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Character study of mice and men
Of mice and men literary analysis
Character study of mice and men
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A famous soccer player, Hans F. Hansen, once said “People inspire you, or they drain you, pick them wisely.” He believes that the people around someone can either motivate them, or be a drawback to their dreams. John Steinbeck, author of Of Mice and Men, also shares this same opinion in his novella. Steinbeck shows through his characters how people around them affect their hopes and dreams in different ways. For George, Lennie is a drawback, as well as a companion who lets them strive for their dream, a piece of land. Lennie makes some stupid mistakes, but motivates George in the most difficult times in the farm. Crooks, a cripple African American, constantly gets discriminated by everyone in the farm making him lose all his hopes and dreams. …show more content…
Candy is crippled, and is almost useless in the farm and is just trying to make it to the next day without going insane. When he overhears Lennie and George talk about their dream about their “piece of land” he gets excited and tells them he can contribute his money as well in order to make this dream become reality. In the novella, Candy says, “ Tell you what-” He leaned in forward eagerly. “S’pose I went in with you guys. Tha’s three hundred an’ …show more content…
I ain’t much good, but I could cook and tend the chickens and hoe the garden som. How’d that be?(59)”. Candy respects George and Lennie and therefore wants to help in this dream they have. They have been around Candy enough to trust them to put his hard earned money into this “dream” they have. Speaking of trust, another character who shows trust is Lennie. Lennie listens and does everything George tells him to do because he trusts him as friend as well as family. When Lennie sees all the ways he could get in trouble in the farm with Curley's wife, Curley, and others, he begs George to leave the farm with him.In the novella, it states, “I don't like this place, George. This ain't no good place. I wanna get outa here.” “We gotta keep it till we get a stake. We can't help it, Lennie. We'll get out jus' as soon as we can. I don't like it no better than you do.(32)”. Lennie has been with George since his childhood and makes almost all his decisions based on what Georges tells him. In this situation, George tells him that they have to stay and make money, and Lennie’s decision changes accordingly to George and he stops complaining. Even though Lennie is scared and wants to leave, George inspires him
... (pg 60) . Candy so desperately wants his dream to come true so he is willing to invest his saving on the land that George picked out so that he can finally have his dream come true. But after George kills Lennie not only is Georges dream shattered but so is Candys ,and part of him still wishes that he and George still would've bought the land.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a novel about loneliness and the American Dream. This book takes place during the Great Depression. It was very difficult for people to survive during this time period. A lot of people hardly survived let alone had the necessities they needed to keep relationships healthy. Of Mice of Men has a common theme of disappointment. All the characters struggle with their unaccomplished dreams. The migrant workers, stable buck, swamper, and the other men on the ranch had an unsettled disappointment of where they were at in their lives. George and Lennie, two newcomers to the ranch, aren’t like the other guys. They have each other and they are the not loneliest people in the world. Lennie has a dream though he wants to own a farm with plenty of crops and animals one day. The only problem is his blind curiosity of people and things around him. George wasn’t justified for killing Lennie because Lennie was innocent and never got the chance to find out what he did wrong.
Candy thought "I am not going to no one for help. This ranchers was thrilled to kill Lennie and now they don't even care about George who was caught in their place."
Steinbeck gives a lot of reasons for George to stay with Lennie, but his critics also have some merit in their criticism that the story isn't believable. Steinbeck's critics suggest that Steinbeck is "simply sentimental in this regard." There are some very compelling reasons George would like to stay with Lennie... but being "sentimental," towards Lennie has nothing to do with it.
In the novel, Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck used George and Lennie's relationship and the theme of hope to point out the loneliness in the novel. The novel starts off and is set in Soledad which means lonely. At the beginning they get a job working on a farm together. Lennie is a little retarded and has great physical strength that isn't too controllable. As they work from ranch to ranch, Lennie relies on George for guidance and help. Rather than wasting their earnings, they try to save it in the hope of buying a place of their own. While working at one ranch they meet a worker named Candy who tries to help them financially. Before their dream can be fulfilled, Lennie kills the wife of the boss's son. As the novel concludes George must kill Lennie for his own benefit. Later Lennie goes into town and abandons his dream by spending his money.
Candy shows great spirit throughout the book and really shows off the good aspects of the American Dream. It is only until the end of the book until the plan to go away starts to be questioned. He starts asking questions like ”You an’ me can get that little place cant we, George?”(Steinbeck,94) This denial was once again recognized by Kevin Attell, who said “George and Lennie’s dream is specifically necessitated by and responds to the limitations played on their lives. ”(Attell)
Of Mice and Men is novel that was written by John Steinbeck that describes the journey of George, and his mentally disabled friend, Lennie, as they travel and work together on a ranch in California. The story of Of Mice and Men accounts for the experience of George and Lennie as they encounter different people on the ranch who live in solitude, such as Crooks the negro stable buck, and the wife of the boss’s son, Curley. Crooks the stable buck is always alone because he is black, and during the time period of which the novel takes place, people with colored skin were discriminated and excluded from white social activities. Curley’s wife is alone most of the time because most of the men on ranch stay away
As Mark Twain once stated, “The more I know about people, the better I like my dog.” This sentiment is often echoed by general society; people seem to have lost faith in humanity. However, John Steinbeck illustrates his more optimistic opinion about “the perfectibility of man” by suggesting how man can improve. In his novel, Of Mice and Men, two tenants called George and Lennie go through many hardships all while chasing their dream of possessing their own farm. While they work at a farm, they meet an old swamper called Candy who offers to help them achieve their dream; he does so to ensure that he will have a future after he is fired for being too old. On page 60, Candy discusses the recent death of his dog and asks to join in on George and Lennie’s dream. Through this passage, Steinbeck proves that humans have an animalistic tendency of eliminating those who are weaker than them. This is depicted through the details connecting Candy to his dog as well as Candy’s diction when describing his potential future life. Steinbeck’s negative attitude towards man’s predatory nature implies that society needs to improve and prevent such oppressive behavior from occurring.
George and Lennie have to continue to move around the country looking for work until Lennie screws up again. The instability of work only makes it that much harder for them to complete their dream of a farm of their own. Candy’s participation in the dream of the farm upgrades the dream into a possible reality. As the tending of rabbits comes closer to happening fate curses them with the accidental death of Curley’s wife. The end of their wishful thinking is summed up by Candy’s question on page 104, “Then-it’s all off?”
How does John Steinbeck use the character George to illustrate aspects of 1930s American society?
In ending of "Of Mice And Men", George kills Lennie after he killed Curley's wife. However, I can still feel sympathy towards George, and see his action as justifiable. In the beginning of the book I had sympathy towards George. The book starts with George talking to Lennie and from this you learn a lot about their relationship. After Lennie asks for ketchup, which they can't get, George gets angry at Lennie and says, “Whatever we ain’t got, that’s what you want. God a’mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an’ work, an’ no trouble" (6). This shows the reader that George has given up a lot to take care of Lennie. He has given up his job security and a lot of his happiness because he takes care of Lennie. In chapter 3, the reader finds out how George and Lennie started traveling together, and from this the reader can infer that George travels
George, a character in Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck was “small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features. Every part of him was defined: small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony nose.” (Steinbeck, Pg.2) George was Caucasian and it looked as if he had stepped out of an old movie containing drifters, better known as migrant workers. Although physically George was very small, he had complete control over his companion Lennie, the way a father controls a son.
Candy dealt with his loneliness by being friendly with George and Lennie and becoming a partner in obtaining the small ranch that was George and Lennie’s dream. Candy kind of an outcast because of his age difference from other ranch hands. “I could cook and tend the chickens and hoe the garden some”(Candy 319). Candy attempts to be useful in someone else life. He heard that George and Lennie have this dream to “live off the fat of the land” as soon as they get enough money. Candy wanted to join, he offered as much as he can. He wanted to join the dream but not only did he want to join, he wanted to join the friendship of George and Lennie. “Maybe I can give you guys money”(Candy 325). Candy offered his money that he gets from the government for his disability. An exchange for money Candy gets a friendship out of it. So he is paying George and Lennie to be friends with him really. I think money will never buy a real friendship. Not only was Candy lonely and miserable trying to deal with loneliness, but so was Crooks...
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.
I remember 20 years ago when I used to look after a guy called Lennie, he was a really nice, he was very tall with a very friendly smile. I had a slight problem though, he was a lot like a child. He would enjoy stroking things which are soft and warm. If he saw something he liked he would touch it and if he was scared he wouldn’t even let go. This meant he loved rabbits and mice but he didn’t know his own strength so he usually ended up killing them by stroking them too hard and crushing their skulls but he is really just like a big friendly giant. He has the strength of 2 men so he is usually very good at work but I always had to get him out of trouble. He would do anything I asked him to.