Premium Essay

Comparison Of John Steinbeck's 'Of Mice And Men'

Submitted By
Words 748
Pages 3
“Hard times will always reveal true friends”. This can be seen in Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. Of Mice and Men is about two migrant workers, George Milton and Lennie Small who have been together all their lives. They travel across the country looking for work when they find work in Salinas Valley, California during the Great Depression. The two have been friends since they first knew each other. George is a true friend to Lennie because he cares for him, stays with him, protects him, and does what it is best for him.
George cared for Lennie like a father cares for his son. He showed his care in many ways such as taking Lennie in when Lennie’s Aunt Clara died. He also took Lennie’s work ticket and saved it for him, so Lennie couldn’t lose it. When they were at the brush by the Salinas River, George cooked dinner for Lennie and offered to give him all the ketchup if he had it. He said, “If it was here, you could have some.” (Steinbeck 12.) George is willing to sacrifice some of his luxuries, such as …show more content…
George would do anything for Lennie, no matter what it was. At the beginning of Of Mice and Men Candy’s dog was old, weak, smelly, and in pain. Carlson, one of the other workers on the ranch decided to shoot Candy’s dog to end his suffering. Afterwards, Candy regretted his decision in not carrying out the task himself. He wished he was the one to end his friend’s life and not a stranger. When Lennie had killed Curley’s wife, George knew that there was only one option; to kill Lennie, his beloved friend. George understood that the best thing for Lennie was to end his life with the thought of their own farm with rabbits everywhere. George said, “No, Lennie. I ain’t mad. I never been mad, an’ I ain’t now. That’s a thing I want you to know,” (Steinbeck 106). George did not kill Lennie because he thought he should die, he killed him because death was better than the

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Comparison Of John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

...It is breathtaking to witness the rooted words of a book, sprout and take life upon a stage. Only seconds into The Springers production of “Of Mice and Men” Lennie Smalls distinguished himself as a peculiar character, his childlike actions hinting towards a disability within. This adaptation of Lennie opened the book and placed it on the stage, allowing actors words to fill the gaps within our mind, with pure interpretation. From Lennie’s first playful strides across the stage he appeared far from ordinary, leaving the audience eager to understand him. He hurried onto the stage, his worn self-resting on the ground, desperately cupping dirty water and gulping. He stood tall and capable, with a head of gray he appeared to be in his fifty’s despite...

Words: 571 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Comparison Of John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

...the beginning of my narrative. I knew that there was a problem with my back, but it wasn’t until it was visually noticeable that I could do anything about it. Another way that Of Mice and Men shows this theme is when Curley and Lennie fight. The fight was bad for everybody involved, but in the end it led to Curley staying away from Lennie and not harassing him anymore. “But you jus’ tell an’ try to get this guy canned and we’ll tell ever’body,” (Steinbeck 64). The narrative shares a similar idea through my surgery. It was very painful and difficult for me, but it began to get a lot better after a while. Another way that the theme that sometimes things have to get worse before they can get better is shown in the novel is at the very end. George had to kill Lennie which was very sad and painful for him, but it led to better things for George. He no longer had to move around and take care of Lennie all the time, and he created a friendship with Slim. “Me an’ you’ll go in an’ get a drink,” (Steinbeck 107). This is what happened with the physical therapy in my narrative. At first it was very painful, and I was barely able to do the exercises. Eventually the exercises paid off, and I became much stronger. The pain that I had felt for so long began to go away. Both my narrative and the novel Of Mice and Men share the theme that sometimes things have to get much worse before they can get...

Words: 1128 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Comparison Of John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

...Movies based on books often leave out key parts. Though Of Mice and Men was adapted very well into movie form, the depiction of a important character was pretty far off, Curley’s wife. In both the movie and the novel she is the only female focused on. Her name is not mentioned in either the novel, but John Steinbeck does go into great depth relating to her appearance and personality. In the novel they describe one of her outfits saying that it has bright red ostrich feathers. However, in the movie she is dressed somewhat plain, relatively speaking, still somewhat provocative for that time period. I found this somewhat surprising because it was mentioned in both the novel and the movie that she dresses for the movie star life she believes she...

Words: 413 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Comparison Of John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

...George and Lennie’s dream is to have a land of their own, working for themselves and live off the fat of the land ( 13-14). My hope or dream you could say is to just get through everyday, it's definitely not as big as George and Lennie’s dream but the way they will success to get their dream is by my hope/ dream of just passing through a day. Getting through a day isnt always easy to do when you have to interact with people around you to figure out how you should talk and act around them. You may come off a certain way that you don't want to come off or may say something to upset them. George and Lennie have to go through this everyday thinking about others so they can work at the new ranch and work enough to get money to succeed and reach...

Words: 426 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Comparison Of John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

...This quote uses anaphora to depict how women must be submissive and obedient. The repetitive phrase “the girl’s” illustrates how men have absolute right to set expectations and rules for women. The use of “girl” instead of “women” also implies men’s contempt to women as men think women lacks education, knowledge and capability to be equal to them. Women were not allowed to learn and not allowed to think themselves. Those rules shows how society expects women to behave, and how they were turned into servants of the men. They have no souls, no freedom, and no rights. b) One can not be happy until they truly move on. “Because if he were, I would lean over his bed and call his name. I would pry open his eyes and tell him, Wen Fu, now have come back. And when he saw my heart through my eyes, I would round my lips and spit hard in his face.” (85)...

Words: 462 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Comparison Between John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

...Lennie is a Goner George did the right thing by shooting Lennie because if he didn’t shoot him, Curley would’ve done something a lot worse. George knew Lennie would’ve been killed, being his best friend he would have wanted to kill him. However others might argue that Lennie didn’t know any better and it was an accident. If George didn’t shoot Lennie he might’ve gone to jail. He would’ve been treated terribly there because of his disability. Slim briefly sums up what would happen when he says. “An’ s'pose they lock him up an’ strap him down and put him in a cage” (Steinbeck). This proves he would’ve been treated terribly if George didn’t take matters into his own hands. George was just keeping his word when he told Aunt Clara that he’d look out for Lennie, he was doing that when he shot him. George knew that the chances of Lennie being killed were higher than being put into jail, therefore he probably would’ve wanted to be the one to kill him. When Candy’s dog was shot he was sad because he wanted to do it rather than someone else this is shown when Carlson offers to shoot the dog. “I’ll shoot him for you. Then it won’t be you that does it… He scratched the white stubble whiskers on his cheek nervously. “ I’m so used to him,” he said softly. “ I had him from a pup” (Steinbeck). This proves that Candy wasn’t to sure he wanted someone else to shoot his dog. Now some might think George shouldn’t have killed Lennie because he didn’t know what to do and he didn’t know better. Others...

Words: 412 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

A Comparison Of George In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

...A character from a work of literature I've recently read that displayed intense courage when faced with a difficult/dangerous situation would be George from the story "Of Mice and Men." 2 of the main characters from the story was Lenny and George who hoped to one day own a farm with a lot of animals. Lenny was a tall gigantic man with a lot of strength who had a fascination of touching soft things such as mice or dogs, while George on the other hand was a shorter man that took on the role of taking care of both of them and keeping them out of trouble. However, one day Lenny had touched a woman's dress and wouldn't let go which frightened her to let out a loud scream. The young woman ran back to tell everyone in town what happened which led...

Words: 560 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Comparison Between John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

...2. The excerpt starts off with the depiction of two men dressed in the same outfits walking along a path. When the men are being described, their personalities are widely different. One of the men is described as slender and slim, with hard features. The other is described as broad and sluggish with soft, shapeless features. The sluggish man is also said to be walking behind the first man, which could mean that the first man may be more important or keeps the second man in order. In the book the first man is George Milton and the second is Lennie Small. George is very protective of Lennie and does not want him wandering off. He treats Lennie like he is worthless because of his troubled past. Lennie is seen as very optimistic and tries his hardest...

Words: 369 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

A Comparison Of Dreams In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

...Dreams all differ in their own ways, everyone have different dreams . The people in the book had their own dreams. Curly’s wife had her dream to become an actress. Lennie wanted to tened to the rabbits on the farm.The dreams of the people in mice of men are all vastly different and are implicated differently throughout the story. Lennie wants to tened to rabbits , Curly’s wife want’s to be an actress.In the book it said that lennie wanted to tened to the rabbits and curley’s wife wanted to be an actress.page 88 for lennie and page 88 for curley’s wife.The both of them have different dreams and want to live there own dreams.This says that everyone in the book of mice and men have there own dream. Candy was going to give lennie and george money...

Words: 273 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Comparison Between John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

...I believe that it is ok to pretend nice because for African-American’s it is essential in order to survive, continue your career, and follows the rules. In chapter 14 on page. 103 & 104 Reesa has to pretend nice to J.D Bowman at her juice stand. J.D Bowman called Reesa a Jew because of her prices for the juice 3 for $0.30. J.D Bowman believes that “anybody that advertises 3 glasses for a dime must be a Jew” he says to he said to her at the juice stand. Reesa even tells him that her family is Baptist but then he just calls her Baptist Jew Girl and goes to his truck with his 2 sons. Reesa didn’t say anything at all despite his displeasure and nervousness. Reesa knows after killing Marvin and then shrugged it off when he heard it was the...

Words: 432 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Comparison Of Values In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

...“We hang onto our values, even if they seem at times tarnished and worn; even if, as a nation and in our own lives, we have betrayed them more often than we remember. What else is there to guide us? Those values are our inheritance, what makes us who we are as a people.” What President Barack Obama means is that values are what our personalities are built off of. They're the starting point or point of origin. Without them, we tend to let our morals and priorities loose.They help define who we are. But at the same time, the definitions of those values change several thousand times by the time we die. Circumstances change or affect our values. Sometimes success changes the value of family. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, George chooses...

Words: 687 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Comparison Between Lennie In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

...Rising just above the peak of the mountains is the burning hot sun, getting ready to start the day. The day was becoming warmer and the shadows in the valley were starting to turn to a blueish grey and in the distance, the sounds of men shouting to one another can be discerned. The men belting deafening screams at each other, trying to pinpoint Lennie’s location and take him down. In the book Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, one of the main characters, Lennie, gets into a multitudinous amount of trouble and ends up paying for it all. Lennie is a mentally disabled, middle aged man, who is traveling with George, a fellow companion, who is trying to keep him away from these harmful encounters. George is not able to protect Lennie from the crimes he commits and ended up needing to shoot Lennie to prevent him from any further trouble. Lennie Small’s being shot was a mercy killing and not a murder....

Words: 831 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

How Does Steinbeck Use Dramatic Techniques In Of Mice And Men

...Through the entirety of the classic novella ‘Of Mice and Men’, John Steinbeck uses a variety of dramatic techniques and stylistic devices to convey a clear message of: hopes, dreams and reality. Steinbeck’s placement of such techniques allows him to effectively create a causal loop within the narrative, subsequently applying heavy foreshadowing; whether Steinbeck used this consciously or not. The main plot explores the themes of idealism and more prominently- realism, Steinbeck connects a lot of his novella to real life issues currently happening in his time. Through the course of the narrative, Steinbeck used many literary techniques of which effectively drove the tale to become circular in its events. Steinbeck relied on events that had happened previously- before the narrative had taken place. Through doing so the author creates a vivid sense of ‘déjà-vu’ when a similar event takes place, of which happened quite frequently as the book progresses....

Words: 660 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

John Steinbeck

...“The Red Pony” by John Steinbeck – Critical Analysis John Steinbeck an American writer was born in the year 1902 and died in the year 1968.During his time, Steinbeck was one of the most accomplished writers and his literary works received massive popularity. Most of his novels and short stories were performed as plays on stage and that is one reason why he was among the best sellers during his era. One of his great accomplishments for his involvement in literature was the Literature Nobel Prize he won in 1962. Steinbeck wrote a total of twenty seven books and some of his most common books include; “The grapes of Wrath” written in 1939, the 1952 “East of Eden, The 1937 short novel “Mice and men” (John, pg 23). John Steinbeck spent much of his early life in a rural part of America and worked on various ranches with migrants ‘on spreckler ranch and other nearby ranches during his summers. He attended Salinas high school and later joined Stanford University, although he never graduated. He did various odd jobs before beginning his career as a writer. Steinbeck wrote his first novel Cup of Gold which was published in 1929.Other books he wrote were; the pastures of heaven (1932), The Red Pony (1933), Tortilla Flat (1935), The Grapes of Wrath (1939), and many others. During his career, Stein beck was involved in various issues and correspondence. Most of his literary works revolved around his life as well as the issues that affected people then (John, pg 56). One of the issues he wrote...

Words: 2030 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Of Mice and Men Analysis

...Analysis of Major Characters Lennie Although Lennie is among the principal characters in Of Mice and Men, he is perhaps the least dynamic. He undergoes no significant changes, development, or growth throughout the novel and remains exactly as the reader encounters him in the opening pages. Simply put, he loves to pet soft things, is blindly devoted to George and their vision of the farm, and possesses incredible physical strength. Nearly every scene in which Lennie appears confirms these and only these characteristics. Although Steinbeck’s insistent repetition of these characteristics makes Lennie a rather flat character, Lennie’s simplicity is central to Steinbeck’s conception of the novel. Of Mice and Men is a very short work that manages to build up an extremely powerful impact. Since the tragedy depends upon the outcome seeming to be inevitable, the reader must know from the start that Lennie is doomed, and must be sympathetic to him. Steinbeck achieves these two feats by creating a protagonist who earns the reader’s sympathy because of his utter helplessness in the face of the events that unfold. Lennie is totally defenseless. He cannot avoid the dangers presented by Curley, Curley’s wife, or the world at large. His innocence raises him to a standard of pure goodness that is more poetic and literary than realistic. His enthusiasm for the vision of their future farm proves contagious as he convinces George, Candy, Crooks, and the reader that such a paradise might be possible...

Words: 2401 - Pages: 10