Of Mice and Men Literary Analysis
The world is plagued by inequality, whether social or economical, but still, Americans live in one of the most equal and forgiving times in our human history. Compared to our past, never before have races, genders, and people with disabilities been so caring to one another. When John Steinbeck originally published his novella Of Mice and Men however, it was the late 1930’s. America was stuck in the great depression, and people still judged each other by the differences in the color of our skin, gender, and our ability to think. Through John Steinbeck’s writing in this novella, he suggests that humans should not be confined by other people’s perceptions of them. This theme is shown through his characters of
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In the opening chapters of this novella, the reader finds out that Lennie and his traveling partner George had just left a town called Weed due to Lennie wanting to feel a woman’s red, silk dress. The woman claimed that Lennie had attempted to rape her and the authorities started to chase both of the men. Although George later states that Lennie is in no way mean and never intended to hurt the woman, you can tell that this constant misunderstanding and judging of Lennie due to his size and strength has happened before and is the main cause in why they can not hold a consistent job: “’Course he ain’t mean. But he gets in trouble alla time because he’s so god damn dumb. Like what happened in Weed-”(41 Steinbeck). When Lennie broke Curley’s hand he was very upset. He never wanted to hurt anyone or cause any trouble, but he was scared when Curley was beating him up and turned to George for instruction, as he always does. When George told him to fight …show more content…
All the men at the ranch think Curley’s wife is flirting with everyone because she is a tease and is trying to get Curley mad at them so that they get fired, but really, she is just lonely: “Well, I aint’ no trouble. Think I don’t like to talk to somebody ever’ once in a while?”(77). Also, many of the men think that she is just another woman who married a rich man solely for his money, but in reality, Curley was just her second option: “I tell you I ain’t used to livin’ like this. I coulda made somethin’ of myself.” (88). Curley’s wife thought that she had an opportunity to go to Hollywood and become a big movie star, but she never received the invitation to come that the other actor had promised, so she had to settle with marrying Curley so that she had food on the table. Finally, when Curley’s wife dies, Steinbeck writes that her meanness, discontent, ache for attention and all of her other negative qualities seem to leave her face (92). This seems to imply that there was much more to her than what was on the surface or what others perceived her as being. Due to the men’s assumptions about Curley’s wife, we never get to fully understand who she is or why she decided to do the things that she did. We only partially get to see her true feelings and personality, a lonely girl whose dreams were taken away from her and was forced to settle for second
As we journey through life, we must make difficult decisions, even when few options exist and the situation is grim. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the decision George faces after Lennie accidentally kills Curley’s wife is complicated, as none of his choices are good. The importance of his relationship with Lennie forces George to look at the big picture and act in Lennie’s best interests, even though the action he must finally take will result in a weight that he will carry forever.
John Steinbeck explores human experience in the novella ‘Of Mice and Men’ in friendship, loneliness and marginalisation. He does this through the characters as explained thought the paragraphs below.
Several characters in the novel Of Mice and Men are presented with additional obstacles throughout the book. Whether because of color, sex, or disabilities, John Steinbeck purposefully did this to illustrate oppression. Of Mice and Men explores the effects of systemic oppression on women, African-Americans, and people with disabilities.
An’ what am I doin’? Standin’ here talkin’ to a bunch of bindle stiffs-a nigger an’ a dum-dum and a lousy ol’ sheep-an’ likin’ it because they ain’t nobody else.” ” To sum it up, Curley’s wife feels like she’s hit rock-bottom because she is so lonesome to the point where she is willing to talk to the misfits of the ranch because she has absolutely no one else, besides Curley who neglects her, to talk to. This makes Curley’s wife come off as a mean person, but in reality she’s probably only acting like this because she’s in a constant state of solitude, thanks to Curley.
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.
Steinbeck also presents another view of Curley’s wife. In his omniscient description [form: overall writing technique] of her, he writes that she ‘bridles a little’ at Lennie’s attention; she is metaphorically shying away from the fixated attention. Steinbeck also unobtrusively mentions that she is a ‘girl’; both these observations suggest her innocence and vulnerability.
Curley’s wife’s femininity may be seen as her greatest weakness or flaw to most, but she rapidly discovers that it is also her only weapon on the ranch and learns to use it to her advantage. Therefore, she puts up an alluring and sultry front in an attempt to receive attention, because she is aware that none of the men on the farm respect her because of her position as a woman. The men's blatant lack of respect for her belittles the miniscule amount of power she has acquired
Curley’s wife is probably the most loathed on the ranch. The way she looks and acts leads other characters in the novel to see her as a “tart”. George makes his opinions clear just after he first met her “Jesus, what a tramp”, and “So that’s what Curley picks for a wife”. She just wants some one to talk to. Males on the ranch don’t like her because they think she will get them into trouble. They make judgments without getting to know her first. They judge a book by its cover. Curley, her husband doesn’t trust her with the other ranch hands. She was just out of place on the ranch, and because of that, must have been a really lonely person with lonely feelings.
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 describes Curley's Wife as a very friendly young women. For example, when Steinbeck describes her when she says, “She put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward” (31). When reading this, one can learn that Curley’s Wife is a very friendly women who is just looking for someone to talk to. She is forced to live on the farm and needs to find something to do, or someone to talk to while she is stuck there.
We learn from an early age “never judge a book by it’s cover”. In of Mice and Men we are forced to learn that lesson all over again. Through the use of ambiguous descriptions and the often evasive rhetoric between the characters Steinbeck forces us to look deeper into our perceptions of right, wrong, and the varing shades of gray. Steinbeck uses his creativity and knowledge of writing to show us you can use things such as characters and setting to give an example of a topic.
The first description of Curley’s Wife states that she gives multiple ranch workers “the eye” despite being “married two weeks.” From this we can instantly deduce that she is somewhat of a “tart” however if we evaluate further this could explain that she is lonely and not content with her new husband. The fact that she is giving other ranch workers “the eye” despite being married makes us feel no sympathy for her and instantly portrays her as endeavouring and potentially dangerous, although, on the other hand we can understand her restriction by Curley which makes us feel sympathy.
Steinbeck displays, Curley’s wife as more of an object to the men at the ranch. He conveys this idea through the description of her appearance. When Steinbeck introduces the reader and George and Lennie to Curley’s wife he takes a long time to describe her. “She had full rouged lips and wide spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her finger nails were red “. This quotation suggests that Curley’s wife is an object to men in society and that she is as worth as much as she is wearing. Not only does Steinbeck describe her appearance he also describes her actions when on the ranch and talking to the men. He does this to show the awareness that the men have towards her. “She puts her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward”. A lot of the men on the ranch try to ignore and do not want to start a conversation with her but through Steinbeck’s description of her actions the reader can see that she craves attention from the men on the
Men, Steinbeck’s character’s life is dependent on the assumptions made about him. Of Mice and Men tells the story of two men with opposite character who face the hardships and reality of
Throughout Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck displays how isolation through sexism and racism causes one to crave attention, and he helps the reader to understand the problems in society about racism and sexism through portraying Curley’s Wife and Crooks both craving attention in their own ways and experiencing various setbacks.