Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck

946 Words2 Pages

In the highly acclaimed novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the main question which is really pushed and provokes the most thought is: What does it mean to be part of a community or society? Steinbecks simple answer to this high level question is this: To be part of a community or society means having someone there who cares for you. This answer is shown in many examples scattered through the pages of the book, and seems to be the main reason that some characters are even in the book in the first place. The first characters that Steinbeck uses to back his answer are Curley and his Wife. Curley is always very protective of his wife and gets very aggressive at those who seem interested in his wife in any way. Even though Curley is constantly acting protective of his wife, the characters relationship seems stressed and unloving. Curley’s wife is always walking around the ranch, pretending to look for her husband, but truly just looking for an excuse to talk with other people. Curley, on the other hand, spends all his time looking for his wife, and is always suspicious that she is cheating on him. Curley’s wife in fact says this to Lennie while shivling about her life, “I ain’t told this to nobody before. Maybe I ought’n to. I don’ like Curley. He ain’t a nice fella.” (89) Curley’s wife admitting this to a man so obviously unintelligent that he truly won't understand, instead of trying to talk to someone who can actually help her truly shows how desperate she is to communicate her feelings to someone other than her husband. Curley’s wife is unable to form a sense of community because she has no one to care for her, she has no family near, a husband who she dislikes, and a bunch of ranch hands who ostracize her because they are afraid of making Curley angry. Because of this she becomes so desperate that she looks for anyone who will just not ignore her, even if she know the man she is talking to cannot understand. Another example of Steinbecks thoughts on community is Crooks. Crooks is an African-American man who works as the stable hand on the ranch. Being that Crooks is black and the rest of the ranchers are white, he does not sleep in the bunkhouse. Instead, Crooks lives alone in a small room attached to the stables with all of his belongings.

Social Commentary on Sexism in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbek
997 Words | 2 Pages
...nd a tease throughout the novella which shows that the men only view her as a sexual being. The workers assume that everything she does is to cause trouble and she is held responsible for her own murder as well as the situation forcing George to kill Lennie. It is apparent that Steinbeck uses Curley’s wife as a medium to bring to light the excessive sexism women faced during the Great Depression.
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To A Mouse, by Robert Burns and Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
762 Words | 2 Pages
2011 Two Different Mice and Two Different Men 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 workers 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.
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Representation of Women in Mice and Men by John Steinbach
666 Words | 2 Pages
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.
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Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
1081 Words | 3 Pages
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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Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
4582 Words | 10 Pages
By then there was no more land to be claimed and America had built up
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The Importance Of Selfishness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
1246 Words | 3 Pages
The first focus of living is surviving. Therefore, it does not follow logical reasoning to explore other aspects and enhancements of life until one establishes a sense of security in one’s ability to survive. Survival starts with an individual’s ability to endure, and ultimately progresses to an entire species’ ability to subsist. Selfishness is often viewed as morally wrong, however it may be necessary for individuals to think of themselves before others, in order to put them in a position to be able to help the others. In John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, this selfishness is demonstrated by the characters who are struggling to better their own lives; therefore, helping to better the lives of others is a secondary thought if it exists
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Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
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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How Does Steinbeck Present The Theme Of Loneliness In Of Mice And Men
686 Words | 2 Pages
After stumbling across Lennie in the barn one day while the other men were playing horse shoes, she explains to him, “Why can’t I talk to you? I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely.” (Steinbeck 86). Especially being a woman during this time period, Curley’s wife is left to talking to no one but her husband. Because she is young, and beautiful, people perceive her something she is not (a slut), which keeps people from interacting with her. She explains, “…I can’t talk to nobody but Curley…” (Steinbeck 87). She is forced to talk only to none other than her husband in whom she does not like. It is considered wrong to talk with other men, even if it has nothing to do with a wanted relationship. Being a wrongly perceived woman leaves Curley’s wife feeling
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of mice and men...theme of lonliness in the book
558 Words | 2 Pages
All through the book Curley’s Wife is very “open” to everyone she meets. The reason for this can be interpreted by her and Curley’s “so-called” marriage. The relationship between Curley’s Wife and Curley seems to be somewhat unstable as he is always asking “Any you guys seen my wife?” (pg. ). This also shows how protective Curley seems to be as he is always checking up on where his wife is. Curley’s insecurity seems to cage in his wife from having any kind of a friendship with any other men. In turn, the wife gets so sick of being isolated like this and relieves her loneliness by conducting secret conversations with many other men on the ranch. As a result many of the ranch hands see her as a tramp but it can be viewed that all she really wants is a person to talk to.
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Conventions In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
824 Words | 2 Pages
Novels that exhibit what the life is like for the people at ranch can help readers reflect on how they might react in comparable situation. George and Lennie who struggle to transcend the plight of inerrant farmworkers are followed by the novel Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck. Readers are positioned to respond to themes through Steinbeck’s use of conventions that are dispirit. Themes such as Freedom and confinement, loneliness, and racism are pivotal in the novel and draw out a range of responses from the readers.
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John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men
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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Of Mice and Men – To what extent does Steinbeck present Curley’s Wife as a sympathetic character?
1204 Words | 3 Pages
In conclusion I believe that Curley’s Wife is a very significant character in the novella because she represents the stereotypical woman and they way she acted, and was treated leads me to feel great sympathy for her despite her flirtatious demeanour. Steinbeck is very successful in creating sympathy throughout her character change and he presents her in this way to prove that the majority of women went through similar situations. This leads us to sympathise with all people society deem to be ‘inferior’ and we can even apply this lesson to today’s society.
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Curley's Wife Sexism
675 Words | 2 Pages
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
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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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To What Extent Curley's Wife a Victim in Of Mice and Men
898 Words | 2 Pages
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...
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Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck

Social Commentary on Sexism in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbek

To A Mouse, by Robert Burns and Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck

Representation of Women in Mice and Men by John Steinbach