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Analysis of the main themes in of mice and men from the perspective of
An Analysis of the Theme of the Novel of Mice and Men
John Steinbeck talking about mice and men
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“The right choice is hardly ever the easiest choice”, is a memorable line by author Rick Riordan that may seem like a simple quote, but in actuality can demonstrate one 's character by his/her choices. In John Steinbeck’s, Of Mice And Men, a story of two men, George Milton and Lennie Small, during the 1930s who are migrant ranch workers struggling just as many are during the Depression. George cares for Lennie since he has an intellectual disability and would have no one else to care for him. Lennie finds himself in an egregious situation in which he accidentally takes the life of Curley’s wife. Curley, the son of George and Lennie’s employer, seeks revenge and begins to pursue Lennie with a lynch mob. George is then faced with an arduous situation Curley, infuriated by Lennie’s actions, sets out to find him and have him lynched. George, armed and ready to make a grueling decision, beats Curley and the other men to Lennie. George then shoots Lennie in the back of the head, saving him from being killed by Curley’s lynch mob. George not only saves him from a worse fate, he allows Lennie to be put in a peaceful state of mind before death. George states, “You… an’ me. Everybody gonna be nice to you. Ain’t gonna be no more trouble”(106). The last subject on Lennie’s mind is his aspiration to tend the rabbits on a piece of land that George and he would own. George allows Lennie to be taken from the earth in a painless, peaceful manner which further proves George is right to act and kill Lennie George chooses to bear the burden of taking another’s life which is not an easy task. George makes his decision based on what is best for Lennie, not what is best for himself. “George shivered and looked at the gun, and then he threw it from him, back up on the bank”(106). Immediately, it is clear that George is stunned at what he has done and is at a loss for words. Slim and the rest of the men show up in an instant. George explains in a somber tone to the men what he had just done. Slim commiserates with George and he realizes how difficult of a choice this was for George to make. Slim says, “Come on, George. Me an’ you’ll go in an’ get a drink”(107). By going and getting something to drink, the alcohol will help George deal with the loss of his best friend. Sometimes the right choice is not always the easiest choice as demonstrated by
Slims character is one important way I saw George's actions were justified. Slim is the person that showed us why George should have done what he did. “ I guess we gotta get ’I'm” slim repeated” (97).
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.
Tragedy in life can be used to demonstrate the ultimate display of compassion and love, which truly demonstrates the qualities of men. In life people create attachments and bonds, craving companionship over isolated individualism. There is a endless cycle and chain of events that cause the annihilation of bounds which leads to tragedies bringing sadness. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck focuses the reader 's attention on the bond between two individuals George and Lennie, who are running from past experiences trying to start anew chasing their American Dream unaware of what 's lurking ahead. Through craftsmanship, nature, transnational connections, evocative imagery, and symbolism, Steinbeck exhibits the cyclic journey in life, in which Lennie
George and Lennie have a final conversation, they talk about their dream, the acres they were going to own, the rabbits, all of it. George has Lennie look towards the stream away from the brush, and as he does, George slowly raises a gun to the back of Lennie’s head. Hesitantly, he pulls the trigger, and Lennie dies instantly. The other men soon arrive after hearing the gun shot, and Slim leads George towards the highway, and keeps telling him that George had to pull the trigger.
George realizes what he must do, as Lennie's friend he comforts Lennie by telling him, he is not mad at him and about their dream of having there own house and rabbits, and how they will one day “ live on the fatta the lan” Then …………….finally george does what he must do¨ and george raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it to the back of lennie's head. The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger. The crash of the shot rolled up the hills and rolled down again. Lennie jarred, and then settled slowly forward in the sand, and lay without quivering.¨ george may not have wanted to kill lennie but he knew that he had to or else curly or carlson would have and he wanted to let lennie die by his hand instead of one of theirs.
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.
“Of Mice and Men” is a 1930’s novella written by the American, John Steinbeck. It is a tale not only of isolation and loneliness, violence, dreams, and the competitive urge to dominate others, but also a tale of the journey of true companionship. True companionship is emphasized by indescribable loyalty and extreme devotion between two men, George and Lennie, during the hardships of the Great Depression. The story takes place south of Soledad, California during the 1930s and is told from the perspective of a third-person omniscient narrator. The story’s genre is fiction and tragedy; a tragedy so well crafted by John Steinbeck, that the conclusion leaves the reader questioning the inherent contradictions in both loyalty and devotion. George shows extreme devotion and loyalty to Lennie, serving as Lennie’s “guardian angel” – sticking up for him and staying with him in difficult situations, which eventually leads to heartbreaking sacrifices.
In 1935, his novel Tortilla Flat established him as a popular and critical success but unfortunately his parents died before he achieved his first success.
This is the main conflict. As the two men move throughout the novel, it is apparent they are clinging together in the face of loneliness and alienation. George and Lennie are insecure, with no permanent jobs, no real home, and separated from their families. Also, in the end, it was society which leads to George into killing Lennie. After Lennie gets into the debacle with Curley’s wife, he runs to the oasis described at the beginning of the book. George fears the men will tear Lennie apart and murder him. He also knew he would be institutionalized, or “caged” if he survived the attacks. He had the moral clarity that lets him see that killing Lennie is the what is best for him. When George kills Lennie, it’s a kind of mercy killing. It’s clear that killing Lennie is the right thing to do, and George is manning up by pulling the trigger. We know this because Steinbeck gives a contrasting example of Candy, who says that he "shouldn 't ought to of let no stranger shoot [his] dog" (39). Second, Slim says, "You hadda, George. I swear you hadda" (107), and Slim is the novel 's ideal man. His Struggles against society carry on even after Lennie’s death. He now faces living alone without friendship or hope. It is also the death of his dream; owning a shack on an acre of land that they can call their own.
George kills Lennie. This quote by Candy inspired George to kill Lennie, instead of allowing
George discovers Lennie in the spot that he told Lennie to run to when trouble comes about on the farm. George and Lennie talk and Lennie tells George to not be anger at him for he meant no trouble. George says he understands and Lennie asks if he could still care for the rabbits on the new farm. George agrees and begins to describe the dream farm to Lennie. While talking, George shots Lennie in the head. The lynch party hears the shot and finds George with Lennie’s dead body. When the other men arrive, George lets them think that he was forced to kill Lennie because Lennie attack him. Slim consoles George, understanding that Lennie’s attack on George never happened, knowing that George killed his friend out of mercy. Slim and George leave while the other man stand looking at Lennie’s body.
John Steinbeck, the author of the novel Of Mice and Men uses many stylistic devices and description in chapter one to give the reader a deeper understanding of what may occur throughout the novel. Firstly, the name of the city the two protagonists, Lennie and George, are heading to is called “Soledad,” which means loneliness in Spanish; this is symbolism and foreshadowing because it can mean that as they get closer to the city, their relationship as friends may deteriorate and they may end up alone towards the end. Furthermore, this could also mean that there can be major problems in further chapters because of Lennie’s unpredictable behaviour due to his mental disabilities. In relation to Robert Burns’s poem, “To a Mouse,” the author may be
George and Lennie were as close as brothers, wishing to purchase a ranch and live independently. However, Lennie carried a mental disability, not knowing how to control his own strength, which caused him to do “bad things”. These bad things result in both men constantly on the run from authority. Lennie eventually makes a fatal mistake, strangling the boss’s wife, Curley. In the end, George must decide between taking Lennie’s life or letting him live. He peacefully shoots Lennie in the back of the head. George’s decision to kill Lennie was moral because it put Lennie out of misery and harm’s way.
John Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’ is a social commentary on the reality of life in the 1930s. During the Great Depression many people were left unemployed and homeless. Due to this, the concept of the American Dream became even more idealized. Steinbeck uses characters and events that take place in the novella to display his views not only towards the American Dream but also the social ills of the era.