The human existence is often scrutinized by those who spend their lives trying to understand why we work the way we do. Often times, we see our primitive and predatory behaviours brought into light by our own selves, and not just those who may be studying it. The John Steinbeck classic, “Of Mice And Men”, tends to highlight these specific behaviours- the predatory nature- throughout the novella. This does not just include violent or otherwise socially unacceptable animalistic behaviours, but the things that drive us to fight for our basic necessities as well. The first example of the more violent side of the predatory nature can be seen when presented with the simple “predator vs. prey” ideology seen many times within the book. The second example …show more content…
These habits are most notably seen again in the character of Lennie, who tends to be the books most prominent example of the case in point. Lennie, at his very core, is driven by his need to survive. While the human species may tend to forget it, and while it may not always be such a major forethought in our minds, we are all driven by our need to survive. “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.” (3). The most basic necessities to survival is food and water. In this quote, we see Lennie demonstrate truly how driven he is by his primal nature simply by the way he takes in water, “snorting into the water like a horse.” Precedently, we see this mindset demonstrated with Lennie’s focus on food. “George- why ain’t we goin’ on to the ranch and get some supper? They got supper at the ranch.” (7). While these things are more material related necessities, Lennie seems just as driven by emotional needs, often forgotten as necessities of life; companionship and joy. “Curley’s wife moved away from him a little. “I think you’re nuts,” she said.
“No I ain’t,” Lennie explained earnestly. “George says I ain’t. I like to pet nice things with my fingers, sof’ things.” (90). These things bring him happiness, and many times throughout the story Lennie seems to be quite focused on them and the feelings that something as simple as a soft item brings. “If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not
A man often judges himself by his size. If he is not as tall or muscular as the next man, he may feel inferior to him. This may result in that man developing a “little man” syndrome or Napoleon Complex. In the novel Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck displays this inferiority complex through the character Curley. Because Curley feels inadequate due to his short stature, he tends to dislike those bigger than him, challenges most everyone, and is not remorseful for his negative actions or for what happens to others.
John Steinbeck, an American novelist, is well-known for his familiar themes of depression and loneliness. He uses these themes throughout a majority of his novels. These themes come from his childhood and growing up during the stock market crash. A reader can see his depiction of his childhood era. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck shows the prominent themes of loneliness, the need for relationships, and the loss of dreams in the 1930s through the novels’ character.
One week after Lennie's death, George sits in the dark corner of a bar. The room is all but empty and dead silent. All the windows are shut, through the small openings come beams of dull light that barely illuminate the room. George stares at his glass with an expressionless face, but a heavy sadness in his eyes. The bartender comes towards him and asks if he would like something else to drink.
John Steinbeck explores human experience in the novella ‘Of Mice and Men’ in friendship, loneliness and marginalisation. He does this through the characters as explained thought the paragraphs below.
George’s love for Lennie is simply an unconscious effort to make up for Lennie’s mental weakness, yet at the same time his sentiment and kindness is out of sympathy. In chapter one, it is apparent to the reader that Lennie does have a slight mental impairment, but we do not yet know how acute it actually is. For example, when George asks Lennie what he has in his pocket, Lennie responded, “Ain’t a thing in my pocket,” (Steinbeck 5) as if he were intelligent. George knew something was in Lennie’s pocket, yet Lennie still tried to act as if there was nothing there. This gives the reader just a quick glimpse into the thought process of this complex character that is actually quite unpretentious.
In the exposition of the book, George and Lennie are sitting on a river bed a few miles south of Soledad beside the Salinas River. Lennie is a large, lumbering, childlike man with a mild mental disability. Because of this he relies on George for guidance and protection. Lennie is gentle and kind, but nevertheless, he does not understand his own strength and his love of petting soft things, such as small animals, dresses, and people’s hair, later leads to disaster. George was a small and wiry man who travels with and cares for Lennie. George’s behavior is motivated by the desire to protect Lennie with the hopes of delivering them both to the farm of their dreams someday. The author, John Steinbeck describes how the river was warm and on one side of the river, the “golden foothill slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan mountains.” On the other side of the river, there are trees that line the riverbed. Steinbeck describes how the trees were “willows fresh and green” during the spring time and “sycamores with mottled, white, recumbent limbs and branches that arch over the pool.” In the first chapter of the book, he describes how peaceful the place is that Lennie and George end up staying for a night. In the beginning of the book, Lennie asks George to talk to him about the dream that
When asked about John Steinbeck’s career, people often refer to Steinbeck as a playwright, journalist, and a well-known novelist. The book Of Mice and Men is a popular novel by John Steinbeck and a required read for most high school students. Most of Steinbeck 's novels have a central theme focusing on the relationship between man and his environment. The American dream for George and Lennie, two of the main characters in Of Mice and Men, is to have a place of their own, to be respected, and to work hard for everything they earn and deserve. In Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, the land and a hope of a better life becomes the talisman of an American dream for Lennie and George that is left unfulfilled.
Lennie, an animal lover at heart, always takes pleasure from petting them. He loves all small, soft, fuzzy things and cannot help himself from petting them. During their journey to the new ranch, Lennie catches a mouse, “I could pet it with my thumb while we walked along. and (Steinbeck:6). George hates it when Lennie catches animals and plays with them “well you ain’t petting mice while you walk with me.
..."I tried Aunt Clara, ma'am. I tried. I couldn't help it...I'll go right off in the hills an' I'll fin' a cave an' I'll live there so I won't be no more trouble to George." Lennie was basically in denial of his own loneliness. Loneliness has made Lennie want a better life for himself. This involves these soft items and the dream for his and George's farm. He believes at the farm he will not have to deal with all the problems that he has now. Lennie became unrealistic in many ways because of both his condition and his loneliness. Lennie most likely would have never got the farm or the soft items even if he wasn't killed, but his loneliness acts as motivation for these goals.
Steinbeck portrays survival of the fittest in his Novela ,Of Mice and Men, due to the scarcity of resources on the farm only the best equipped for survival will survive, if they can't adapt they are weeded out and have bare minimum for survival or end up dead.
Lennie’s love for animals and for soft things extended toward even those things that are dead. He always ended up killing the things that he loves. And Lennie
John Steinbeck was inspired by the line "The best schemes o' mice an' men [often go awry]" by Robert Burns in one of his poems. This line refers to ambitions that went off track during the process. There are multiple examples in the novel that refers to the line in the poem, that inspired John Steinbeck. Those examples are Curley's boxing career coming to an end, Curley's wife not becoming a actress, and Lennie's plans of tending the rabbits, but messed everything up.
Throughout the novel, George and Lennie have a strong relationship which is quite unique. George takes care of Lennie through thick and thin but, sometimes George sees Lennie as just a burden until he realizes that he is incapable to take of himself when Lennie tells George “Well, I could go off in the hills there. Some place I’d find a cave” (Steinbeck, John 12) George responds to very broth...
With his disability, he needs something to feel connected to. He loves to pet furry and soft things. In chapter one in “Of Mice and Men”, Lennie and George are walking along a dirt road, on there way to a ranch. George discovers Lennie playing with something in his pocket. Lennie states to George before the dead mouse was taken away. ““ I could pet it with my thumb while we walked along”” (Steinbeck 6) . In order to prove that Lennie is not smart enough to fulfill the American Dream, Steinbeck creates Lennie to seem as not normal as possible. Steinbeck places Lennie in a state, where he does not understand right from wrong. He does not know nor understand, that playing with a deceased critter is not only gross but unacceptable as a
Men, Steinbeck’s character’s life is dependent on the assumptions made about him. Of Mice and Men tells the story of two men with opposite character who face the hardships and reality of