Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: essay of mice and men
In many cases, the things one does can uncover more about his or her personality than what he or she says. The same goes for how he or she treats others. Of Mice and Men is a novel written by John Steinbeck, which contains many examples that prove this idea. In this novel, a man named George travels around with a man named Lennie, who exhibits symptoms of a severe intellectual disability. His mental age is probably around five to seven years old, and he is very difficult to deal with at times. The way that George, Curley, and Curley’s wife treat Lennie shows many things about their personality and what kind of person they truly are. George shows what kind of personality he has by the way that he treats Lennie and what he says to him. For example, at the beginning of their journey, George and Lennie cook themselves beans the day before they start their new job. Lennie starts asking for ketchup and George gets frustrated with him. He seems to reach his boiling point when he says that “when I think of the swell time I could have without you, I go nuts. I never get no peace” (12). From this alone, one can conclude that George is a selfish man who does not care about his disabled friend and only cares about himself. He cannot accept the fact that he had promised Aunt Clara to take care of Lennie, and begins to get very angry at something that Lennie cannot control. It’s not Lennie’s fault that he does not recognize social norms. However, this insight on George completely changes after Lennie’s breaks Curley’s hand. George makes Lennie feel calm and says that “it ain’t your fault… You don’t need to be scairt no more” (65). George displays his compassionate side as he comforts Lennie. Deep down, George is not the villain he was portraye... ... middle of paper ... ...uch her hair and tries to pull away, but it is too late. Lennie snaps her neck, killing her immediately. The reader can tell that Curley’s wife was so lonely that she went to desperate measures to interact with people, and these desperate measure are what killed her. The reader can uncover Curley’s wife’s lack of reasoning through the way she interacts with Lennie. The personalities and qualities of Curley’s wife, Curley, and George are revealed through the way they treat Lennie. Curley’s wife shows her lack of reasoning when she allows Lennie to touch her hair. Curley displays his Napoleon Complex through the way he blames Lennie immediately for his wife’s death. George shows his deep compassion for Lennie when he comforts him after he hurts Curley without meaning to. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck proves the age old adage that actions speak louder than words.
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.
George says that none of his other friends are quite like Lennie. They did not have a true relationship with him. George also says that Lennie is an annoyance most of the time, but he got used to it and eventually could not get rid of him. This shows that George is lonely, due to the loss of Lennie. It is proven that Lennie causes George to realize his need for others in his life.
Curley’s wife shows her sympathetic side when she comforts Lennie after he kills the dog. She tells Lennie, “Don’t you worry none” (87). This quote demonstrates trying to connect with someone on the ranch; in this case it is Lennie. She tells him he is not a bad person and tries to keep his dream of tending the rabbits alive. She also says, “You can get another one easy” (87). This quote shows that she is a compassionate human being despite the constant judgment of her personality. Because Curley’s wife is comforting Lennie, he calms down and starts listening to her. Moreover, despite ...
The character of Curley’s Wife is very hard to unravel, as throughout the book, Steinbeck’s representation of women through characters such as George and Candy, is very harsh. This is because the sociological opinion at that time was that they were either, mothers, sisters, or prostitutes, as the audience soon see, George and other ranch workers refer to her as “bitch” “loo loo” and “tramp”. There were also a growing number of prostitutes during the Great Depression period, as they would offload their services to those whom were able to pay and have some decent income during the Depression. Other aspects that may make Curley’s Wife seem like a tart, is Curley’s “Glove Fulla’ Vaseline”. Curley literally keeps a glove full of Vaseline, in order to keep his hand soft, possibly for a sexual act. Curley boasts to Candy that the hand is for his wife, which tells us that she gives him consent to do these acts to her, and also, Curley’s nerve to inform fellow workers about his glove shows that he believes that his own wife is a tart, which is very controversial today, but back then, women were seen as nothing more than possessions, yours to do what you will. George informs Lennie to avoid Curley’s Wife at all costs, and not to talk to her, because of her promiscuous behaviour, he believes t...
In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, after Lennie’s death, there are many people to blame, but Curley and Curley’s Wife are to blame more than anyone else and there are strong reasons as to why.
Curley is a “thin young man with brown face, brown eyes, and a head of tightly curled hair.” Since he is pugnacious, he always pick a fight especially with guys who are bigger than him because he wants to prove his masculinity. Another way to prove himself was by marrying a women, Curley’s Wife. His wife was never given a name to begin with. John Steinbeck indicates that Curley’s Wife is in Curley’s Possession. He tries to isolates her from everyone but she sneaks in and tries to grab attention. Curley is very cocky and because of his attitude, he picks a fight with Lennie, oblivious to the danger he put himself in. Once George allows Lennie to fight back, he crushed Curley’s hand breaking every
Curley’s wife represents her broken dreams of becoming an actress. Lennie and George represent a dream in progress, it is uncertain if their plans will work out as intended or plummet before takeoff, even Crooks and Candy see the appeal in Lennie and George’s fantasy and join them. The dream in progress gives hope to Lennie and George and continued to even after losing previous jobs. Curley’s wife is constantly restricted, she married Curley so that she would no longer be alone but now is in the same state as before, just on a ranch of men. She tries to talk to the other men but she is then seen as "jail bait" and avoided, making her even lonelier. Her dream of being an actress has failed because she chose a quick way out and married Curley. She is now living in her failure and has no longer a dream to aim for. Perhaps the most important part of the story is the the part in which Lennie has accidentally killed the puppy given to him by Slim, and is grieving over him in the barn, “This ain’t no bad thing like I got to go hide in the brush. Oh! no. This ain’t. I’ll tell George I foun’ it dead.” He unburied the puppy and inspected it, and he stroked it from ears to tail. He went on sorrowfully, “But he’ll know. George always knows. He’ll say, ‘You done it. Don’t try to put nothing over on me.’ An’ he’ll say, ‘Now jus’ for that you don’t get to tend no rabbits!” (Steinbeck, 85) He feels powerless to his own strength, he believes that he will never achieve his dream because of his mistake. George and the other men are out once again and the only person who comes to his emotional aid is none other than Curley’s wife. “Don’t you worry about talkin’ to me. Listen to the guys yell out there. They got four dollars bet in that tenement. None of them ain’t gonna leave till it’s over.” “If George sees me talkin’ to you he’ll give me hell,” Lennie said cautiously.” (Steinbeck, 85) He
Many critics consider the novel, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck, as one of the greatest short works of fiction. I think this was a great novel with amazing detail. It has certain qualities and themes such as these: the importance of relationships, responsibility to others, the nature of home, respect for old age, the difference between right and wrong, and the evil of oppression and abuse. We can learn from these themes and see how we use it in our lives. By using examples from the book as well we can see how this happens more clearly.
When Lennie kills Curley’s Wife, Steinbeck describes Curley's wife as a prettier figure. He writes, "The meanness and the planning’s of the discontent and the ache for attention were all gone from her face." (p.128) This shows that now Curley's wife is dead, she now looks happy and has escaped from her loneliness.
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.
Friendship is a key theme in the novel written by John Steinbeck, titled Of Mice and Men. The friendships that some of the men have with each other contributes to how well they cope with everyday obstacles. The men with greater friendships seem to be happier and have certain goals for their future. The presence or absence of friendship in Of Mice and Men affects characters in their actions, relationships, and their happiness.
As George becomes aware of the situation he begins to ponder what will happen if Lennie gets away. George understands that Lennie would not be capable of providing for himself out in the wild. As George contemplates allowing Lennie to be free of all the men, he “[is] a long time in answering” (94). George is one of the few men who understands Lennie’s mental limitations, he knows Lennie would not remember how to survive and “the poor bastard’d starve” (94). He
...r say anything. So she is stuck at a ranch where all the members there avoid her because she is trouble and can’t even run away because of her being a female in the early 1900’s made it almost impossible to survive on her own. She dresses a certain way to live out the American Dream the only way she can. She doesn’t dress that way to show off her body, she wants to feel like she is living her dream. She realizes that she is good looking and she uses that to her advantage to talk to some of the people at the ranch like Lennie. The only way she got to talk to Lennie was by letting him touch her hair. Steinbeck let Curley’s Wife die in such a peaceful way; I didn’t even realize she was dead until I read over the section multiple times. He left her there in the barn describing her beauty, showing the reader through Curley’s Wife that even the worst of us have humanity.
George’s relationship with Lennie has made him selfless; his conversations, with and with out Lennie, are generally revolving around Lennie, although in the case of their dream-ranch George seems to find fulfilment for himself as well. Due to these altruistic tendencies that he shows throughout the novel, a danger is bestowed upon George; he tends to care for Lennie far too much, and too little for himself. In occasional moments, he escapes his sympathy and compassion for Lennie, and realises the burden that he causes. This usually results in George taking his frustration out on Lennie, which can often harm his simple mind, leaving Lennie upset and forced to confess to his own uselessness, and George feeling guilty for what he has caused. We can learn very little about George through his actual conversations, which made it necessary for Steinbeck to focus the novel on him in particular, and let the reader gain an closer insight on him through his actions. Generally, he seems to be caring, intelligent and sensible, but is greatly worn by the constant attention Lennie requires. This illustrates a major theme in Of Mice and Men, the dangers that arise when one becomes involved in a dedicated relationship.
In the Steinbeck novel ‘Of Mice and Men’, he introduces us to the character of Curley’s wife. She could be interpreted as a mis-fitting character in the novel, as no one relaters to her. This essay will go on to examine the character of Curley’s wife and how characters perceive her and how this influences the readers interpretation of her.