...Cruelty is unavoidable in society, always has been and will likely continue to be throughout many centuries to come. Capturing the cruelty of society is a concept that William Golding and John Steinbeck both vividly exemplify. Steinbeck’s use of racism and discrimination through characters powerfully demonstrates cruelty. Golding illustrates cruelty through examples of bullying, self-preservation, and abandonment. However, although man's cruelty to other men is expressed clearly in William Golding's work, Lord of the Flies, as well as John Steinbeck's novel, Of Mice and Men, they are both epitomize the concept in alternative ways. In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, cruelty is shown by targeting people over things they can’t control,...
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...Authors Paragraph Of Mice and Men was published in the year of 1937. At the time of this novel being published John Steinbeck was living in Pacific Grove, California with his newly wedded wife, Carol Henning. During this time Mr. Steinbeck was considered a freelance writer and also was a caretaker in Lake Tahoe. Steinbeck’s intentions for writing this novel was to describe and help us get a feeling of life during the Great Depression, along with the struggles they faced with decision making. Of Mice and Men was intended for simply Americans that were caught up in the Great Depression Era but as time went by, it transformed into a book for teens and adults. John Steinbeck is very familiar with the subject of the Great Depression because he was alive during it and was able to recapture the struggles during the Great Depression. Literary Perspective...
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...During the early and mid 1900’s, African Americans are endless victims of discrimination. They are seen as outcasts and are treated horribly. The events of discrimination are shown very well in the novels A Summer of Kings by Han Nolan and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Both of the books clearly show the themes of racism, segregation and gender inequality throughout the content of their storylines. Having these forms of discrimination in both of the novels, make the readers realize how much suffering these innocent people had to go through every single day of their lives because of the cruel societies around them. Both of the novels have events within them showing the segregation, racism and gender inequality that are associated with the theme of discrimination. The events that they endure every day are horrible and these events have made a mark on history. Every event that shows discrimination is embedded in history and in A Summer of Kings and Of Mice and Men, the authors have shown these events clearly and made the suffering real enough to clearly understand as the reader. In the book A Summer of Kings racism is a central issue. Han Nolan makes sure to inform the readers that the African-American people live in different cities than the white people do. King-Roy Johnston, who is a black man that has been accused of murdering a white man in Alabama. When he comes to live with her family, Esther’s neighbour Pip is not so happy about this when he says “You think...
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...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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...H. Tharp The Unspoken Truth about John Steinbeck’s Legacy in Monterey County John Ernst Jr. Steinbeck is one of the most respected and honored American writers among our society today. In many classrooms around the world, his books are still mandated as reading requirements and there are many museums and centers dedicated to this esteemed author. John Steinbeck has won numerous awards for his books, most notably the Pulitzer Prize for his fictional novel, The Grapes of Wrath in 1940, and the Nobel Prize in literature in 1962 based on his entire body of work. Steinbeck’s other awards, which are typically less known are included in the following chart: WORK | YEAR | AWARD | MEDIUM | “The Murder” | 1934 | O. Henry Award | Print | Tortilla Flat | 1935 | Commonwealth Club of California Gold Medal for Best Novel by a Californian | Print | In Dubious Battle | 1936 | Ibid | Print | Of Mice and Men | 1938 | N.Y Drama Critic’s Circle Award | Play | “The Promise” | 1938 | O. Henry Award | Print | Of Mice and Men | 1939 | American Bookseller’s Award | Print | LifeBoat | 1944 | Academy Award nominee for Best Story | Print | A Medal for Benny | 1945 | Ibid | Print | The Moon is Down | 1946 | King Haakon Liberty Cross | Print | Viva Zapata! | 1952 | Academy Award nominee for Best Original Screenplay | Play | N/A | 1963 | Honorary Consultant in American Literature to the Library of Congress | N/A | N/A | 1964 | U.S Medal of Freedom; Press Medal of Freedom | N/A...
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...Prejudice and bias are a recurring theme in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. Nearly every character in this book has had some sort of bias or prejudice against them, such as Crooks because of his color, Curly’s wife for being a woman, and even Candy’s dog for being old, frail and smelly. Prejudice and bias are based on a lack of empathy for a person. This leads to a animosity developing between people. Crooks is one character who faces prejudice and bias to the fullest extent due to his color. Crooks is often referred to by derogatory slurs and is excluded from any friendly interaction with the other men in the barn. For example, according to Of Mice and Men, it states, “ I ain’t wanted in the bunk house, and you ain’t wanted in my room.”[Crooks...
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...Not Today Is it possible to befriend or work with the mentally ill? Thanks to John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, we are able to get an idea of what it is like being friends and working with the mentally ill. This exact situation happens in the novella Of Mice and Men we have two main characters George and Lennie, George is known as the brains of all of the operations although he is small, he is smart. Our second main character is Lennie he is known to be really big, but not as smart as George and can be described as being mentally ill. In Of Mice and Men the three most important moods are peaceful, uneasy, and suspenseful. In the beginning of Of Mice and Men, the mood is peaceful. In the beginning they explained “the water is warm too, for it has slipped twinkling over the yellow sands in the sunlight before reaching the narrow pool” (Steinbeck 1). I believe in the quote above it symbolizes a gentle and calm setting. Because, it talks about the water being warm twinkling over...
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...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 and Crooks then...
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...Discrimination in Of Mice and Men All throughout American history, minorities have been mistreated. In the John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, prejudice influences the way the ranchers treat others. Curley’s Wife, Crooks, and Candy are excluded because of gender, race, age, or disability. This bias results in these people feeling lonely and inferior. In Steinbeck’s novella, multiple characters experience alienation due to discrimination by other ranchers. Throughout the novella, Curley’s Wife is isolated from the male workers several times due to her gender. This is portrayed when the men in the bunkhouse argue with Curley about his wife, when they try to avoid Curley’s Wife because they view her as a nothing more than a distraction because they think her beauty is her only valuable characteristic. Carlson says, “Why’n’t you...
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...didn’t depict actual history in the plot so it doesn’t refute religion. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley was banned by the Board of Curriculum in Seattle schools, and in schools in Glen Burnie for sexual content. According to Alexandra Petri “in Glen Burnie the issue was too much sexual content in Seattle, there were complaints of racially offensive or derogatory language, misinformation, and stereotypes.” I do not agree with the banning of a Brave New World because it is a depiction of a society through Huxley’s fictional and creative perspective. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck was banned in 1997 in Peru, Illinois for race and gender conflictions. Ron Titus from the Marshal University said the of Mice and Men had offensive language, racism, violence, unsuitable to its age group, bad presentation of traditional values, derogatory towards African Americans, women, and developmentally challenged. I do not think that of Mice...
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...The novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ based in the 1930s during The Great Depression revolves around the thought of ‘The American Dream’. Life during the Great Depression was very harsh and difficult for the American workers as they had to travel long distances to find suitable jobs. The author John Steinbeck describes the lives of two migrant workers travelling together in search for work. The American dream was the belief in freedom that allows American citizens to pursue their goals in life through hard work and bravery, this was seen to be the main factor that motivated most of the migrant workers to continue to find jobs and later on fulfil their own dream and live a happier life. In the book ‘Of Mice and Men’ Steinbeck has made the ranch a micro representation of the society of the time because it contains all the elements of society. George and Lennie’s only hope was to move around the country to achieve their dream due to The Great Depression, the dream was a typical American dream where there is a large piece of land with a small house and many different farm animals, throughout their travel George would usually use the their dream to control Lennie’s actions and behaviour. ‘Say’s I can’t tend no rabbits if I talk to you or anything.’ Steinbeck is trying to represent how society controls the people in it by showing that George has greater control over Lennie. George threatens to take away Lennie’s ability to get his dream, if he gets into trouble. However, if Lennie works hard...
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...One of John Steinbeck’s most well known novels Of Mice and Men takes place in California during the time period of The Great Depression. The Great Depression was a time when people could work extremely hard for many hours and still have a difficult time trying to support their families or even just themselves. George Milton and Lennie Smalls show how difficult this truly is throughout the entire book. It is so difficult for them because they bounce around trying to find work but struggle to do so. In the novel, John Steinbeck uses motifs, imagery and tone to show how difficult it was to live during The Great Depression time period. First off, Steinbeck uses motifs to show how hard it was to live during The Great Depression. During this era,...
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...Guadalupe Dominguez June 3, 2011 Humanities 303 Mrs. Nyhan Of Mice and Men Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck was a book that told the ultimate demonstration of love George had for Lennie. The first instant that George demonstrated that he cared for Lennie was when he asked Lennie to give him the mouse he had pulled out of the river. When Lennie gave George the mouse he began to cry so George said “Aw, Lennie!” “George put his hand on Lennie’s shoulder” (Of Mice and Men). “I ain’t taking it away just for meanness” (Of Mice and Men). “That mouse ain’t fresh, Lennie; and beside, you’ve broke it petting it” (Of Mice and Men). Here George demonstrated he cared about Lennie’s feelings. He wanted Lennie to understand that he was not taking the mouse from him just because he didn’t want him to have it; it was because it was died and he could get sick. George showed compassion toward Lennie when George places his hand on Lennie’s should as a way to comfort Lennie because the mouse was taken away from him. Another instant when George demonstrated he cared about Lennie was when Lennie got in trouble for the first time in Weed. Lennie said “jus’ wanted to feel that girl’s dress---jus’ wanted to pet it like it was a mouse---Well, how the hell did she know you jus’ wanted to feel her dress?” (Of Mice and Men). Because Lennie grab this girl’s dress and wouldn’t let go he got accused of raping this girl. Since, no one was going to believe Lennie didn’t do anything...
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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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...This “dream” eluded many people, such as poor citizens from California and surrounding states and migrants suffering from the economical downfall from all parts of the world. It gave them false hopes and dreams of becoming wealthy and prosperous, when in reality, America was in the clutches of the most extensive and most profound economical/social depression ever known. The American Dream fooled endless people into believing that becoming successful is possible, no matter what your situation is. The victims of this fallacy, men and migrants, who owned nothing but the clothes on their backs, would end up living in squalid camps or wandering around the California Dust Bowl, searching for a job so they could make a meagre living. Despite all that was going on around him, each man would have his own small dream in his head of becoming a future success. Miller and Steinbeck were inspired by these dreamers and featured them in many of their books/plays. John Steinbeck was born on February 27th 1902. By the age of fourteen he had made up his mind to become a writer. He completed his first novel, Cup of Gold, in 1929. What is considered to be his finest, most ambitious work is The Grapes of Wrath, which was published in 1939. The book tells the story of a disposed Oklahoma families struggle to set up a new life in California, which is in the midst of the Depression. Steinbeck was living in California whilst this sort of thing was going on. Many of his books protested against the...
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