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Steinbeck Creates Sympathy in of Mice and Men

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Steinbeck creates sympathy in Of Mice and Men. Discuss in relation to one character

Of Mice and Men is a novella set on a ranch in the Northern western state of California written by Californian novelist John Steinbeck and then published in the late 1930’s. Set in the time of The Great Depression and The nationwide effective Wall Street Crash the book features characters all around who have depressing lives but focusing in on two paradoxical characters that are always juxtaposed to one another. Steinbeck has placed us with two characters that we are able to connect with, being able to sympathise with their dilemmas and problems as the two being long-time companions with a strong relationship but also being a priority to George as he must look after Lennie seeing as he has a mental dis-order. George Milton & Lennie Small being the two ranch workers who always find themselves fleeing from town to town, ranch to ranch; never being able to settle down they find themselves moving up northwest after Lennie gets himself into a bit of trouble back in their previous location Weed. As of after he winds up in a situation where he saw a red dress of a nice fabric that he had liked and decided to grab, this frightening the woman and resulting in her screaming rape and leaving Lennie and George with no other option but to run away as he too would have faced the death penalty as being an accomplice of Lennie. Steinbeck describes George as the more complex character(Quote) for the reader to get to know, he is given the description of quite a streetwise and aware character from Steinbeck’s definition using the phrases "small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp strong features” suggesting he is like a mouse and lets us in on some visual imagery early on in the story as he tells us “Every part of him was defined: small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin and

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