...Some may view the Great Depression as the loneliest and most isolated period in American history for the people who experienced it first hand. It can be difficult to really capture the essence of the need for companionship that was immensely present in the Great Depression. However, when John Steinbeck uses the dialogue of Crooks, the actions of Curley's wife, and multiple characters undergoing major inconveniences for friendship it openly depicts the need for companionship in his novel, "Of Mice and Men". The primary way that Steinbeck portrays loneliness and the need for companionship, is through the articulation of the character Crooks. Initially, this can be viewed when Crooks expresses that he feels unheard and that nobody listens...
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...INSERT ATTENTION GETTER HERE! Friends are sometimes forced to make fatal decisions, and dreams often don’t come true. In John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice And Men, George and Candy are forced to kill their best friends, and the dreams of Lennie and Candy die out. Many times throughout the novel, friendships became fatal. In John Steinbeck's novel, Of Mice And Men, A frightened Lennie accidentally kills Curley’s wife. Lennie, who recalls what George told him, ran to the spot where they had arranged to meet. George - who knows he has to kill Lennie in order to spare him a worse fate - distracts Lennie so that he can shoot Lennie using Carlson’s gun in the back of the head, so that Lennie feels no pain. To distract him, he tells Lennie about the rabbits, and then “He brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie’s head… He pulled the trigger.” (Steinbeck 66). George doesn’t want to shoot Lennie, but he knew that it would spare him...
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...The classic novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck uses the motif of animals throughout the story to express many juxtaposed ideas. In the book, two men named George and Lennie work on a farm in which they must overcome certain challenges in order to try to achieve their dream. Many animals are used to provide foreshadowing and understanding about what is going on in the text. Dogs are used to display loyalty while wolves portray wildness. Rabbits represent future dreams while mice represent present realities. Even though the animals express differences, they all come together to support the major theme that man has superiority over nature. The beginning of the story starts out with vivid imagery of the Salinas river and a description of...
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...What role does nature play in John Steinbeck's novel, Of Mice and Men? Set in the Salinas Valley of California, Of Mice and Men features George and Lennie, two old-time friends setting off to work in a ranch after being kicked out of their last one. Their dream is to own a piece of land on their own, where they're free to do whatever they want. By chasing this dream, the duo will face many obstacles in their path and see new things, many of which will be reflected through the nature and landscape throughout the story. Steinbeck's diction of the natural world creates an atmosphere of peace, eeriness, and forewarning, all of which symbolize events that happen in the story. The story begins with a description of an area surrounding the Salinas...
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...At the time of the Great Depression the U.S created a repatriation program that deported people of mexican descent, 400,000 were repatriated, sometimes against their will. In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men, there are many overarching themes, these themes help the author show the hard times of the Great Depression. One such theme would be the prevalence of loneliness in many of the characters. Another theme would be the discrimination against a number of characters, in the different forms such as sexism and racism. Lastly, many dreams in the novel go unfulfilled leaving many characters with the weight of failure. Throughout the Great Depression human compassion was as rare as a job, this led to widespread loneliness, that, in turn, is apparent...
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...Of Mice and Men Kiescha Giles Of mice and men is a novel written by author John Steinbeck, published in 1937. It’s about George Milton and lennie small, two displaced workers. Who move from place to place in California in search for new job opportunities during the great depression in United States of America? John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is a fable about what it means to be human. Steinbeck's story of George and Lennie's ambition of owning their own ranch, and the obstacles that stand in the way of that ambition, reveal the nature of dreams, dignity, loneliness, and sacrifice. Ultimately, Lennie, the mentally handicapped giant who makes George's dream of owning his own ranch worthwhile, ironically becomes the greatest obstacle to achieving...
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...What is an outcast? Who are they? In John Steinbeck’s gripping tale, Of Mice and Men, a few people display the struggle in society financially and emotionally in the era of The Great Depression. Though times were already bad, being an outcast was definitely more difficult. What is an outcast? The definition of an outcast is a person who is rejected or cast out, as from home or society. Here are some examples of outcasts in this book. George and Lennie have had only one another and only each other. They are outcasts from the beginning and it’s because of Lennie’s disorder. According to John Steinbeck’s book, Of Mice and Men, George is angry and tired of Lennie. “God a’mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. I could get a job an’ work, an’ no trouble. No mess at all” (Steinbeck 11). This shows that Lennie is difficult to work and live with but they still...
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...Even with careful planning and precision, fate will be a leading factor of one’s outcome despite hard work and effort in John Steinbeck’s, Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck’s use of extended metaphors displays fate as unpredictable and unavoidable despite careful planning and work. “Heron stood...motionless, and waiting” (Steinbeck 99), revealing fate as patient and unpredictable, but is also inescapable, never truly escaping from the “legs of the motionless heron” (Steinbeck 99). Steinbeck’s use of extended metaphors writes down the relationship between Lennie and the water snake and fate and the Heron. The heron symbolizes fate as powerful and inevitable, only having one path in which it takes. The bird simply attacks with no hesitation, just...
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...Power— the Oxford Dictionary defines the term, “power”, as “the authority that is given or delegated to a person or body”. The novella Of Mice and Men is a book about a shared platonic friendship between two opposites named George Milton, a short yet clever man and Lennie Smalls, an unusually big man who is mentally disabled. The two of them travel together to Soledad, California to work as buckers and together they meet the memorable characters of the book. This novella written by John Steinbeck centers around one’s power and powerlessness and reveals that those who are powerless are, more often times than not, treated differently than their powerful counterparts. This theme is ever-present in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men through its characters’...
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...Relationships are the basis of human interaction and by far the most important in one’s life is friendship. The importance of friendship in one’s life is comparable by no other relationship. Friendship is pure, forgiving and devout. This idea of friendship is undoubtedly illustrated in John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men. In the novel, George and Lennie tirelessly work to have a piece of land to call their own, traveling across the country for work. They are both truly devoted to one another and unwaveringly care for one another, and have proven so multiple times throughout the novel. Another relationship that exhibits devotion is that of the main characters in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet are two faithful star-crossed...
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...Loneliness makes people frustrated and bored.In of mice and men by John Steinbeck,characters deal with their loneliness by searching for companionship with others on the ranch.In the novel george and lennie dream of owning their own land but then loneliness and sacrifices get in the way.The theme “everybody needs friends” is evident in crooks and curley’s wife,ultimately arguing that loneliness can affect people in many different ways Crooks conveys the theme “everybody needs friends” by allowing the men into his room.For example,...
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...Curley’s wife’s need for attention: Male attention against loneliness Everyone has the need of attention from someone. In John Steinbeck’s novel “Of Mice and Men” all his characters struggle in a way with loneliness and seeking for any kind of attention. As Curley’s wife looks for attention particularly from men. Steinbeck describes her with “full,rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes,heavily made up”(31) and red fingernails. Her hair made “in little rolled clusters,like sausages” (31), she wears “a cotton house dress and red mules” (31) with a “little bouquet of red ostrich feathers”(31) in the insteps. Steinbeck let the reader know in a conversation between her and Lennie that she had a dream of a glamorous life as an actor which got destroyed...
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...John Steinbeck’s 1937 novella Of Mice and Men reveals that everyone has dreams in their lives; however, their setting-driven actions or disabilities make these dreams impossible. The theme of violence heavily impacts the story, to the extent that nearly every character shows violence, or has violence shown to them. While this violence in large part attributes itself to the aggressive setting, some character’s aspirations become unlikely due to matters out of their control, such as gender, race, and mental or physical disabilities. These variables can make or break the character's hopes and dreams. Acts of violence shown by the main characters, the farmhands’ desensitized views of violence, and various character’s social or physical handicaps...
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...A threatened person reacts like a rattlesnake, as in both will rattle and then attack. John Steinbeck knew this was true, and portrays rattlesnake-like violence in his writing. One specific work of Steinbeck’s, Of Mice and Men, is abundant in examples of animosity. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck examines how feeling threatened engenders violence through his portrayal of the violent outbursts of Curley, Lennie, and Curley’s Wife. Curley’s inner doubt leads him to lash out in violence. To start, Curley feels threatened by big people. Candy described that Curley was “alla time picking scraps with big guys” because he’s mad “he ain’t a big guy” (Steinbeck 26). When Curley is after Lennie, Steinbeck develops the threat of bigger people to Curley. In addition, Curley assaults people who his wife eyes. Because Curley’s Wife is promiscuous, Curley...
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...Miles is a very wealthy person. He lives in a big house with very fancy cars and goes out to eat every week. All his life he worked hard for his money and is living the good life. One day Miles notices a girl he really likes and goes to ask her out. Even though the many characters in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men are shown to be very kind, many of them commit cruel acts all motivated by envy. The cruel acts committed by Steinbeck’s characters are all very present throughout the book and all are motivated by envy. One character, Curley, gets very upset when Lennie, someone bigger than him arrives at the farm because he is jealous as he is very small. Candy mentions to Lennie, “Curley’s like a lot of little guys. He hates big guys....
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