...1926 where he majored in English. He married on the 28th December 1950 to his third and last wife, Elaine Anderson Scott. During his lifetime he wrote twenty-seven books, including five collections of short stories, six non-fiction books and sixteen novellas. One of his most successful novellas is ‘Of Mice and Men’ which I am going to explore and analyse. Steinbeck uses Curley’s wife as a symbol to portray and demonstrate male dominance and portray female oppression in the 1930’s USA. He also shows the futility of the American dream throughout the novella. Steinbeck portrays the nameless wife throughout the novella as Curley’s wife, as that ‘title’ shows the apostrophe of possession. Curley’s Wife is not a person of her own but merely a possession. We are not informed the name of Curley’s Wife. Steinbeck never informs us about her at all during the course of the novella, she remains much of a questionable character. Steinbeck's way of showing us this is that she is always asking questions, she never gives any solid information about herself. This gives way to excessive mystery and many different observations about her. Symbolism is used by Steinbeck when he refers to Curley’s Wife in various ways during the course of the novella. Like the colour red, to different people red symbolises a wide variety of things, such as, danger, sexual, lust, passion, love, blood. For example “red shoes with ostrich feathers” an ostrich is a bird that cannot fly. This symbolises Curley’s Wife...
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...Of Mice and Men Essay ‘Of Mice and Men’ was written by John Steinbeck in 1937, the same time as the great depression. In ‘Of Mice and Men’, Steinbeck presents Curley’s Wife in a variety of different ways. In the novella Curley’s Wife is seen as a villainess. Curley’s Wife is also seen as someone who craves attention which leads to the novellas tragic ending. Steinbeck could also be showing society’s view of how women should behave. In the 1930s women were one of two roles- a ‘tart’ or a ‘mother’ in the both cases they are presented as serving a purpose for men- either to give the man sexual pleasure or to provide a family. Steinbeck presents Curley’s Wife in many ways in the novella. Firstly he presents her through the male gaze as a tart and we see this through Candy’s description of her. Steinbeck’s use of description states that she is ‘heavily’ made up and she exhibits extremely flirtatious behaviour. Although this could be because how restricted women were at the time. Curley’s Wife did not have children so she may have been automatically put into the category of a ‘tart’. Curley’s Wife also never had a positive female role model because of her bad relationship with her mother. Throughout the novella the reader’s view of Curley’s Wife changes from her being a ‘tart’ to a lonely figure that just wants attention. Steinbeck also presents her as a victim of prejudice and sexism as the reader’s perceptions change as her character develops but the male view of Curley’s Wife...
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...Jake Klonsky 5/20/15 English Paragraphs Addiction: In the novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson explains a terrifying story depicting the power of addiction. Stevenson uses Jekyll and his addiction to becoming Hyde as an exploration of physiological and physical addiction. There are many ways the novella shows addiction, one of the clearest being the conversation between Jekyll and Utterson regarding Utterson’s worry for Jekyll health. Jekyll explains to Utterson, “just to put your good heart at rest, I will tell you one thing: the moment I choose, I can be rid of Mr. Hyde’”(58). This is Jekyll paraphrasing the cliched phrase where addicts claim they can stop any time they want. Every time he attempts...
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...John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men In John Steinbeck's classic novella, Of Mice and Men, one of the predominant themes that govern the story and characters in the book is friendship. One of the ways in which friendship plays a large role is in the area of mercy killing, which affects the main characters as well as the supporting ones. The two major mercy killings that occur in the book are those of Carlson's killing of Candy's old dog, and of George's killing of Lennie. In both of these examples, the killer kills the other out of mercy and love, not for the usual motives of hatred, rage, anger, etc. The killing of Candy's dog is an excellent example of mercy killing in the aforesaid novella. Candy's dog was in terrible condition, and it could barely be said that the ratty old thing was even alive. It stunk like a dozen skunks, was nearly blind, could barely hear, had arthritis that was so bad, the old mutt couldn't sit down, had no quality of life, and probably had urinary and bowel problems, a miserable condition that is almost assured in old dogs. This instance of mercy killing, however, was more driven by peer pressure than the typical case of mercy killing. When someone kills another loved one out of mercy, it is normally done to put the afflicted one out of their misery, torment, anguish, distress, etc. The other ranch hands thought that the dog reeked more than any of its other conditions, which was the only one that they, too, could experience. Candy's dog loved its master...
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...In Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella, the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the narrator, Mr. Utterson, struggles to identify a strange relationship between his good friend, Dr. Jekyll, and the evil Mr. Hyde. At the end of the novella, it is revealed to the reader that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde were the same person all along; Dr. Jekyll had created a solution that disfigured his appearance when he took it, which became Mr. Hyde and allowed him freedom from any moral consequences that he would have faced if he were Dr. Jekyll when he performed his evil actions. In order to understand some of Dr. Jekyll’s behavior that is portrayed in the novella, it is important to consider several of the scientific and social conventions of the nineteenth...
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...to today’s society? In your conclusion, you should draw together your thoughts and revisit the prompts listed opposite. How does the ending leave you feeling? Why? How convincing does it make the novel as a whole? How does it relate to today’s society? Perhaps Steinbeck intends the ending to signify how generic victims will never prosper, will continually be subverted/threatened, victimised and cruelly abused? If you disagree with this, state how it might be proved not to be the case… how might Lennie represent the plight/possible fate of other victims in the novella? (Candy? Crooks? Curley’s wife? etc.) Perhaps Steinbeck intends the ending to signify how generic victims will never prosper, will continually be subverted/threatened, victimised and cruelly abused? If you disagree with this, state how it might be proved not to be the case… how might Lennie represent the plight/possible fate of other victims in the novella? (Candy? Crooks? Curley’s wife? etc.) Prior to this, the dramatic and tragic...
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...In the novella Of Mice And Men George was justified in killing Lennie because Lennie was justified in killing Lennie because Lennie was dangerous and a burden To begin Lennie was harmful to others and his surroundings. In chapter 1 in the book, Lennie kills a mouse from the very start. This introduces from the beginning that Lennie is harmful. As the story progresses Lennie goes on to kill a puppy (Steinbeck 85) and most importantly Curley's wife. (Steinbeck 93) These actions show that Lennie was detrimental to his his peers and surroundings. In addition, Lennie was a burden upon George. In the novella, George can not keep a steady job because of Lennie. In chapter 4 George says “course Lennie's a god damn nuisance most of the time.”...
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...An Optimistic approach in Of Mice and Men Steinbeck’s use of imagery, foreshadowing and motif in Of Mice and Men sends the message that this novella is very optimistic based. First of all Steinbeck uses imagery very frequently throughout the book to describe scenery and characters. In the beginning chapter, Steinbeck describes the valleys and mountains where Lennie and George spend their time before working on the ranch as “the golden foothill slopes that curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan Mountains, but on the valley side the water is lined with trees (...)” (Steinbeck 1). In this scene, Steinbeck uses very descriptive words to clearly describe the surrounding environment. The reader pictures a beautiful image of mountains and valleys in between, along with a gorgeous lake in front of a park with large sycamores scattered on the ground. The reader is able to think very positively when they read this quote because it brings out the small, beautiful things in the world, which allows them to think of this novella a bright and optimistic based story. Moreover, Steinbeck uses foreshadowing that allows the reader to think ahead and predict the outcomes in the future and the book in general. There are many examples of foreshadowing in Of Mice and Men, such as the following. "Lennie looked sadly up at him. 'They was so little,' he said, apologetically. 'I'd pet 'em, and pretty soon they bit my fingers and I pinched their little heads a little and then they was dead -- because...
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...significant Cultural Issues evolve during the course of the novel? Give Specific Reference to the themes present in the text. "Of mice and men", by John Steinbeck is a classic novella with containing pages filled with awe-inspiring literature, that has brought smiles as well as tears to all of its readers. There are several cultural issues that Steinbeck incorporates into this text, using effective techniques and a very articulate writing style to make this novella one to be remembered long after the final pages have been read. The main cultural issues that evolve through the course of the novel include racism, alienation and the constantly evolving issue of hope. The main cultural issue that evolve during the course of the novella is discrimination and prejudice. There are three main people in the novella who are discriminated against in this text. They include Curley's wife, Lennie and Crooks. Crooks is an American African and because of his skin colour he is constantly discriminated against throughout the novella. As Lennie enters Cooks' room for the first time, he becomes very defensive as he says, "You got no right to come in my room. This here is my room. Nobody got any right in here but me". Lennie, as innocent as he is, does not know about racism and does not, through the entire novella understand or use racism against Crooks. Lennie, who does not know of racism, "smiled at helplessly in an attempt to make friends". Crooks realises that Lennie is mentally disabled...
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...centered around the Imperial Era where the Europeans would do anything to attain more power, surpassing humane behavior , which resulted in their savage and vicious attitude: brutes. Heart of Darkness exhibits Conrad’s alter ego , beheld by darkness itself , human corruption , and discrimination . However , when reading it question yourself whether heart Of Darkness is a valuable worth your time! No. It is a piece of nonsense , that’s captivates our confusion rather than our interest , through the eyes of high school students. High school teachers may say “ it is a literary gem that delves deep into the heart of man, and makes the reader reflect on his/her personal values. While intended to highlight the politics of discrimination, this novella holds merit for high school students as well.” (Ms.Herzog).But is it morally right for teachers to assign such a difficult book considering our limited learning capacities? The book was designed for colleagues; incorporating abstract meanings, “rich symbolism”. and literary devices; things that our minds can not keep up with. As a high school student , I find the novel relatively confusing rather than a phenomenal piece of literature, as projected by everyone else, teachers. I am just learning about the complexities of literary devices: such as metaphors, similes , personification , and how to identify them. Now , Heart of Darkness has such a vast number of these devices;far more advanced from my understanding. How can we keep up...
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...Of Mice and Men is a novella written by John Steinbeck. This novella shows a lot of emotion through the pages and gives the reader a lot of emotion in just about 100 pages. It gives anger to the reader, can be offensive at times, and the book shows a lot of power characters have over others. This is why I chose the color red. The color red best represents the novella Of Mice and Men because red portrays emotions such as offense, power and anger. First, the color red can portray offense. There are many quotes in this novella that can appear to be offensive to readers. One example is "This is just a nigger talkin', an' a busted-back nigger. So it don't mean nothing, see?" (Steinbeck 39). Many people find the n-word offensive because of the history behind the word. Should it be removed from the book because it is offensive, or should they keep it because it’s part of the classic’s history? Second, the color red can portray anger. This novella gives the reader anger and characters anger. One example from the book is "So you forgot that awready, did you? I gotta tell you again, do I? Jesus Christ, you're a crazy bastard!" "I forgot," Lennie said softly.” (Steinbeck 14). This quote can give the reader anger because of how rude George is to Lennie. This quote also gives George anger because he is yelling at Lennie....
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...Helen Keller, a well known blind and deaf American Author, once said, “True friends are never apart. Maybe in distance, but never in heart.” The realism of this quote is shown throughout the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. John Steinbeck wrote this novella during The Great Depression, a time of great despair and economic decline, where citizens would migrate everywhere to get a job and that is exactly what the main characters, George and Lennie, do in Of Mice and Men. While George and Lennie were staying at the ranch, they met a series of new people, most of them coming in pairs. The character pairs in Of Mice and Men where the readers can see Helen Keller’s wise wisdom ring true is through George and Lennie, Candy and his dog,...
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...use of the character of Curley’s Wife is the only female character in the novella. Steinbeck uses different methods to diminish the importance of Curley’s wife Steinbeck never gives Curley’s Wife a name. This is done to show that she does not have any identity or position on the ranch. As Curley’s Wife is a representation of all women in the 1930s I feel Steinbeck uses her to show that she does not have any identity or position on the ranch. As Curley’s Wife is a representation of all women in the 1930s I feel Steinbeck uses her to show that most women back then had no identity or position in the working world. Steinbeck uses methods of introduction to show the reader the hardships of women in the 1930s. Steinbeck never introduces Curley’s Wife throughout the novella. I feel Steinbeck does this to show that although to the reader she is an important character, she is insignificant in the 1930s society. However Curley’s wife upon meeting George and Lennie never introduces herself. This shows that the character herself feels insignificant in society. She feels that she is unwanted and no one cares for her so no one would need to know her name. Curely’s Wife is also only introduced to other people as “Curley’s Wife”, I think that Steinbeck does this to show that Curley, her husband, is in possession of her, like so many other women in 1930 in other situations. No characters in the novella care for Curley’s Wife and very little attention is given to her. However...
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...John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men, is a novella telling about life during the Great Depression and how people with certain traits and disabilities are regarded as the untouchables. Lennie Small a big guy with a small mind has a tendency to touch and feel objects he thinks that are soft and cuddly and cannot let go without some force. Lennie has a very close relationship with George and it could be viewed as close relatives, despite that they have nothing in common. Unfortunately, during the time, people like Lennie are regarded as stupid and are unable to act in life. Lennie has the characteristics of being an affectionate person while being a childish person at the same time. Even though Lennie has these traits, he should not be considered an outcast by the others because just like George, Lennie is special in his own ways because he can be a good sidekick, he can be a good caretaker, and he can also be a hard worker. Lennie should not be looked upon as a fugitive because he can be an affectionate person. George describes Lennie was “jus’ wanted to touch that red dress, like he wants to pet them pups all the time” (22). It basically explains how Lennie has an affection to cute things and how loveable they are and how he himself as a mature adult should not be doing...
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...In the novella of Mice and Men and the TV show Fargo, the idea of masculinity and its surrounding ideas are played with allot. From the idea of a male partnership to animal symbolism, these texts show similar events happening to similar collections of people, however, these two texts are different in the audience that they are appealing towards. In Steinbeck’s novella, it is very much a piece of its time, being centered around the great depression and a man's struggle to find work in these hard times, very much reflecting on Steinbeck’s own life. Whereas Fargo focuses more on the ideals of the American dream, following a lowly ‘failure’ of a man as his life gets ripped from him. The idea of the traditional Lone Wanderer is portrayed in both...
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