Character Study from Of Mice and Men After reading the novel I have understood that many characters had dream. The book Of Mice and Men was set in the depression of the 1930's in California where Men travelled around looking for any work they could find, they had to leave families and homes just to make money. The novel shows that people who lived on ranches were lonely. These were depressing and desperate times, no hope and no future. George and Lennie: George and Lennie being migrant ranch workers like several other Americans in those had a dream. "We're gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an' a cow and some pigs..." Their dream is to own a farm or a ranch of their own so they could be their own boss and wouldn't have to be pushed round by other ranch owners who they work for now. They wanted to independent due to the working and having a job always cost them lost of; money, friends and other relationships. Their life was always living in a stable with different people. They were very lonely "Guys like us who work on ranched are the loneliest guys in the world." The character George is a small, quick man with well-defined features and with big heart. George's relationship with Lennie is likely to be like a stepfather as George was very caring for Lennie, however in some stages he told him off. His only set-back is his mentally handicapped friend Lennie whom he travels with and has been since he promised Lennie's aunt Clara he would look after him after she died. Looking after Lennie stops George from working towards his dream and even prevent him from having a normal life of a rancher, because of this Georg... ... middle of paper ... ... kids and go to their place and sometimes they came to his father's ranch". John Steinbecks wrote this book due to he wanted to show to the people what had happen during depression. Steinbecks dream is an aspect of all the characters dreams of an equal society; Crooks, equal rights for different races, Candy's, rights for work and ageism, Curley's wife, women's rights and Lennie's, right of a mad person. Steinbeck would like to see all these aspects in his idea of society. He saw the problems of his society and maybe tried to change them with this book. Steinbecks again mention in the from George point of view where he describes to Lennie at the end "The place no-ones gonna hurt you." This tells us about heaven where everyone is going to be treated the same way and everyone would have the right to live a free life.
As George becomes aware of the situation he begins to ponder what will happen if Lennie gets away. George understands that Lennie would not be capable of providing for himself out in the wild. As George contemplates allowing Lennie to be free of all the men, he “[is] a long time in answering” (94). George is one of the few men who understands Lennie’s mental limitations, he knows Lennie would not remember how to survive and “the poor bastard’d starve” (94). He
Lennie Small, a mentally impaired man, is first introduced to us traveling with George. George, however, is not related to Lennie. Lennie travels with George because no one else understands him like he does. Lennie says, “Because…because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you…” (Steinbeck 14). Lennie believes if George ever left him that he could live in a cave by himself and not bother anyone again (Steinbeck 12). Lennie realizes he would be alone without George, but he never has known anyone else to depend on but George, and from that, they have a bond, a friendship. This shows Lennie’s need for his relationship with George.
setting up their own ranch and as Lennie would say "Live of the fat of
The American Dream is a dream that everyone imagines to be picture perfect. The American Dream means having freedom, equality and opportunity’s to achieve the dream that you conceptualize to be right by you. In the novel, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck did not want to just illustrate the American dream as being easy, but he wanted to point out the American Dream as being difficult too. Steinbeck made a work of art by composing a great novel to make the reader understand that life can be difficult and at times dreams are hard to achieve. Of Mice and Men was written and based on the settings of the Great Depression (Anderson). The Great Depression was a very dire time that left multiple of people despondent and the unavailing to move on with their lives. The Great Depression created a world where everyone had to seek and survive for themselves. In the novel Steinbeck wanted to explore and point out how powerless people where during the time of the Great Depression. Steinbeck purposely incorporated his characters to depict the life struggle of what people go through during grim times. In the novel, Steinbeck illustrated a great set of characters Lennie, George, Candy and Crooks. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck discusses handicaps, hardships, and friendships of the characters.
In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, first published in 1937, one of the main ideas present is sexism, particularly directed at women. We see many examples of this throughout the text mostly shown through Curley’s wife, such as the idea of objectification and over sexualizing women. The text shows the extremity of this viewpoint in the early 20th century, although this way of thinking still exists in our world today.
ranch like the one in 'Of Mice and Men'. He was shocked by the plight
Then, the homesteaders decided that they should buy the land that the ranchers had used for grazing their cattle. After they bought the land, they fenced it so they were not taking over or interacting with the cattlemens herds.
The ending of the book, Of Mice and Men, had many strengths and weaknesses. In the last chapter, all the guys are playing a tournament of horseshoes. Lennie was in the barn mad because he had killed a little puppy and didn't understand that he did it. He tried to bury it in the straw when Curley's wife walked in. Lennie was nervous because he wasn't allowed to talk to her but he ended up relaxing and talking to her about stuff. He said he liked to touch soft things because it felt good on his fingers. She let him touch her hair because it was soft but Lennie was touching it too hard and messing up her hair. She started to yell and Lennie put his hand over her mouth and told her to not scream like that. Then he shook her and it broke her neck.
Lennie to take care of. The next day George convinces the farm boss to hire
farm as well as the pigs. They did not mind lying to the animals and
Elisa stands guard to her dreams by saying tells, “You might be surprised to have a rival sometime… what a woman might do” (234, L31-34) through this conversation Steinbeck proves the competitive nature of Elisa.
to ranch in order to live. This is what happiness is to them, and it’s
Despite the frustration that Lennie causes, without him George would probably be a lot like the other men on the ranch; simply roaming the country-side of California looking for work, and although he often prides himself on being different, he sometimes complains, usually after Lennie has caused trouble, and wishes that he could be like a normal guy and not have to live with Lennie’s hindrance. An example of this is seen when George responds sharply to Lennie's constant request for ketchup. "If I was alone I could live so easy…no trouble…no mess at all.
1.) George- A small man who travels with, and takes care of, Lennie. He frequently talks about how much better his life would be without having Lennie to take care of. George's behavior is motivated by the desire to protect Lennie and, eventually, he wants to lead them both to the farm of their dreams.
Envision a farm with an abundance of animals and crops. The farm that most likely comes to mind is not one of giant machinery and smokestacks of pollution, but a vision of the old red barn and cows grazing freely. Sadly, these types of farms are mostly gone in the United States. These ‘family farms’ are being replaced every day by bigger, more industrialized farms. It is sad to see such a staple of the American culture being washed away by a type of farm that is being used purely for economic reasons. Family farming is slowly disappearing from the American landscape. We, as Americans, need to realize the importance of family farming because it produces high quality foods and helps economically for the local community.