Of Mice And Men
The novel ‘Of mice and men’ is set in 1930’s America. The characters
suffer from this because of the Great Depression in 1929. This led to
many things, for example people losing their jobs. Because of this
factor the characters Lennie and George have to travel from place to
place looking for a job and a place to live. Also Woman and Black
rights did not exist as they were 2nd class citizens, Crook says to
Lennie “Why aint you wanted” ”Cause I’m black”, unlike contemporary
America. Also in the 1930’s people were discriminated against because
they were put before any other person wanting the job. I think the
differences between 1930’s America and today’s America shows
drastically in this novel by affecting the characters jobs and social
lives.
Lennie is a very interesting and important character in the novel; he
affects all the character but mostly George. He is very forgetful,
George says to Lennie “So you forgot that already did you!!!”
Steinbeck uses Lennies ‘forgetfulness’ as a way to kill Curley’s wife
without Lennie knowing. Also Lennie cannot take care of himself,
unlike today society cannot provide help for him and if left alone him
would slowly die. Also if he was left alone he would not be able to
get a job because he would be discriminated against, but with the help
of George he has a chance to work if he follows Georges rules, “If he
sees ya work before he sees ya talk, were set”. In this quote George
is telling Lennie what to do around the boss, Stienbeck makes it clear
in this quote how much discrimination there is in the 1930’s.
George, I think, is the main character in the novel, mainly because he
controls the book by helping and telling the characters what to do. He
teaches Lennie how to behave to other people, I think if Lennie
weren’t there, George would be depressed and lonely, although George
sometimes get annoyed with him, he thinks a lot of him and this is why
he was king enough to kindly kill him.
Candy is also an important character in this novel and I think she is
also very clever. “Everybody wants a bit of land, not much” she
understands what its like to live in a mans world.
Curley’s Wife is a very depressed character because she is a 2nd class
citizen and once had hopes of becoming famous, “he was gonna put me in
the movies”, her dream disappeared and is now the wife of Curley’s
wife and has no role and no job in the novel, she also wants children
George and Lennie were lifelong friends and had varying personalities even from the start. Lennie thought about how his Aunt Clara said he should have been more like George. At the time when the story took place, the two men were travelling together, and had been for some time, working and then moving on to search for the next job they could find. They were like many other men in search for work, except it was rare for men to travel together. George felt a need to take care of Lennie because he was somewhat slow. George was an average man of the time. He was a good size, nice, but firm, and he had aspirations to be more than just a nomadic laborer. Lennie, on the other hand, had always been a little different. He was big, goofy, clumsy, but sweet. They were also both good workers. George was concerned with working and getting his money before they got into trouble and had to leave camp. Lennie was the one who normally started the trouble. He was a hard worker and lived to appease George, but he got distracted easily which angered George. George told about how they would own a house and a farm together and work for themselves. Lennie loved to hear the story and think about the possibilities, even though nobody knew if any of it was a possibility. George and Lennie's differences in part led to George's inclination to kill Lennie. Despite their dissimilarity, the two men needed each other probably more than they realized.
Should George have shot his friend Lennie? George probably did the right thing by shooting Lennie. How can we condemn George for sparing his friend Lennie the pain and fear of being killed by someone else? He did something society sees as wrong, but he did it for a good reason. Lennie didn’t deserve to die, but there was no other alternative. Curley wanted to kill Lennie, and since George cared for Lennie, he figured the best thing would be for him to put Lennie out of his misery.
...ty that does not encourage that kind of behavior in women. During the novel she is told what to do, how to do it and at one point who to marry. She struggles with her growing unhappiness until she finally meets her true love.
The novel complicates its own understanding of women
Disappointment is someone being sad or mad about something they have done or failed to do. Disappointment can be caused by other people’s actions. In the book “Of Mice And Men” by John Steinbeck, the characters of Crooks, Candy, and Curly’s wife all suffer from disappointment of life. Crooks suffer from disappointment from how nobody wants to play or talk to him just because he is black. Also Curly’s Wife suffers because women don’t have that much of rights so she gets treated badly. Candy gets also treated badly because he is old and only has one hand to use so he can’t do that much work. All of the people in the book get treated badly because the book “Of Mice and Men” is made during the time period that the great depression was so there wasn’t that much of rights towards women and black people.
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.
Warren French writes, “The world just hasn’t been made right, so that dreams are the only things that can keep men going.” Agree or disagree with this statement.
The daily struggle of the working class, fear of loneliness and the reality of putting all your energy into plans that fail are the different themes relating to John Steinbeck's novel, "Of Mice and Men". The characters depicted by the author are individuals who are constantly facing one obstacle after another. The book illustrates different conflicts such as man versus society, man versus man, man versus himself and idealism versus reality. The book's backdrop is set in the Salinas, California during the depression. The two main characters include two men, George and Lennie. Supportive characters include a few ranch hands, Candy, Crooks, Curly, Slim and Carlson.
I have been analysing the novella ‘Of Mice and men’ by John Steinbeck, which was published in 1937. Steinbeck wrote the novel based on his own experiences as a bindle stiff in the 1920’s, around the same time when the great Wall Street crash happened, causing an immense depression in America. Throughout the novel he uses a recurring theme of loneliness in his writing, which may have reflected his own experiences at this time. This is evident in his writing by the way he describes the characters, setting and language in the novel.
The novel Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is about two ranch hands, George and Lennie. George is a small, smart-witted man, while Lennie is a large, mentally- handicapped man. They are trying to raise enough money to buy their own ranch, by working as ranch hands. During the setting of the story, they are at a ranch whose owner’s name is Curley. It is in this setting that the novel reveals that the main theme is death and loss.
The movie of Of Mice and Men had many differences while still giving the same message that the book was portrayed to have. One of the major differences was that Candy never came into the room when Lennie and Crooks were talking to each other. This was major because Crooks never found out that the plan was true about the little house. In the book after he heard Candy talk about it he wanted to get in on the deal. Also the movie it never showed Lennie have his illusions of his Aunt Carla and the rabbits when he was waiting by the pond.
unlikable character that one finds it hard to believe that she would marry him for anything
Lennie to take care of. The next day George convinces the farm boss to hire
The psychological approach views literature through the lens of psychology. There are multiple approaches to the psychological aspect of literature but the two most recognized are the Freudian and Jungian approach. The best approach to use when critically analyzing the novel Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, is the Jungian approach. Because the novel’s main theme is a struggle with the idea of “self”, using this approach allows the reader to understand the main character, its influences, and ultimately his actions.
... his uncle would still be alive, and he would still have a best friend.