Parallelism in literature is the use of similar sentence or word structures to compare two things, ideas, or people. At the very beginning of Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses the following two parallel sentences, each beginning with the word "both," to compare Lennie and George: "Both were dressed in denim trousers and in denim coats with brass buttons. Both wore black, shapeless hats and both carried tight blanket rolls slung over their shoulders" (page...
Parallelism in literature is the use of similar sentence or word structures to compare two things, ideas, or people. At the very beginning of Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses the following two parallel sentences, each beginning with the word "both," to compare Lennie and George: "Both were dressed in denim trousers and in denim coats with brass buttons. Both wore black, shapeless hats and both carried tight blanket rolls slung over their shoulders" (page numbers vary by edition).
The author's repetition of the word "both" at the beginning of two consecutive sentences (and in later in the second sentence) sets up a parallel structure, and the purpose of this structure is to draw comparisons between Lennie and George. They are both dressed in denim and have similar hats and carry a blanket roll. In the sentences that follow, Steinbeck draws contrasts between George, who is "small and quick," and Lennie, who is "a huge man, shapeless of face." The author's use of parallel structures makes the reader immediately visualize the similarities between the two main characters before he delineates their differences. This type of structure also makes the reader feel like the characters are walking towards him or her; when the characters are farther away, the reader can only see their similarities in dress, but when the characters draw closer, the reader can see their distinctions.
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