John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice And Men vividly depicts the life of migrant workers living in rustic America. It narrates a tragic story of two peripatetic men, George Milton and Lennie Small, who don’t belong anywhere but with each other. As migrant workers that are haunted by their dreams, Steinbeck uses the docile commitment that Lennie and George have towards each other to depict the hardships that were faced during the great depression of the 1930’s. George has accepted to take on the burdening responsibility of protecting Lennie because of his mental illness. But because of this, he has created a cordon that won’t allow him to reach his common dream of overcoming destitution. Lennie is faced with the hardest obstacle of all, his aspiration and love for rabbits, which creates a fatuous tranquility for him. A recurring premise that haunts the characters in the book is poverty and the veil that is created to cover their lives up by dreaming up a comforting future. Through the piece Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck displays that reason is the principle element to advancement in reality and if not fully understood the veil that is created by a dream could become greater than ones self.
As migrant workers, George takes on the role of a friend to Lennie, through this companionship Lennie creates many problems and George solves many problems. The family that George and Lennie form represents the counter balance of dreams and rationalization. Throughout the piece Steinbeck surround the characters with the impression that migrant workers just “just come in and get their bunk and work a month, and then they quit and go out alone.” (39). Through this Steinbeck shows the loneliness that the migrant worker create as to hide their destit...
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...e crushed are those with no dream such as Curley, because if they have no dream no one can tell them that they can't reach it.
At the end of the piece, George realizes that he can no longer take care of his dream because it has become to great of a burden for him to bear. So he decides to kill Lennie before the other men do. This is a turning point in a migrant workers life in which one must reason over what is a dream and what is the reality. In most cases it does not deal with killing someone off but in this case Lennie was the burden. Through this, Steinbeck shows a freeing of Lennie from himself. Because Lennie has become afraid of his own dream and can not control himself any longer. Through this, George realized that to move forward, one must give up what is most loved.
Works Cited
Steinbeck, John. Of Mice And Men. New York, NY: Penguin Putnam Inc., 1978.
Imagine being discriminated against because of your ethnicity; or being the only woman on a ranch, stuck in a loveless marriage, when all you really want is someone to talk to. What about having to kill that friend, and bury all chances of breaking free from the life of the average migrant worker? How would you feel? These scenarios in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men illustrate the need and desire for companionship in life. There's Crooks, the negro stable buck; Curley's wife, whose marriage to Curley hasn't exactly been lively; and George and Lennie, whose friendship is strong enough to get them to a better life and out of the negetive cycle that the average migrant worker became trapped in during the Great Depression.
These devices are incorporated into the journey of two companions working their way towards a dream. Steinbeck uses symbolism to complement his words to depict a higher meaning. As experienced readers will discover, the relationship between the intelligent, but small and weaker George Milton and the mentally handicapped, but large and stronger Lennie Small is symbolic. Even Lennie expresses this relationship “because I got you to look after me and you got me to look after you, and that's why” (14) .This suggests that they are not alone-they have each other. While George complains in the first chapter that he does not know why he keeps Lennie around, George argues "I could get along so easy and so nice if I didn't have you on my tail"(11), he later explains the importance of Lennie's friendship -:“I seen the guys that go around on the ranches alone. That ain't no good. They don't' have no fun. After a long time, they get mean. They get wantin' to fight all the time” (41). Although he is often irritated with Lennie, The reader can infer George stays with Lennie out of his promise to Lennie's aunt or the reader could look deeper and understand George cares about Lennie and that, meaning in life depends on upon sharing. This idea is central to Steinbeck's theme of brotherhood and how men are better if they are not alienated because, if alienated, they become mean and cruel out of their fear of vulnerability. The strength to oppress others originates of weakness, Steinbeck tells his readers. Most importantly for both George and Lennie, Lennie is the keeper of the dream. Without the child-like Lennie there is no dream of a ranch and rabbits and "livin' off the fat of the land." It is for Lennie's sake that George repeats the dream of them owning land. At first George does not really believe that this dream will come to fruition. But, with his childlike friend's
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.
By then there was no more land to be claimed and America had built up
Steinbeck inclines to unravel the plight of two migrant workers with a dream to purchase their own land in the future, where they plan to rear rabbits and keep livestock. As reality dawns on the two men, their lifestyle proves not to be as easy as they think. George states, “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place. They come to a ranch an’ work up a stake and then they go inta town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they’re poundin’ their tail on some oth...
dream; that one day they may buy a farm, and Lennie will be able to
Overall, John Steinbeck uses the character of George to represent the harshness of 1930s society and how rare companionship was, even though his companionship with Lennie ended
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Life is an array of emotions and experiences. At times it blesses us with experiences that instill feelings of happiness and joy, in which we are able to celebrate life and all it can offer us. Other times life hits us in the face, letting us endure hardships, sadness, depression and loss. Most may argue that Of Mice and Men is either intended to celebrate the joys of life or meant to be a depressing book.
What is it that makes people want to scream, or snap at anyone who tries to talk to them when they are lonely? How can prolonged loneliness change a person? In John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, several characters face this problem. The story is about two men, living in Salinas Valley during the Great Depression. The two men, George Milton and Lennie Small, travel from ranch to ranch as migrant workers looking for work, after having to leave their previous job due to Lennie getting in trouble with the law. George has made many sacrifices for Lennie, but anything is better than the loneliness they see in other ranch workers. Steinbeck argues that when people are lonely, they become mean, and act in desperation.
During a time of hardship or of economic difficulties, each person draws back into their personal space and takes no notice of others. Ignorance often leads to misunderstandings. In John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men, two men went go a new farm in search of new opportunities and a chance to fulfill their dream. Of Mice and Men is also a heartbreaking story of how such misunderstandings can lead to unfortunate events. John Steinbeck uses a disapproving voice to criticize the mistreatment of social rejects and show that misunderstanding can lead to adverse outcomes.
has the mental age of a child and does not see the reason why George
George’s struggles with himself become apparent at the beginning of the novel. Steinbeck clearly lets the reader know that George has conflicting feelings about Lennie. He believed, “ ...if he was alone he could live so easy. He could go get a job an ' work, an ' no trouble” (11). George is basically telling Lennie that sometimes, he wishes he could live
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. ()
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.
Even from the very start of John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, the uniqueness of George, as a character, is already noticeable. He is described as “small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp strong features” and has an obvious dominance over the relationship between Lennie and himself. This lets the reader know from a very early stage in the book that George is different, and probably the essential character. George’s character seems to be used by Steinbeck to reflect the major themes of the novel: loneliness, prejudice, the importance of companionship, the danger of devoted companionships, and the harshness of Californian ranch life.