Richard Yaxley and John Steinbeck, authors of the novels Joyous and Moonbeam and Of Mice and Men utilise literary devices in order to illustrate a variety of ideas. Through the characterisation of Lennie and Joyous, the idea of prejudice is discussed in regards to their disability. In addition, the idea of isolation is established through the technique of setting, although both novels differ in setting both convey a similar message. Moreover, narrative structure is implemented in both novels, used to convey the idea of disability through the improper language used. Furthermore, Yaxley and Steinbeck highlight the ideas of prejudice, isolation and disability through various literary techniques. Richard Yaxley and John Steinbeck, authors of …show more content…
Of Mice and Men was set in the early 1900’s on a rural ranch in Soledad California, throughout the segregation era and also at a time when women were often degraded by men, therefore emphasising the idea of isolation for women and African Americans. Due to the rural setting and also being the only women on the ranch Candy has become an isolated woman. This is observable when Candy remarks “a guy on a ranch don't never listen nor he don't ask no questions.” Candy perfectly fits the definition of an isolated person, someone who does not ask questions, listens and is not much of a conversationalist. On the other hand, in Joyous and Moonbeam, Yaxley highlights the idea of isolation through modern day family crises, that both Ashleigh and Joyous experience. Through dealing with these family crises, Ashleigh and Joyous have endured a life of isolation, this is evident when Ashleigh states “Oh Joyous, all of this has just made me feel so alone and vulnerable” (page 87). In addition, Joyous and Moonbeam is set in a modern suburban town in America, in which Ashleigh and Moonbeam encounter many modern day family problems that did most likely not exist when Of Mice and Men was set, although both characters experience a similar type of misery created by society. Moreover, the use of the technique setting allows the idea of isolation to extensively be examined, similarly as they have done through the idea of
Because of this social persecution Lennie and George find that it is truly impossible to achieve the American Dream because of the segregation. This segregation causes conflict between the characters in the novel and causes those who hold the majorities to not only maintain the majority but also to suppress those who comprise the minority. The most obvious of the social persecutions is that of Lennie’s mental disability. Throughout the novel Lennie is segregated from the rest of the workers. After a hard day at work the farm hands play poker and other card games. Lennie is sent away to play with the puppies because he isn’t smart enough to understand the game and segregate him because of his stupidity. In order to appear superior to Lennie characters take advantage of his gentle and gullible nature.
In the story Of Mice and Men there were many handicaps that Steinbeck decided to speak upon. One was the fact that Crooks was a crippled stable man, Lennie who was mentally disabled, and Candy who lost his hand in an accident and is always worried about keeping his job (Attel). All three of these characters were left behind for reasons. All three had handicaps that prevented them from getting along normally in society. All three of these characters had handicaps, b...
Throughout the course of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men the way others react to Crooks, Candy, and Lennie are all examples of how being perceived as weaker and different can lead to being alienated from others. Due to the disadvantage Crooks, Candy, and Lennie are all shown to have during the book, Steinbeck shows how being perceived as weak can distance one from others, as well as limiting
How true is the statement "Guys like us are the loneliest guys in the world"
alone just to try make some money. This was a very bad period in the
‘Of Mice and Men’ is based on the experiences of a migrant farmer, set in 1930’s America. The characters are also symbolized as realistic people, but influenced by the issues and circumstances based on the Wall Street crash, the American Dream and being set after WWI. I empathies for these characters for the consequences of these historical events are what to have made ‘Of Mice and Men’ a tragedy in relation to loneliness.
The power of novels can allow readers to learn significant lessons about humanity and life experiences. Steinbeck’s novel “Of Mice and Men” set in Americas great depression of the 1930’s, explores the human need for company and the impact of loneliness. This is shown through the characters experiences of power and powerlessness on a barley ranch in California. Steinbeck shows his readers the need for compassion in times of cruelty, emphasised by the desperation of the era which the novel is set.
Men and women who are discriminated by society feel alone and afraid because they have nobody to talk or turn to. Of Mice and Men, a novel written by John Steinbeck, conveys the feelings of discriminated farm workers in the 1930’s, and how they yearned for a friend. The marginalized characters in the story were Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife. often found themselves feeling lonely and excluded because the other farm workers thought of them as their inferiors. These characters were beaten, scoffed at, or even avoided entirely. The book follows the lives of two men who travel together and earn their money by farming. The two men, named George and Lennie, went to a new ranch where they witnessed, and even partaken in the cruel judgment of others. Throughout the novel, the author demonstrates how unfair men can be to one another through Crooks’ experience with racism, Candy’s experience with ageism, and Curley’s wife’s experience with sexism.
...et across to us. This novel emphasizes how perilously people long for a companion. John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, states the true meaning of friendship, the reality of the American Dream seen in the vision of the characters, and the awfulness of human nature. There are many differences between Crooks, Candy, and Curley’s wife, however all of these characters are linked together by their lust for a better life; a life where they can fulfill their dreams. These characters' hardship comes from the amount of hatred they have for solitude and idealized friendships. It's their hatred of loneliness that pushes them to confess their problems to other people about their difficulties. Even though Crooks, Candy, and Curley's wife may not find pure satisfaction, those occasions of finally conversing about their feelings, comfort their misery and give them a feeling of unity.
Literary tropes are used by authors as a means of figurative language in literature, i.e. they are a figure of speech in which words are used with a nonliteral meaning (“Trope” 1). With this in mind, readers come across the utilization of literary tropes in certain works of American literature. Specifically, readers encounter tropes in the short stories, “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver, “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Connor, and “A Distant Episode” by Paul Bowles. Within these stories, disability is the literary trope that is explicated. In the literal sense, disability, in most cases, is a physical “restriction or lack of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being” (Lefers 1). However, in reference to the mentioned exemplars of literary trope, the authors of these works indicate that disability is not always physical. Rather, it can be mental, that is to say, one who is “disabled” cannot comprehend a particular conception. In the midst of disability in these stories, a sense of superiority is expressed by the main characters and each has a self-realization of some sort that extinguishes their feeling of arrogance.
In Of Mice and Men, the author, Steinbeck, explores the theme of isolation. The whole book has a pessimistic and gloomy tone to it. Steinbeck has hinted at us the theme of isolation from full built evidence to subtle details (such as placing the city of the book in Soledad, California, a Spanish word for solitude). He argues that isolation forms when people become selfish and egocentric and worry about themselves all the time.
The implementation of isolation within the lives of John Steinbeck's characters in his novel Of Mice and Men allows him to discuss the effect isolation has on an individual's life. Through the characters of Lennie, Crooks, Candy, and Curley's wife, Steinbeck is able to fully illustrate how isolation influences one's attitude towards life. Lennie, Crooks, Candy and Curley's wife all live a life led by isolation. Isolation interacts differently with each character, but ultimately negatively influences each of them. Although each of the characters in Of Mice and Men experience solitude, neither of them do so by choice. Steinbeck is able to demonstrate how the concept of loneliness is essential to the unfortunate but inevitable conclusion of the novel.
In his novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck depicts the essential loneliness of California ranch life in the 1930s. He illustrates how people are driven to find companionship. There were so many moments of loneliness and sadness throughout the novel, including many deaths. Following the deaths, they were very unexpected making the novel more intense and latch onto it more.
The novel, Of Mice and Men, is one that takes place during the Great Depression. It is a story of the struggle to survive and live on your own in a vicious world where every man is fighting for their own successes. One of the many characters who this applies to is Candy, an old swamper who has been working on ranches his whole life. In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Candy is a futile part of the ranch. As he is getting older, he is becoming increasingly weak around the ranch and now fully realizes how expendable he is. Candy is living in a time period where there is no sympathy for the weak. Jobs are hard to come by and hope is at an all time low. Throughout the novel, there are an abundance of instances where Candy comes to a cognisance of the loneliness he is facing
"Were born alone we live alone die alone. Only through love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that were not alone” Orson Welles. In this novel, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck focuses on the loneliness of California ranch life in the 1930’s. One of the most important things in the life is to have a friend, without friends people will suffer from loneliness like in this novel, not everyone in the novel has the same connection and special friendship like George and Lennie’s. Of Mice and Men is the story about lonely men who travel from ranch to ranch not really communicating with other ranch hands. Candy, Crooks and Curley’s wife all were lonely and dealt with their loneliness in different ways.