...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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...Set in the Great Depression, John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men follows the tale of two migrant workers—George Milton and Lennie Small—trying to make ends meet in California. The two companions work in the fields of a ranch in an attempt to save enough money to buy their own small property. After a disastrous turn of events that ends with Lennie’s accidentally murdering a lady, Lennie flees to the nearby brush; and George shoots him. The bond between George and Lennie shows that even polar opposites can form strong friendships. George Milton is a kind, patient, and mature man who has ambitions for a simple life on his own ranch. George’s kindness is noticeable when he comforts Lennie following the death of Curley’s wife. Having accidentally...
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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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...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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...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...
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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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..."Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty." said Mother Teresa. Isolation can lead the kindest of people angry and aggressive. It can make the strongest of people feeling weak and useless. John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, shows that loneliness and isolation can have negative impacts on its victims. First of all, Isolation can make people feel unwanted, leading them to make others feel the same way. In Steinbeck's story, Crooks wanted to make Lennie feel unwanted by being rude to him and trying to get him to leave. On page 68 Crooks said sharply, "You got no right to come in my room. This here's my room. Nobody got any right in here but me." Although it was Crooks's room, he could have given Lennie a chance to see if he wasn't like the others. Crooks eventually did allow Lennie to stay after realizing that he has someone to talk to for a while. He didn't care that Lennie wasn't paying attention to what was being said, he was just glad that he had...
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