of mice and men

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Of Mice and Men ROUGH DRAFT One of John Steinbeck’s most famous works tells the tale of the continuing troubles of George and Lennie, two opposite personalities who form an unexpected relationship. The book takes place on a southern farm in the 1930’s where the two friends plan to save enough money to buy their dream—a piece of land for themselves. In the story, there are several characters with “disabilities,” both physical and figurative in the meaning of the word. Lennie is an ignorant, overweight gentleman, Crooks is black in a predominately white environment, Candy is crippled due to an accident on the farm, and Curly’s wife is accused of being overly provocative. Curly, the boss’ son, often quarantines his wife in their home because he wants to keep her his own; she is a very attractive young female on a farm with mostly male workers. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the characters in Chapter 4 are brought together in Crook’s room by the fact that they are all outcasts, but instead of taking the opportunity to become friends, they begin to take advantage of each other’s handicaps and hurl insults at one another. In the short narrative, the characters in this chapter are brought together by their handicaps. For example, Crooks, the stable boy, is not wanted and is often treated poorly because of the different color of his skin. He explains to Lennie that “I ain’t wanted in the bunkhouse…because I’m black” [p. 68]. He is not liked by the other farmhands and none of them want to share a room with him. Consequently, he is forced to live on his own in the stable in a small shack, complete with many of the tools necessary to fulfill the duties of a stable boy. He continues to explain how lonely he gets sometimes, a point he ... ... middle of paper ... ...w circle of friends. Each of them take advantage of each other’s disabilities and they spend much of their time showering one another with insults. The characters in Chapter 4 of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men are unified by the fact that they all are unwanted on the farm, but instead of taking advantage of an opportunity to become friends, they begin to take advantage of each other. Prior to their meeting, all they have ever known is to be treated badly by others, and as a result they respond to one another in a similar way. They have been put down their entire lives, and they jump at the opportunity to make themselves appear better than someone else. They had a very unique chance to share a nurturing camaraderie made possible because they had something in common. However, they ended up hurting each other as well as their future chances of this happening again.

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