John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men

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Clinging together in the face of lonliness and alienation, George and Lennie desperately seek to escape their poverty, and strive to transform their chimerical dream into a reality. This heartfelt dream is what sets George and Lennie aside from the other men, yet ironically it is so easily shattered. Throughout the book Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, copious comparisons to animals are stated, signifying that their antagonistic way of life was not suitable for humans; This animal imagery helps elucidate the somewhat abstract ideals and character traits present in the text. Lennie’s demeanor is compared to many animals, Lennie’s death is compared to the death of Curly’s dog, and even the end of George’s and Lennie’s dream is represented by a heron and the snake.

To thoroughly describe Lennie’s bizarre disposition, Steinbeck compares him to a bear, horse, terrier, and a bull. Large and capable of violence, yet clueless and tender like a bear Lennie is totally unpredictable at times. Lennie is also similar to a bear in that his hands are huge like bear paws, and in the closing of the story he is said to “Creep as silently as a bear would.” Snorting into the water, Lennie reminds George of a horse. Similarly to how Lennie is compared to bear, he is said to be as strong as a bull; Lennie is also reluctant like a terrier who does not want to bring a ball to his master, but Lennie finally gives George his mouse. The brilliantly cryptic foreshadowing of Lennie’s death is told through the shooting of Candy’s dog. Candy’s dog is old and is not useful any more, so therefore the men in the bunk house want to dispose of him. Forcing the reluctant Candy to let them kill his dog was an arduous task, but the insistent nagging finally makes Candy capitulate his old dog to them. The dog is not only unsuspecting, but also helpless to the bullet that passes through the base of his skull killing him in an instant though without pain. Analogously Lennie is killed the same way, and even though George is reluctant, he knows that it is his obligation kill Lennie. Probably the most tragic point in the story is the realization that George and Lennie’s dream will not come true. A little snake slithering in the pool of water, totally unsuspecting his fate, is suddenly swallowed by a heron looking to satisfy his hunger.

Motif And Pattern In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
442 Words | 1 Pages
Peter Lisca’s analysis on “Motif and Pattern in Of Mice and Men” clarifies that Steinbeck’s misunderstood usage of symbols, actions, and language convey motifs and patterns that connects the beginning of the book to the end. Lisca implies that the first and primary usage of symbolism was the area near the river where the story initiated and ended. He insinuates that the cave that Lennie mentioned twice and the river George ordered Lennie to visit when in danger symbolizes as “a safe place” and innocence while becoming “translated into terms possible in the real world” (Lisca 1). In addition, Lisca also advocates that the rabbits serve as symbols to dramatize Lennie’s devotion for his safe place, but also to “define the basis of what desire on a very low level” (Lisca 2).
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John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men
413 Words | 1 Pages
The book that I have read that has really stayed with me is Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.
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Lennie dreams of living on a wide open ranch with George where he tends to the fluffy little rabbits he loves so much. Nevertheless, Lennie sadly never reaches his ultimate goal as his flaw finally becomes his fatal flaw. Lennie kills Curley 's wife by shaking her so hard that her neck breaks. He does not kill her on purpose but Lennie does not know his own strength. He is only shaking her like that because he wants her to stop yelling. Curley 's wife observes that Lennie is "jus ' like a big baby" (Steinbeck 99) and invites him to stroke her soft hair. Lennie begins to feel her hair and likes it very much indeed, which leads him to pet it too hard. When she started to complain, he panicked and started to try to silence her. He was afraid that George would not let him be part of the dream anymore if Curley 's wife got mad at what he did. So he 's shaking her to try to protect his part in the dream but he kills her and the dream too. Lennie observes that he has "done a bad thing" (Steinbeck 100) and covers her body with hay. Lennie is hiding in the brush where George had told him to hide when he got into trouble. George finally emerges to get Lennie while he is an emotional mess. He then tells Lennie to take off his hat as he continues to recount "how it will be" (Steinbeck 104) for them. He orders Lennie to kneel and pulls out Carlson 's Luger. As the voices of the other men in the search party near their location, George tells Lennie one more time "about the rabbits,"(Steinbeck 106) tells Lennie that they 're going to get the farm right away, and shoots his companion in the back of the
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Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
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Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Hopes and Dreams Help People to Survive, Even if they can Never. Become Real How is this true for George and Lennie/ the characters in ‘Of Mice and the.. Men’. An important theme in ‘Of Mice and Men’ is that of hope and dreams. The main dream is that of George and Lennie to own a smallholding and work self-sufficiently.
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By then there was no more land to be claimed and America had built up
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1369 Words | 3 Pages
Life is not a bed of roses. People use this expression to stress the fact that there are and will be difficulties in life. John Steinbeck, in his novella Of Mice and Men, does not fall short of the same views. It takes place in the year 1937, a period associated with the Great Depression, and illustrates the hardships of the time, and more so those that laborers such as George and Lennie experience. Life proves to be full of disappointments for both men who are victims of harsh circumstances in more ways than one. The two have a dream to own a farm of their own but circumstance and fate robs them of their dream for a better life. This is a depiction of the lost American Dream during the Great Depression which lasts between 1929 up to the 1940s. The poem titled “This Is Not The Life” further depicts the hardships found in life. It clearly portrays the uncertainty and struggle associated with living during the Great Depression. Thus, both the novella and the poem explain that human dreams for a great future are subject to circumstance and fate, which most of the time collude against human success in life leaving only a trace of broken dreams, pain and misery.
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Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
9607 Words | 20 Pages
dream; that one day they may buy a farm, and Lennie will be able to
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Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
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What is it that makes people want to scream, or snap at anyone who tries to talk to them when they are lonely? How can prolonged loneliness change a person? In John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, several characters face this problem. The story is about two men, living in Salinas Valley during the Great Depression. The two men, George Milton and Lennie Small, travel from ranch to ranch as migrant workers looking for work, after having to leave their previous job due to Lennie getting in trouble with the law. George has made many sacrifices for Lennie, but anything is better than the loneliness they see in other ranch workers. Steinbeck argues that when people are lonely, they become mean, and act in desperation.
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Of Mice And Men
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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.
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817 Words | 2 Pages
has the mental age of a child and does not see the reason why George
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Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
1139 Words | 3 Pages
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck George and Lennie are examples of'migrant' or 'itinerant' farm. workers who fuelled and made possible the intensive farming economy. These men would travel great distances, however they could, often by foot, or by the empty boxcars that were later used to carry the grain. they helped to farm. They would receive $2.50 - $3.00 a day, plus. board, which meant food and a room.
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Of Mice of Men
492 Words | 1 Pages
Lennie accidentally killing all of his pets establishes that the theme of this novel is death and loss. These pets consist of mice, dogs, kittens, etc. Lennie loves to feel and pet animals, but he does not know his own strength. He kills them without really noticing what he has done, until George tells him that he did something wrong. After being scolded, Lennie is very remorseful about what he did. Once, after being yelled at Lennie says, “I pinched their heads a little and then they was dead- because they were so little (13).” Lennie’s remorse is probably more for upsetting George than it is for actually killing the animal.
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1096 Words | 3 Pages
This is a novella written by John Steinbeck in 1937, about two men that lived during the depression. They were migrant workers, who wanted to buy a farm. ()
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Child's Dream In Of Mice And Men By John Steinbeck
809 Words | 2 Pages
Since the beginning of the book, Steinbeck characterizes Lennie as a man who sees the world through the perspective of a child, as if it is a dream. Lennie is a big guy, but he acts like a baby. In the beginning of the story, after George threw the dead mouse Lennie was petting, Lennie was “…‘Blubberin’ like a baby!” (9). This juvenile action demonstrates Lennie’s immaturity and childish
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John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men
678 Words | 2 Pages
Man needs companionship and has difficulty maintaining it because no humans think the exact same or have the exact same beliefs. To maintain a companion you must have things in common, you must be able to disagree with a sort of respectful understanding, and finally you must care legitimately about that person. These three requirements to preserve a companionship are at times arduous to keep true. Some people do not have the time, concern, or the ability to sustain a veritable friendship with a companion or companions.
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John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men

Motif And Pattern In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men