A blue sky, quiet machines turned off as the sun rises, resurrecting the heat from the light brown dirt. Pale yellow crops shake in the wind, another day of work ready to be taken as if it were a brand new opportunity. If the book Of Mice and Men were written today, it may have more common or relatable themes. Such as technology making farming on ranches much more efficient, with tractors or cultivators. Even if the book were to be written in our day, homophobia would be considered as the characters travel together. The book being put into our terms of the modern age, it may seem as a much easier recovery from being poor as in our day we are not struggling with stocks. That still leads to the factor of offense, meaning that in the beginning
John Steinbeck, an American novelist, is well-known for his familiar themes of depression and loneliness. He uses these themes throughout a majority of his novels. These themes come from his childhood and growing up during the stock market crash. A reader can see his depiction of his childhood era. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck shows the prominent themes of loneliness, the need for relationships, and the loss of dreams in the 1930s through the novels’ character.
Steinbeck upon creating the novel in the 1930’s seen and was experiencing some of the things he wrote on. In the beginning he introduced to us a friendship between two opposite men. One man, George Wilson, is a little man compared to his companion. His friend, on the other hand, was a giant who was naïve as a new born baby. His name was Lennie Smalls. Lennie Smalls was a character that Steinbeck used to allow his audience to see that although he had a good heart and was seemingly helpless, that one day his strength would be the cause of his downfall. Questions on whether or not Steinbeck’s readers should believe in the image in which it is given or primarily based it on the novel being written in a bad environment from the first of the novel. Steinbeck knew upon writing that readers tend to cling and fall for the caring, loving, and misunderstood bad guy trying to prove his innocence against all evil brought to him. So Steinbeck created Lennie to try and portray this character to his audience. Steinbeck had to be sure that all elements presented in the novel were able flow good and complete the recipe (Krutch 29-30).
“People are always going to stereotype others… it may be without conscious thought, but it still has the same negative effects.”- Author Unknown. In the book “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, he includes many stereotypes; for example, Lennie was mean and dumb and Curley had small man syndrome. Other characters were stereotyped as hot headed, a tart, and a leader.
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
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.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a fiction novel. This novel is about two best friends who work as farm hands. Both men dream of owning a farm together one day. On the way to that dream the men face some struggles and that is what most of the novel is about. The novel goes into detail about how they overcome their struggle.
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.
Despite being the only female on a ranch full of foul-mouthed men, Curley’s wife exploits both her sexuality and her status to demonstrate power throughout the novel. On Saturday night after most of the men leave, Curley’s wife stops by Crooks’ place. After a heated argument with Crooks’, she reminds him of her power on the ranch: “She turned on him in scorn. ‘Listen, n*****,’ she said. ‘You know what I can do to you if you open your trap?’ Crooks stared hopelessly at her, and then he sat down on his bunk and drew into himself. She closed on him. ‘You know what I could do?” (80) Curley’s wife is aware that because her husband’s father owns the ranch, she will always have more power there than Crooks will as a colored, poor man. Once Crooks finally realizes that Curley’s
In 1935, his novel Tortilla Flat established him as a popular and critical success but unfortunately his parents died before he achieved his first success.
Of Mice and Men is a novel written by John Steinbeck. It is set in California during the great depression. The story follows two ranch hands who travel together and are very poor. Throughout the novel we witness many different philosophical references. Many different types of characters from this novel are reused in today’s society. Steinbeck also writes eloquently about the many different emotions, aspirations, and dreams of man.
My Graphic is meant to show the dreams turned into darkness. I chose the themes loneliness and dreams because I think that is what represents the end of the story the dreams turned into darkness. This graphic shows George shooting Lennie in the head, with Curley’s wife with the dead dog beside her in the upper left. I chose to have the dark line in the middle to represent the darkness that is eating away at “the boy’s” dreams, and the lost dream of Curley’s wife going to Hollywood to be an actress. The quotes that I use are from just before Curley’s wife dies when she talks about her possible “career” in acting. Another quote that I use is when George shoots Lennie in the back of the head, while “The shot rolled up and down
Scarseth argues that “Readers may object to the book’s presentation of low class characters, vulgar language, scenes suggestive of improper sexual conduct, and an implied criticism of the social system. . . Furthermore, these features are necessary in the book.” Scarseth continues to argue that they are “accurate, precise reporting,” because they represented the time, place and environment of the era in which the novella was penned. Written in 1937, Of Mice and Men is the story of two migrant workers who came to California to fulfill their dreams. While the intentions of these two men seemed noble, they were unable to achieve the goal of purchasing land for a myriad of reasons. The first and most difficult challenge they faced was the effect of The Great Depression. Like many of...
There are many themes in the book “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, including the theme that comes from the poem “To a Mouse” written by Robert Burns. Near the end of the poem Burns writes “The best laid schemes of mice and men oft go awry” which is said to have been the inspiration of Steinbeck when writing his book. That quote is saying, that all plans between mice and men often get messed in some sort of way, shape or form.
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.
Curley’s wife is a complex, main character in John Steinbeck’s novella, “Of Mice and Men”. She is introduced as an insignificant secondary character, but evidently posses the importance of causing the end of the novella. Despite the weight of her role, her value is hindered because of the culture towards women in the 1930s. Steinbeck uses imagery, foreshadowing, and metaphors to show loneliness analyzed through a Feminist Lens.