“Go on,” said Lennie. “How's it gonna be. We gonna get a little place.”
“We'll have a cow,” said George. “And we’ll have maybe a pig and chickens... and down the flat we’ll have a... little piece of alfalfa-“
“For the rabbits,” Lennie shouted.
“For the rabbits,” George repeated.
“And I get to tend the rabbits.”
“And you get to tend the rabbits.” (Steinbeck, 102)
This is perhaps one of the most famous quotes in American literature. It shows many different themes at once, especially the ambitions of the two characters, Lennie and George. In Of Mice and Men, these two characters are out in the Midwest looking for work during the time of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Lennie is often a prime example of someone wanting something he cannot have. In the times like that are shown in Of Mice and Men, this is not all that uncommon. At the time that this book is written, the author, John Steinbeck, exemplifies the ambitions of the people actually living during this period through his literature. In fact, most of the events going on during the time of the Great Depression are prevalent in his books. In The Pearl, although it is set in a rural area of Mexico, it shows the themes and characteristics of things going on in the world around John Steinbeck. There were many factors that contributed to Steinbeck’s writing, especially the socially and politically charged times that he wrote in, and his childhood that was influenced by his parents and the naturally beautiful Salinas Valley.
John Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902 in Salinas, California. As a boy, he grew up in a farming community, and worked on ranches. At the age of fourteen, he decided that he wanted to become a writer. He went to Stanford University, but w...
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...ent most people, including him, were in. The Salinas Valley of California, with its fertile soil and beautiful landscapes, was the place that John Steinbeck called home. He developed a strong connection to nature, and in his books, describing the scene and nature was almost as important as the plot itself. John Steinbeck may have had inspiration from the people and the scenery around him during his adult years, but one of his key influences, in fact most people’s key influences, was his parents. His parents taught him a sense of community and involvement that rings in the background of all his novels. The things he experienced in his lifetime, from the nature of the Salinas Valley to the nurture his parents gave him, and the hardships faced by people around him during the Great Depression all contributed to the themes, motifs, characters, and settings of his novels.
1925: He went to New York City, working odd jobs, including manual labor for the
John Steinbeck was born in 1902. He lived and grew up during the Great Depression near Salinas Valley and wrote many novels based on his experiences and backgrounds. Due to conditions such as nice weather and good agricultural industry, many people settled there. There was a gold rush around the 1850s which attracted many people to this region. The Salinas Valley was a very significant and essential place in the 1930s.
Many characters have hopes and dreams which they wish to accomplish. Of Mice and Men has two main characters that go through obstacles to get what they want. In the beginning it is George and Lennie running away trying to get a job. Once both George and Lennie have a job they try to accomplish their dreams. Unfortunately they both can't get their dreams to come true since lennie does the worst and George has to shoot Lennie. Steinbeck uses characterization, foreshadowing, and symbol as rhetorical strategies to make George's actions justified.
The aspect of the John Steinbeck novels, The Pearl and Of Mice and Men, that is most comparable is how, in both books, Steinbeck denies the main characters of each book, Kino and George and Lennie to change their role in life or to beat fate. Steinbeck’s grim outlook of life was perhaps brought on through his early failures and poverty, because all three of the pre-mentioned characters had opportunities to change their fate or role but failed. The elements of discussion are Kino, George and Lennie, a comparison and a contrast.
John Steinbeck's timeless novel Of Mice and Men is a somewhat controversial story of the hardships of life. To illustrate these hardships, Steinbeck takes the reader back to an era of bankruptcies, migrant workers, and drifters. Today, this time, the 1930's, is branded the Great Depression. The quest of George and Lennie, two migrant workers, is an example of the dilemma of thousands of homeless and unemployed men in America during the Great Depression era (Ito 39). The harsh circumstances presented by the Great Depression reveal a darker side of human nature. In order to survive, a man's priority had to be himself. Through his characters, Steinbeck exposes truths about people and life in general.
John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California in the the year 1902. He grew up in a farmland environment which helped him in his writings of this novel. Steinbeck actually went to school at Stanford but never graduated. He wrote an astonishing 25 books, of which sixteen were novels, six non-fiction books, and several short stories. If that was not impressive enough, in 1962, he received the nobel prize for literature. Through many of his books, he flooded his stories with characters who always seemed to struggle, many times about the working class and the immigrant workers during times like the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. Over time, he noticed that he had a more profound, moving voice when using examples from his own memories in his writings as opposed to just making the stories up.
In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck brings out the themes of Lonliness and companionship, and strengths and weaknesses through the actions, and quotations of the characters. Irony and foreshadowing play a large roll on how the story ends. Lennie and his habit of killing things not on purpose, but he is a victim of his own strength. George trying to pretend that his feelings for Lennie mean nothing. The entire novel is repetitive in themes and expressed views.
Steinbeck had a relatively normal childhood growing up in Salinas Valley California. Steinbeck was born on February 27 1902 in Salinas Valley, California. His father was John Steinbeck Sr. who worked as the Monterey County Treasurer, and his mother, Olivia, worked as a school teacher. Steinbeck mother always encouraged him to keep reading and writing. When Steinbeck was older his mother and father forced him to attend a college. To appease his parents he attended Stanford University, to appease himself he took only classes that interested him, such as classical and British literature, writing courses, and some science. Drifting in and out of college Steinbeck took many odd jobs such as a ranch hand, fruit picker, factory worker, sales clerk, freelance news paper writer, construction worker, and farm laborer. These odd jobs that Steinbeck took later would become the influence for his characters and themes in his novels. Steinbeck yearned for more life experiences, so instead of taking a degree at Stanford he dropped out of college, worked, and wrote. His passion was writing all along.
John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California on February 27th, 1902. His mother, Olive Steinbeck, was a teacher and also was a major influence on John's writing. His father, John Steinbeck Sr., was a county treasurer. When Steinbeck was a child, during his summers off from school, he worked on a farm, which was a good experience for later writing. In the beginning of 1919, Steinbeck was accepted to the University of Stanford. Later, in 1925, he left without a degree. He wrote lots of short stories and articles for the College's newspaper. Steinbeck moved to New York to write, but had to support himself by being a construction worker. He started writing for the New York American, but didn't make enough, so had to keep his construction job. In 1929, Steinbeck returned to Salinas to write Cup of Gold. He had to work as a caretaker for a summer home in Lake Tahoe. In 1930, he meets Edward Ricketts, who gets him interested in marine biology. Steinbeck also married his first wife, Carol Henning. He publishes more novels such as the Pastures of Heaven, and To a God Unknown; but of all those, Tortilla Flat was his first selling novel. This was published in 1935. In 1936, he also published In Dubious Battle and in 1937, Of Mice and Men. Then, possibly one of Steinbeck's best selling/ greatest works, the Grapes of Wrath, was published. This publication won a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book award in 1939. He told stories of families that were poor during the depression and of their powerless efforts against the government and society that has put them down. Steinbeck then traveled to Mexico to shoot the film Forgotten Village (documentary). When he returned to the United States, he became a war correspondent and wrote about the Second World War. He moved back to New York City and married Gywn Conger, in 1943. Then they had two sons, Tom, in 1944 and another son in 1946, named John IV. By 1948, Steinbeck divorced his wife, went to Russia three times, and lost his good friend, Edward Ricketts in a car crash. Then he quickly married Elaine Anderson Scott in 1950. By 1959, Steinbeck published several screenplays and served as a correspondent for the Vietnam War. In 1960, he toured the US with his poodle and recorded his travels and titling it Travels With Charlie.
John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr was born in Salinas, California on February 27, 1902. He grew up on ranches around the Salinas Valley, learning many skills and also witnessing the harsh lives of the ranch workers during the darkest days of the Great Depression. Steinbeck graduated from Salinas High School in 1919 and attended Stanford University for five years until 1925 when he left without a degree for New York City. He survived off odd jobs and tried to write books, which never were published. He then moved back to California and lived in Tahoe City where he met his first wife Carol Henning. It was here in Lake Tahoe where he finished his first novel Cup of Gold, which followed the infamous privateer Henry Morgan and his adventures in the Caribbean. Stei...
Throughout time man has encountered many trials and tribulations. One of these unpredictable changes was the depression era in the Western region of America. From the beginning to the end of the novel, Of Mice & Men (1937), by John Steinbeck, life is portrayed as cruel and an insurmountable conquest. During the 1930's the worst economic collapse of the world occurred : the Depression. The setting throughout this novel sets the emotions high because of the hardships that were encountered by two men looking for work. These men were George Milton and Lennie Small. George was "small and quick and hard of the face, and had sharp strong features" (9). Lennie was the opposite a " huge man, shape less of a face, with large, pale eyes, with wide sloping shoulders" (9). While the simple minded and powerful Lennie tries to keep out of trouble at the ranch, he worries about how George may get angry at him if he makes a blunder. Curly, the boss's son, is a trouble maker and pressures Lennie into fighting him which he does and pays the price. In addition, Lennie ends up killing Curley's wife, thus leading to the death of Lennie. George shoots him utilitarianly, which means he did it to bring safety to anyone who may have encountered him. With Lennies death George hoped to maximize happiness for the greatest number of people. Their dream once of having their own ranch died with Lennie.
Perhaps the biggest influence in Steinbeck’s writing can be seen from his experiences of the Great Depression while he lived in California. Before Steinbeck made his living as a writer, he would experience the world from various points of views as he worked jobs such as a surveyor, bricklayer, ranch hand, and a store clerk (John Steinbeck). Seeing the world from the perspective of a hard laborer allowed Steinbeck to form his initial views that would become the basis for his early stories. The crisis that grasped California during 1930-1936 was the Dust Bowl, which according to a website dedicated to the great depression states “a million acres of farmland across the Plains became worthless due to severe drought and overfarming” (Causes of). Because of the despairing situation, Steinbeck was able to experience the severity first hand on many occasions.
John Steinbeck was an American writer born in Salinas, California, not far from the story’s setting. His father operated a flour mill and served as county treasurer; his mother was a schoolteacher (Bloom). The family was devoted to education; reading and books were essential to family life. Steinbeck’s early material was often rejected; he pursued his vocation with indefatigable tenacity (Swisher).
Steinbeck grew up in the Salinas Valley, California. He always lived in the same house growing up. He often locked himself in his bedroom to write poems and stories. He was shy but smart. It was at the age of fourteen that he decided to become a writer.
In a society, everyone has dreams and hopes for their future, but they may not always come true. John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is an insightful story that embodies an important message about human desires. Dreams and hopes will be shattered in the face of reality. The relationships between the two main characters, George and Lennie, as well as the character of Curley’s wife’s, support this them. The message can also be seen through the use of setting and symbols in the text.