...occurrences of repeating patterns and events. Steinbeck effectively uses cyclical patterns throughout his novel to thoughtfully portray its themes. In section four of the novel Steinbeck uses a cyclical pattern to depict feelings of hope and companionship. Section four begins with Crooks, a stable hand, rubbing liniment on his spine alone in his shack with no hope. Next, Lennie wanders into Crooks's and tells him about the protagonists' goals of purchasing a plot of land. Crooks's lack of hope is portrayed when he tells Lennie, "Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land" (Steinbeck 74). This quote marks the beginning of the cyclical cycle showing the reader that Crooks is hopeless. Then, Candy arrives explaining to Lennie and Crooks that buying land may actually be plausible. When Crooks becomes aware of this he has a sudden change of heart. This is the second step of this example of the cycle in which Crooks forms feelings of hope and companionship. Later, Curley's wife approaches the three men asking if they have seen her husband. Candy asks her to leave insisting the men want nothing to do with her, but she refuses. After further berating the men Curley's Wife becomes angry and says to Crooks, "I could get you strung up on a tree so...
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...Mice and Men and in the novel there are many differences. Some similarities are very different while others can be plain obvious. The novel and the movie may play the same story, but the events leading up to the resolution can be different or the same. The movie and the novel Of Mice and Men are similar and different in many ways. The first thing you will notice about the novel and the movie Of Mice and Men are the many similarities. The first similarity you might notice is the overall setting of both the novel and the movie. The setting for both appears to be in a desert area. Another similarity of both the novel and the movie is that green pond that George and Lennie stumble upon near the beginning of both the novel and the movie. Other similarities in Of Mice and Men is how the characters are described in the novel and presented in the movie. For example, in the novel Curley (the boss’s son) is...
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...answering, consider the connection between the novel's setting and the characters' vocations. Also, how does Steinbeck signal the importance of setting in his choice of place names? Though the novel is more famous for its characters than its setting, Of Mice and Men could not have been set elsewhere than in the rural Salinas valley of California. The problems of the novel are intimately tied to the rhythms and frustrations of the itinerant worker's life. Shifting from ranch to ranch, from one menial job to another, the Californian itinerant worker risked a life of meaningless labor - of pure, cynical sustenance. George and Lennie, with their dream of acquiring a farm, represent an attempt to stand against such perpetual loneliness. Even the name of the city near which the novel is set - Soledad, which is Spanish for "solitude" - resonates with this theme of loneliness. The title, Of Mice and Men, is an allusion to a Robert Burns poem. How is this allusion meaningful in the novel? Consider some similarities and differences between Burns and Steinbeck's works. Robert Burns' poem, "To a Mouse," is the source of the famous quotation: "The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men / Gang aft agley" ("often go awry"). And, indeed, Of Mice and Men features two men with a scheme - to escape their lives of menial, temporary employment - that goes awry. Beyond this simple plot similarity, the two works both consider the relationship between the human and animal worlds. Burns...
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...times. Steinbeck has consciously crafted language in order to depict the harsh discrimination in that specific era. Racism and gender divide is a prominent problem, and this is displayed through the use of his characters; Crooks, a segregated, crippled African- American and Curleys wife, a faceless female objectified by many a man. The readership can visualise the extent of this problem due to the apparent language, which is used to illuminate the less obvious emotions, hidden away by the hard exterior of each character. Curley’s wife is initially introduced as a ‘girl’. The authorship used this de-grading word show highlight that during that era women were not valued in society. They were seen as weak, as well as naïve. The readership can sense the sensitivity in the marginalisation. Even before she has entered a room, negative de-valuing thoughts are passed around, such as “rat trap” and “jail bait”. Which influences other judgements. George and Lennie are told to stay away from her before they have even become acquainted. Curleys wife, knows she is not respected, she realises that she is small and insignificant. However she wishes to overcome the metaphorical chains that bound her self-worth to Curley’s belief that she belongs to him. Hence ‘Curley’s Wife’. This is apparent when we are presented with a “…heavily made up” woman. The word ‘heavily’ suggests that she is attempting to be noticed and again develop her own person, without being linked to Curley. Nevertheless, because...
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...overpower someone else, whereas a victim is a subject to someone else’s power. Lady Macbeth and Curley’s wife both manipulate men using their femininity: Curley’s wife shows this as she manipulates the men on the ranch using her appearance and Lady Macbeth uses her sexuality to persuade her husband to kill the king and by welcoming Duncan into her home, even though she was plotting to kill him. Alternatively, there are differences between the two women, as Curley’s wife is lonely and isolated on the ranch, her husband disrespects her and is disliked by all the men on the ranch and as a result, manipulates the men innocently to get some attention. Lady Macbeth desires power and fame, and acts manipulatively and selfishly to get what she wants. Lady Macbeth is upperclass, giving her more freedom to do what she wanted. She had status, wealth, glamour and equal partnership with her husband. This was very unusual for the time- Shakespeare has presented her as a very modern anti-heroine. The writers have also presented the women as victims of their gender. During the time each text was written women had restrictions placed on their gender and struggled to achieve their dreams and ambitions. This is shown in the behaviour of each character. Although, it is harder to view Lady Macbeth as a victim because of her cruel and destructive behaviour, in comparison to the lonely and naive Curley’s wife. During the Elizabethan era, women were dominated by the male members of their family. They were...
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...In this essay I will be discussing the point,” How does Steinbeck explore the use of dreams in Of Mice and Men”. I will review what each main character’s dreams are and how they attempted to fulfil or fulfilled their dreams, and how Steinbeck displays different emotions and sways how the reader feels about the novel. After this, I will compare how the irony of the title to how the book ends. The theme of the novel is set in the 1930’s, and the novel plays out over a period of around 3 days, with it starting with best friends George and Lennie out in the wild, with nothing. The first character I am going to review is George and what his original dreams are, and how far he has come to them by the end of the novel. He is the first character introduced and shows simple understanding of basic common sense (something which his partner-in-crime doesn’t have), “Lennie, for God’ sakes don’t drink so much”. Lennie at this point is drinking from a “green pool”, and George immediately realises the dangers and tells Lennie what to do, which is a sign of things to come. Georges dream is basically a carbon copy of the “the American dream”, and he realises that it is possible for himself and Lennie to achieve the dream – because he thinks (and perhaps more to the point hopes) that a combination of his brains, and Lennie’s brute force (which is plain to see throughout the novel) will lead them to where they want to be. Although at the end of the novel George has to kill Lennie, he decides to...
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...their dream of having a little farm where they can be their own boss and nobody can tell them what to do, where Lennie will tend their rabbits, and where they will "live off the fatta the lan'." Lennie has heard this story so often he can repeat it by heart. And George emphasizes that this dream and their relationship make them different from other guys who don't have anyone or a place of their own. They settle down and sleep for the night. The next morning at the ranch, the boss becomes suspicious when George answers all the questions and Lennie does not talk. George explains that Lennie is not bright but is a tremendous worker. They also meet Candy, an old swamper with a sheep dog; Crooks, the black stable hand; the boss' son Curley, who is an amateur boxer and has a bad temper; Curley's wife, who has a reputation as a "tart";...
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...limbs and branches that arch over the pool”. This description lends contextual evidence of the Californian landscape and lives up to the naming of Soledad, which is a translation to loneliness, a large aspect during the Great Depression. The unspoilt scenery of purity and perfection is “beaten hard by tramps” when man decides to enter. This setting is particularly poignant as it foreshadows the events later in the novel. As George and Lennie are introduced, their characteristics contrast greatly with George being the “small, wiry, quit-witted man” and Lennie being continuously described with animalistic features and a “large, lumbering, childlike migrant worker”. The two are characterised by their differences, but more importantly their similarities. Hollow and staged threats...
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...How does Steinbeck use the opening setting to engage the reader? ‘Of Mice and Men’ was published in 1937 and was written by John Steinbeck. He drew some of his ideas from his work experiences (manual and unskilled) whilst supporting himself through college. His circular novella follows the lives of George Milton and Lennie Small who were two itinerant workers searching for jobs during the ‘Great American Depression’ of the 1930’s. Life was very hard during this time so people had to find work where they could, however low paid. It considers their relationship with both each other and the people they meet at the ranch. It is set over a time period of 4 days and has several different themes running through it. As the novella progresses the reader learns the significance of earlier events and gradually the novella moves towards the tragic ending. The first two pages that Steinbeck has written, transports you to the place where you are first introduced to George and Lennie. It creates a clear image in your mind of the surrounding countryside and its beauty. The opening pages of all books and plays need to engage the reader almost immediately if the reader is to continue. So does this vivid description and the emergence of two unidentified men ensure your want to read further and understand why they are there? By looking more in depth at this opening to the novella we should see how Steinbeck succeeds in engaging the reader. In the first line of the novella, the author writes...
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