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Stereotypes portrayed in “of mice and men”
Stereotypes portrayed in “of mice and men”
Sexism in of mice and men
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If two characters stand out to me who contrast in the more ways in the book Of Mice and Men, it would be Curley and Lennie. One is smart and witty while the other is big, dumb, and strong. From the moment these two characters meet, Curley has a hate towards Lennie. Lennie is to dumb to dislike Curley back because Lennie does whatever George tells him to, and George tells Lennie to stay away form Curley. Steinbeck makes Curley out to be a character in which you dislike from meeting him. He is rude towards George and Lennie, and everyone at the ranch abhors him. Curley is quick and a good fighter because he was the runner-up in the “Golden Gloves” competition, so he can fight. Lennie is almost completely opposite. He isn’t a fighter; he just is a hard worker. Not smart or witty, just listens to directions and does his best. Doesn’t want any trouble from anybody; just wants everyone to get along and he just wants to take care of the rabbits. Lennie comes off to me as a very nice loving character that everyone likes and gets along with. He is so innocent, and all Curley does is harass him because he is jealous of his size. I feel bad for Lennie because he doesn’t know that Curley is doing this he just does what Lennie, with the help of George’s instruction, wants to do and minds his own business.
Even though these characters are different in numerous ways, there is always a foundation for similarities, and of course Lennie and Curley have their occasional resemblance of each other. Both men are interested in the same woman. Curley is married to a woman who ahs the eye real bad, and Lennie thinks this woman is pretty. Even though Lennie doesn’t know that looking at her that way is wrong, he still does and Curley looks at her the same way. These men are both chasing the same girl just neither knows about it. I believe that Lennie chasing Curley’s wife is going to cause some sort of problem later in this story. Even though this may be a very simple comparison, they both work on the ranch and buck barley. Even though Lennie is a much better worker, they have to do the same thing for the same money. So they are equals on this basis.
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.
Should George have shot his friend Lennie? George probably did the right thing by shooting Lennie. How can we condemn George for sparing his friend Lennie the pain and fear of being killed by someone else? He did something society sees as wrong, but he did it for a good reason. Lennie didn’t deserve to die, but there was no other alternative. Curley wanted to kill Lennie, and since George cared for Lennie, he figured the best thing would be for him to put Lennie out of his misery.
In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, Curley’s insecure character is shown through what other characters say about him. One instance in which Curley’s insecure disposition is shown is when the other men are talking about him after he verbally attacks Lennie. When George demands to know why Curley disrespected Lennie, one of the other men responds saying Curley tends to pick fights with big guys like Lennie and furthermore explains, “Kind of like he’s mad at ‘em because he ain’t a big guy” (26). A great deal of Curley’s insecurity stems from his size. Despite superficial efforts to make himself appear bigger, Curley knows he will never amount to the size and strength of the other men on the ranch. To compensate for his size, he often times tries to prove himself through fighting.
Disappointment is someone being sad or mad about something they have done or failed to do. Disappointment can be caused by other people’s actions. In the book “Of Mice And Men” by John Steinbeck, the characters of Crooks, Candy, and Curly’s wife all suffer from disappointment of life. Crooks suffer from disappointment from how nobody wants to play or talk to him just because he is black. Also Curly’s Wife suffers because women don’t have that much of rights so she gets treated badly. Candy gets also treated badly because he is old and only has one hand to use so he can’t do that much work. All of the people in the book get treated badly because the book “Of Mice and Men” is made during the time period that the great depression was so there wasn’t that much of rights towards women and black people.
Imagine the utter destruction of your home, better yet imagine you just accidentally destroyed someone else’s home and are understandably upset for the grief that you have just caused. Robert Burns being a Scottish farmer very well could have committed such a crime, yet the victim was a mere mouse. His poem, ostensibly biographical, To a Mouse is his apology to this insignificant creature, for plowing over his nest. Burns is examining the way of life of this mouse in comparison to his own life, to his own problems. This “compassion for the mouse becomes pity for the poor, then pity for all existence” (Perkins 13).
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.
Crooks, Curley’s wife, and most defiantly Lennie are the outcasts on the ranch. The novel presents Lennie as a mentally challenged, but an unusually strong worker who travels with his friend George. George takes care of Lennie as if he was his own child and Lennie cares for George the same way. “I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you” (14). Lennie describes how he cares for George although he honestly just messes everything up for George. Lennie has the mind of a child and does not understand how to act and be an adult. Lennie continues to pet dead mice, feel shiny and smooth objects, and not know how to interact with other people. From time to time, George continues to care and try to make improvements with Lennie, but it just does not happen. Lennie continues to have the mind of a child and can never distinguish the different between right and wrong. Throughout the novel; from being a mentally challenged; tall, muscular man; Lennie is most definitely an outcast in the story Of Mice and Men.
I have been analysing the novella ‘Of Mice and men’ by John Steinbeck, which was published in 1937. Steinbeck wrote the novel based on his own experiences as a bindle stiff in the 1920’s, around the same time when the great Wall Street crash happened, causing an immense depression in America. Throughout the novel he uses a recurring theme of loneliness in his writing, which may have reflected his own experiences at this time. This is evident in his writing by the way he describes the characters, setting and language in the novel.
The novel Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is about two ranch hands, George and Lennie. George is a small, smart-witted man, while Lennie is a large, mentally- handicapped man. They are trying to raise enough money to buy their own ranch, by working as ranch hands. During the setting of the story, they are at a ranch whose owner’s name is Curley. It is in this setting that the novel reveals that the main theme is death and loss.
...ny control over himself in order to let go of Curley’s wife’s hair. Lennie is an example of one of Steinbeck’s naturalistic characters because he does not have free will over his actions. These scenes are examples of indirect characterization through Lennie’s actions in order to emphasize naturalism.
In the tenth and eleventh century, several Vikings reported to have seen a land to the far west of Greenland while on voyages (what kind of voyages?). King Magnus, ruler of the Norse, wanted to learn more about the land and claim it as his own. He sent out some of the finest seaman and crew to go find and settle this new land. Bjarne Sigvatson was chosen to lead an expedition to the new world. The three Viking ships carried families, cattle and food to set up the new colony in this land.
Lennie is not so much stereotyped, but rather trapped because of his size. Because Lennie is so big, Curley thinks he has to prove something by beating up Lennie. Lennie gets on Curley’s bad side when he didn’t do anything wrong. Lennie is then forced to fight. " ‘I don’t want no trouble,’ he said plaintively.
In a way, the opposite of George and Lennie’s connection is the relationship between Curley and his wife. Curley is a very arrogant, jealous, and controlling man, while his wife - who remains unnamed throughout the novel - is gorgeous and flirtatious. She is a trophy wife for Curley, who is otherwise much more wealthy than all the other characters in Of Mice and Men because he is the son of the owner of the farm, and he treats her like one. Their relationship obviously lacks the mutual respect, love, and proper attention that marriages need to survive.
Hazel is a sixteen year old girl who was diagnosed with Stage 4 Thyroid cancer as a little girl. Her whole life had been shifted and turned upside down by her cancer. She had to leave high school, get her GED and start college early. Hazel had to leave all of her friends and adjust to a completely new life. Having a normal life was really not going to happen but her mother tried as hard as she could to give
Death is an unfortunate yet necessary part of life. Exposure to death throughout my life has served as undeniable proof of my own mortality. Though I have not yet experienced any deaths of my immediate family or any close friends, I have seen it more indirectly through the media and deaths of acquaintances by fatal car accidents, overdoses, and suicides. I have also lost numerous childhood pets, which were probably some of my first more traumatic death experiences. The death of my grandpa William was the first funeral I remember attending and was also the largest gathering of mourning family members I have witnessed.