, and Lenny eventually puts himself in grave danger. The symbolism of the pool is taken even further by the end of the novella, and the reader understands what Lennie does not: George is going to shoot and kill him, effectively saving him from the cruelty of one particular man on the ranch. So, this place again becomes a symbol, for Lennie, of the final safe place, the sanctuary George finally sends him to.
Symbolism can be a bummer, sometimes.
