“To a Mouse” by Robert Burns events and purposes relate to Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. The connection between the title for the book Of Mice and Men, and the actual storyline demonstrates a poem written by poet Robert Burns. Of Mice and Men, written by Steinbeck to represent human life during that period of time, the great depression, and what people had to do to survive during that period of time. The connections between each story help you comprehend the novel better. The connection between the two poems intertwine them for these various reasons. Most notably, dreams that that no longer can happen, power/strength, powerlessness/weakness, and the inability to predict the future intertwines these two stories. First, Lennie and George's …show more content…
For example, in the “To a Mouse” “I'm truly sorry Man's dominion “Has broken Nature's social union, An' justifies that ill opinion, Which makes thee startle, At me, thy poor, earth-born companion, An' fellow-mortal!”(online) This quote apologizes for what the mouse has to go through and how terrible mankind treats others and this demonstrates powerlessness. The speaker apologies a great deal to the mouse about how mankind disrupted the little mouse's home and interfered with nature. Not to mention, this demonstrates an example of powerlessness because both the mouse and farmer will eventually die on the same planet(earth) and that shows how they tie together which relays powerlessness. In Of Mice and Men Lennie has enormous power, but does not recognize how to control it. For example, Lennie kills the puppy and mice by just petting them. “Why do you got to get killed? You ain’t so little as mice. I didn’t bounce you hard.”(85) This quote by Lennie, in Of Mice and Men. Lennie fully expresses how he did not mean to kill the puppy, but once again he shows powerlessness by not understanding his full strength. George protects Lennie because Lennie does not comprehend how to control his own strength which indicates why George kills Lennie to protect Lennie from killing others in the future. Furthermore, this resembles the same situation for two more characters of …show more content…
“The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men Gang aft agley.” Demonstrated as the inability to predict the future, this quote from “To a mouse” by Burns shows a major theme seen throughout Steinbeck’s novel. “To a mouse” displays a mouse who built a nest a field for the long winter that the farmer destroyed and the mouse does not own a home and it faces death. The mouse's dream resembles Lennie and George’s dream of a farm of their own, although this dream ends because the murder of Curley’s wife. This compares Candy’s dream as well. Like the mouse whose nest winds up dismantled, the men’s dream of owning their own farm and tending the rabbits(Lennie) dismally ends. Many other characters in Of Mice and Men dreams can no longer take effect. Candy dreamed of owning his own home, yet his dream got crushed when Curley’s wife got murdered by Lennie, and Curley’s wife dreamed of fame, nethertheless she never got the call back. In addition, Curley’s wife entered the barn just as Lennie buried his dead puppy this displays fate, which stems out of anyone’s control coming back to the powerlessness and dreams crushed. Not only the future unpredictable, however life portrayed as delicate, and how dreams end
The authors John Steinbeck and Robert Burns approach their ideas in very different ways, while having the same themes the reader comprehends key concepts in a different light. Throughout the short story “Of Mice and Men” and the poem “To a Mouse” the theme of hope is a key concept, even though while in both stories their hope did not bring them their happiness, friendship brought them together. Correspondingly while having similar themes of friendship, loneliness, and hope, this all takes place in different settings with different characters.
In the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Steinbeck illustrates the dreams of George,Lennie, and other characters and how these dreams are unrealistic and unattainable .Their dreams were the reason that these characters kept moving forward but because of difficult circumstances the dreams of George,Lennie,Candy and Curley's wife are shattered , they knew that their dream was never really attainable but they still had hope but because they were so greatly impacted by Lennies actions their dreams are never accomplished.
To the average reader, “To a Mouse” by Robert Burns and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck may initially look very similar, but after carefully critiquing and comparing their abundance of differences, their opinion will change. Steinbeck found his inspiration for writing the novel after reading that poem. His novel is set in Salinas, CA during the 1900s and is about migrant farm wrokers while the poem is about the guilt felt by one man after he inadvertently ruins the “home” of a field mouse with his plow. Even though they are two different genres of literature, they share a similar intent. The poem is written in first person, while the novel is written in third person omniscient. The vocabulary used to provide imagery is also another subtle different. Being two different genres of literature, they are destined to have both differences and similarities, but the amount of differences outweighs the aspects that are the same.
Candy and George have just found Curley’s wife's body. Candy asks George if their farm dream can still happen, but George says that the dream was going to fail anyways. Steinbeck writes, “I think I knowed from the very first. I think I knowed we’d never do her. He usta like to hear about it so much, I got to thinking maybe we would” (Steinbeck 94). The farm dream means quite a bit to everyone considering it means security from the harsh world they live in. for Crooks it means respect and equality, for Candy it means security for his age, and for George and Lennie it means security from Lennie getting in trouble, and financial stability. Even though all these people are rooting for this dream, it still ends up failing. Curley’s wife is also an example of dreams failing. She could have been in the movies, but sadly her overbearing mother forces her to stay home. She then makes her situation worse by marrying Curley. Even though she works for that dream, it still fails. The reasoning behind both of these dreams failing is completely due to circumstance, which makes it even more tragic. None of the characters can stop the dreams from falling, which means it's more likely that other dreams in the future can end the same way. Every dream that a main character has in “Of Mice And Men” ends up failing, making “dreams often fail” a major
Burns, Robert. “To A Mouse.” Poets.org. The Academy of American Poets, Inc., n.d. Web. 14
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.
Strengths and Weaknesses play a huge roll within the story. Steinbeck explores different types of strength and weakness throughout the novel. As the novel begins, Steinbeck shows how Lennie possesses physical strength beyond his control, as when he cannot help killing the mouse. Great physical strength is valuable in George and Lennie's circumstances. Curley, as a symbol of authority on the ranch and a champion boxer, makes this clear immediately by using his brutish strength and violent temper to intimidate those who look down on him. Lennie means no harm at all. The reason why George and Lennie had to leave in the beginning of the novel was because it was believed that Lennie attempted to rape a woman there. Rape was not the case at all, when Lennie expressed his love for the touch of soft things, such as a dress or a mouse, this panicked the woman causing a chain reaction, and causing Lennie panic also. When Lennie accidentally kills the mouse, it foreshadows the future of Lennie and Curley's wife.
In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Lennie, George, and Crooks all had dreams in their lives, but due to social and economic obstacles, the probability of their dreams coming true was lower. Lennie, a main character, had a dream to tend rabbits on a ranch as he had an obsession with soft objects/animals. Lennie tries to achieve his dream by sticking with his friend George, and finding work to save up money. He is not successful, because he is killed at the end of the story, Lennie says, “It ain’t the same if I tell it. Go on.. George.
Everyone dreams about something. However, it is important to know when the right time to dream is, and when to wake up. A major theme that Steinbeck conveys in the book Of Mice and Men is the pursuit of the American Dream. The book tells the story of two men trying to earn a better life. Their American Dream was to get their own place somewhere and live together. Although, through the characterization of Lennie, the symbolism of rabbits, and the setting of the book, Steinbeck is trying to convey that people cannot continue to live in a dream.
In Of Mice and Men, it seems an incontrovertible law of nature that dreams should go unfulfilled. From George and Lennie’s ranch to Curley’s wife’s stardom, the characters’ most cherished aspirations repeatedly fail to materialize. However, the fact that they do dream—often long after the possibility of realizing those dreams has vanished—suggests that dreaming serves a purpose in their lives. What the characters ultimately fail to see is that, in Steinbeck’s harsh world, dreams are not only a source of happiness but a source of misery as well.
The theme that John Steinbeck amits from the novel Of Mice and Men is not everyone’s american dream can come true because one wants it to. This alludes to a famous poem by Robert Burns called “To a Mouse”. The theme of this poem is the greatest schemes of mice and men often go astray. Meaning that things do not always go as one plans it to. The novel is set in the Great Depression (1929-1939) in Southern California (near Soledad). Characters in the novel such as George and Crooks have obstacles that hold them back from achieving their own american dreams. George is held back from his by having to care of Lennie, who cannot take care of himself. Crooks is held back from his american dream because of his skin color.
To a Mouse maintains the connection between the two societies of nature and human kind while gaining an understanding on superiority. Typically, the poem illustrates a conflict of man versus nature. Neither are superior. Mankind in the poem is noticed as an enemy to nature for the destruction mankind causes that affects the living of nature society. The strong connection between the mankind society and the nature society is conjoined with the sorrow and understanding. Human society will continue to change from the past and will always plan for the upcoming situations life brings. With a mouse focused on the present it is more than likely it
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.
Steinbeck first introduces the power of fate in the underlying motif of impending disaster exhibited in the title and opening chapter. The title may be seen as a potent warning of the tragedy that will follow, ‘the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry’ is an excerpt from Robbie Burn’s poem ‘To A Mouse’. Steinbeck uses this title to reveal a harsh reality to the reader, of the grim nature of human existence at the time of The Great Depression; the characters seek power over their destinies yet rarely obtain it, due to external forces beyond their control. The dead mouse in Lennie’s pocket, serves as an ominous reiteration of the end that awaits the weak and unsuspecting creatures at the hand of fate, after all despite Lennie’s great size and strength his mental incapability’s render him as helpless as a mouse. Steinbeck further develops the power of fate in his repeated use of animal imagery which sees Lennie comparable with a bear, horse and terrier. Animals in the novell...
Of Mice and Men is a novel by John Steinbeck. This book is an analogy about what it means to be a human. George and Lennie share the ambition to own their own ranch, but they encounter obstacles that stand in the way. Ironically, Lennie will become the greatest obstacle in them achieving their dream. This novel was first published in 1937, which is one of the most important aspects of the book. The reason why it is one of the most important aspects of the book is because one result of the Great Depression was a lack of steady jobs, which increased the amount of nomadic workers. When Steinbeck wrote this novel, ranch hands were beginning to be replaced by machinery and their way of life was disappearing fast.