The book “Who Moved My Cheese?” (Johnson, 1998) is an allegory of how people react to change. The story is of how two mice, Sniff and Scurry, and two littlepeople, Hem and Haw react to life in the “Maze” in their search for “cheese.” The “cheese” is a metaphor for the things that we want in our lives. For different people this represents different things they seek to make them satisfied. “The “Maze” in the story represents where you spend time looking for what you want” (Johnson, 1998, p.14). Johnson establishes the setting of the story in the maze, a complex, extensive, and daunting place. The cheese is located in Cheese Stations in various locations in the maze. The cheese comes in a variety of quantities and qualities representing that, while what we search for in life has common elements, we each search for our own type of satisfaction. The characters in the story are initially paired up in their adventures in the maze. The mice, Sniff and Scurry, are simple characters representing simplistic and instinctive human traits. They maintain their partnership throughout the story. Sniff is the mouse that monitors his environment constantly and rapidly identifies change. Scurry is the mouse that scurries into motion when his partner Sniff identifies change or possible paths to new cheese. The mice are always ready to move on to find new cheese. Johnson depicts the mice two-dimensionally as instinctive and emotionless except in their satisfaction in finding their cheese. In contrast, the littlepeople represent the complex aspects of human behavior. Johnson depicts the littlepeople as having complex emotions and thoughts which interfere with their ability find new cheese and tell when their cheese in going stale.... ... middle of paper ... ...as a wonderful example of how to deal with change. While the character offering the most food for thought is Haw, on his path to enlightenment, there are lessons offered by all the characters. Johnson portrays the littlepeople in a fairly negative light in the opening of the story. Still, there is something to be said for relaxing and enjoying your cheese when you find it. The danger here is complacency. The mice offer the lessons of awareness of your environment, readiness, and the necessity to act on change. The danger here is in acting on instinct without thinking. The author feels there are a variety of valuable lessons for dealing with change in all of the characters: there is a time to lead; there is a time to follow; always be aware of change; prepare for change; evaluate change; when the time is right, act on change; and lastly, enjoy the journey.
Steinbeck uses the text Of Mice And Men to emphasise the importance of persistence in situations of struggle, however the main message sent forth by Steinbeck is mainly showing how persistence affects opinions and actions that span over time which is shown many times in the text. Such as when George and Lennie are conversing at the green lake on their way to the ranch and George begins to explain their dream which results in “... Lennie’s face broke into a delighted smile” (5). This shows how Persistence and adaptation can affect situations, because if George was made unable to adapt or remain persistent the conversation would have kept a more intense or serious tone instead of changing into a upbeat or happy conversation which results in Lennie
“Of mice and men” is about people who are lonely, sad and in search of
In Of Mice and Men, the author attempts to portray the hardships that a man attempts to face yet fails to withstand. Set in the post-depression era, the book depicts the harsh truth of the
“What you want of a dead mouse, anyways? I could pet it with my thumb while we walk along” (Steinbeck 6). George and Lennie are migrant workers and they travel around looking for new jobs after each season. Lennie has a disability that we don’t know about, George helps Lennie through his problems. They start to save their money to get a farm and some animals like rabbits. Throughout the story Lennie’s disability starts to affect him more and more in a bad way. The four ways of the central message of this story are George takes care of Lennie, Lennie’s memory affects his actions, Lennis disability misinterpreted by others, and Lennie’s disability affects his thinking.
Many critics consider the novel, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck, as one of the greatest short works of fiction. I think this was a great novel with amazing detail. It has certain qualities and themes such as these: the importance of relationships, responsibility to others, the nature of home, respect for old age, the difference between right and wrong, and the evil of oppression and abuse. We can learn from these themes and see how we use it in our lives. By using examples from the book as well we can see how this happens more clearly.
During a time of hardship or of economic difficulties, each person draws back into their personal space and takes no notice of others. Ignorance often leads to misunderstandings. In John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men, two men went go a new farm in search of new opportunities and a chance to fulfill their dream. Of Mice and Men is also a heartbreaking story of how such misunderstandings can lead to unfortunate events. John Steinbeck uses a disapproving voice to criticize the mistreatment of social rejects and show that misunderstanding can lead to adverse outcomes.
Of Mice and Men tells exactly the relationship between the two central characters, their friendship and their shared dream. These two men are very different, but they come together, stay together, and support each other in a world full of people.
‘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.
In my opinion, Lennie Small is the most interesting character in Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck does a very good job describing and characterizing Lennie's personality. Lennie's character is, indeed, quite unique. A large man with enormous strength, yet kind and childlike, he seems to find joy in simple life pleasures like petting a furry animal and making the water ripple. Lennie's greatest difficulty seems to be remembering; and it is the lack of the ability to remember that ultimately leads to his tragedy at the end of the book. In the novel, Steinbeck seems to reinforce Lennie's characteristics of strength, kindness, childlike manner, and somewhat animal-like personality. In this paper, I will focus on these characteristics.
“Of Mice and Men”, by John Steinbeck is a novel about the hardships of life and the importance of having other people around. The story is of two men trying to survive with one another in a world full of loneliness; their relationship is quite rare and strange. Lennie, a large bear, has a mental disability which causes him to be in a childlike state. George, a much smaller and more competent man takes care of both of them. Although they work for others on ranches, their dream is to get by on their own and live off the land. However, Lennie’s state causes conflict as they travel from job to job. Steinbeck uses clever ways in his novel to develop his theme and characters as the story progresses; both of these elements also help create a large
In conclusion the characters in the book Of Mice and Men are really poor communicators because they can't talk to each other in a descent manner. Because they can't talk properly the characters in the book are mean, unsure of themselves and what they want, disrespectful to themselves and others, and which leads them jump to conclusions really quickly. If these characters were even half way descent then they are now I am sure that they would have fewer conflicts. This just goes to show you that communication is a key aspect in life and it can go a long way. It also shows you communication is the single most important thing in life.
The characteristics of mice are simple and feebleminded. A mouse is helpless, timid and oblivious. Few characters in Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men possess such characteristics. Throughout the novel, Lennie exhibits the qualities associated with mice.
The story begins with a for the most part regular mouse. Like most mice he is “Busy with Mice things”. However just shortly into the story you find that he is anything but normal when he begins to hear a “Roaring” in his ears. Others however ignore this saying “Are you foolish in your head? What sound?”. He tries to convince the other mice, but they are too closed minded to listen to him. These mice, to me represent my peers that are unwilling to take the time to look at the bigger picture around them. I myself am happy and content with my own little world. The story made me think about what I’m missing out on in life by being confined to my little box of thinking, that is my so-called life.
Both “To a Mouse” and Of Mice and Men are very interesting and intriguing well-developed works by two distinctly different authors. The authors have different writing styles, as well as different ways of formatting their works. However, they share the same message. This message is that no matter what one does to prepare, they should always have a Plan B. Things can and often do go awry. By comparing both subjects, the reader can gain a better understanding of the similarities and differences between the two. They also learn precisely why the inquisitive author Steinbeck found inspiration in Burns’ detailed and symbolic poem.
Who Moved My Cheese?, by Spencer Johnson, is a parable that shows how individuals deal with change differently. In this story the four characters, two mice named Sniff and Scurry and two little people, about the size of mice, named Hem and Haw. These four are in a maze searching for cheese; the cheese is a metaphor for the things that make feel complete. The maze represents the environment such as the earth, employment, home, family, or whatever is associated with the change.