...Henning and Steinbeck lived in poverty in Pacific Grove, in a home Steinbeck’s father owned. Steinbeck later published The Pastures of Heaven in 1932, after it was picked up by publishers Cape & Smith, and The Red Pony stories in 1933 and 1934. He spent four years writing, editing, and revising To a God Unknown, which was picked up by literary agents McIntosh & Otis and published in 1933. However, he did not have any big successes until Tortilla Flat was published in 1935 by Covici-Friede, whom he stays with for the rest of his writing career. Tortilla Flat won the Commonwealth Club of California Gold...
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...As some of the paramount examples of early 20th century literature, John Steinbeck's novels not only encompass the epitomes in characteristics of the laboring class, but also demonstrate the resilience of the human spirit. Through stories of the downtrodden, Steinbeck teaches the reader a much-needed lesson about the complexity of the world in which we live and the people's response to that complexity. Of Mice and Men's protagonist, George, convincingly personifies the dispiriting mood that spanned America at the time of the Great Depression. Attempting to find work in California, George is depicted as a capable, yet underprivileged, laborer who begins to form conceptions on the dynamics of society. Through George's journey, Steinbeck paints a picture of a typical American worker in the Depression-ridden country, and in turn shows the reader the unfortunate realization that the main character comes to as he searches for a job: the world is designed for the weak to become weaker and strong to become stronger. In other words, the concept of social Darwinism prevails in this novel as, time and time again, the main characters are forced into an endless cycle of poverty (want to say something along these lines but a different word than poverty). "Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place. They come to a ranch an' work up a stake and then go inta town and blow their stake, and the first thing...
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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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...FRIENDSHIP IN STEINBECK'S OF MICE AND MEN A Sermon by Dean Scotty McLennan University Public Worship Stanford Memorial Church July 25, 2004 There are two different accounts in the New Testament of Jesus' disciples asking him how to pray. What has become known as the Lord's Prayer comes in two different forms, this one in today's gospel lesson from Lukei being shorter and less familiar than that in Matthew.ii They seem to stem from separate liturgical traditions in the early church. Matthew has seven petitions, while Luke has only five.iii But Luke alone follows the recitation of the Lord's Prayer with a fascinating parable about the potential limits of friendship in the middle of the night. The point of the parable seems to be that if one is persistent in asking something of a friend, even when it's very inconvenient, one's petitions will be answered. How much more will one be blessed, then, if one is persistent in praying to God, our heavenly Parent?iv John Steinbeck's short novel Of Mice and Men is all about friendship in the middle of the night -- that is, under very difficult circumstances of rural poverty during the Depression. Following my sermonic theme of the last couple of weeks -- not only loving God with all of one's heart, mind and soul but also loving one's neighbor as oneself -- I'd like to explore Steinbeck's understanding of friendship with you this morning. Ultimately, I hope it will illuminate what it means existentially to knock at the door and then have it...
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...Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men Steinbeck uses Crooks and Curley’s wife to portray Loneliness for minority people working on Ranches in the 1930’s; he uses precursors; light and dark to shape our response to these characters. One of the first precursors in the book is the tittle. Steinbeck has taken this from Robert Burns’ poem which says ’the best laid schemes of mice and men gang aft agley’. This translates to the best laid plans of mice and men do often go awry. This tells us that Steinbeck has intentions to place bad things in the book to throw everyone off the trail they wish to follow or achieve. A person who Steinbeck has almost made clear from the start who is a trouble maker is Curley’s wife. From the moment we meet her in the book Steinbeck says she has ‘she had full rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her finger nails were red.’ Steinbeck writes it out to show she is a warning sign. He has made her all dressed up in red to show this. Steinbeck then focuses on her actions. He first focuses on her voice ‘her voice had a nasal, brittle quality. This says that she is trying to put on a tone for the new boys to try and get noticed. Then Steinbeck writes ‘She put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward.’ This is also showing that she wants to be noticed. Steinbeck has done this to show that she has been lonely and that she really wants to be noticed. She then starts to talk playfully with George and...
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...In a staunch, musty bunkhouse and the sweltering heat of the northern California sun, nothing is worse than being all alone. This is especially true for the lives of the laborers in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. The novel tells the story of George Milton and Lennie Small, two nomadic consorts who travel through California looking for work. They have a dream of owning a small stake of land together and living a relaxed, comfortable life on that land. While living in a bunkhouse in Soledad, they meet an old man named Candy, who has no family or relatives that care about him. His only true friend is his dog. Through Candy’s speech and thoughts, Steinbeck reveals that everyone is much happier with a companion than without. Candy’s relationship...
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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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...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 American Dream, explicitly illustrating how much disruption...
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...It is breathtaking to witness the rooted words of a book, sprout and take life upon a stage. Only seconds into The Springers production of “Of Mice and Men” Lennie Smalls distinguished himself as a peculiar character, his childlike actions hinting towards a disability within. This adaptation of Lennie opened the book and placed it on the stage, allowing actors words to fill the gaps within our mind, with pure interpretation. From Lennie’s first playful strides across the stage he appeared far from ordinary, leaving the audience eager to understand him. He hurried onto the stage, his worn self-resting on the ground, desperately cupping dirty water and gulping. He stood tall and capable, with a head of gray he appeared to be in his fifty’s despite...
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...How can the poems in the ‘Moon on the Tides’ anthology be seen to provide a meaningful insight into George and Lennie’s relationship? During the Great Depression of the 1930s when America was plunged into financial crisis, following the Wall Street Crash of October 1929, levels of unemployment and poverty were at a record high. Through this period, life was a struggle and the mentality of society became survival of the fittest, every man for himself. Migrant workers toured the country in search of labour to provide money for food. These men led lonely and emotionless lives, which are reflected through Steinbeck’s portrayal of his characters in his famous, yet bleak, 1930s parable ‘Of Mice and Men.’ In the novel, George and Lennie’s relationship diversifies them from the other ranch workers for the reason that they rely on each other for support and companionship ‘I got you and you got me.’ In particular, the dream they share of owning their own land, reflects the American Dream of being the ringleader of your own life with a level of self- sufficiency. The dream is a significant aspect in their relationship and is portrayed in the poem ‘The Moment’. Apart from each other, the only other thing that George and Lennie have to keep them motivated is the dream. The poem opens with the line “The moment when, after many years of hard work and a long voyage”. This is a metaphor for the life that George and Lennie live as itinerant workers and how they move from ranch to ranch together...
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...became the perfect place for people who were looking to start over. Many of the early settlers were younger brothers who hoped to claim the land that they could not inherit, religious pilgrims who hoped to be able to practice their beliefs, and floundering businessmen who hoped to create a fortune in a new land. What they all had in common was the idea that they could become something better, that in this empty land they could carve their lives into some fantastic image in their minds. Eventually, the ability to do big things in this country warped into the expectation to do something big with one’s opportunity in America. (And by “do something big”, it is meant that it is something big on societal terms.) This is the ideal that eventually became an important part of American culture. It resulted in entire generations growing up learning to measure their lives as the distance from where they were to some far off point in the horizon where they felt they should be. The late twentieth century showed the consequences of this kind of thinking. Due to a period of rapid technological and social change, America underwent a massive transformation in lifestyle. Thus, much of what had been built became obsolete, and the generation that spent their lives trying to become something suddenly found their entire life’s work to be meaningless. This displacement of an entire generation forced Americans to question the value of all that they had done. The big question looming over them was this:...
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...whether emotional or physical, that make achieving a dream difficult or even appear to be impossible. In American literature dreams seem to be unattainable because of barriers. In all the years of literature, dreams, goals, and aspirations come in contact Winston Patterson 5/17/10 9:35 PM Comment: Broad Topic Winston Patterson 5/17/10 9:35 PM Comment: Narrow Topic Winston Patterson 5/17/10 9:36 PM Comment: Thesis Statement Winston Patterson 5/17/10 9:36 PM Comment: Clincher Sentence with a conflict. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby has a dream to be with Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby has a passion for his dream so fierce that he pursues Daisy no matter what the barrier. “No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his . . . heart” (Fitzgerald 101). One barrier that Gatsby encounters is he has not money. Daisy is a girl of wealth and vanity. In order to catch the attention...
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...can us?" George is worried as Curley has authority because he is the Boss's son. - Curley is said to be evil and was born with authority. - Steinbeck uses Curley to highlight the American Dream. No matter how hard you work success only comes to those who are fated to receive it. This links to the theme of fate. And his fate has brought him power and authority because of what he can do and because he is the Boss's son. he predicts it's Curley for OMAM, Mr Birling for AIC -Steinbeck can use the theme of fate to present Curley. - Curley does not have to work hard like the others but still holds power because he is the Boss's son. - Curley picked a fight with Lennie. Lennie hurt Curley. George asks slim "Slim, is Curleys old man gonna can us?" George is worried as Curley has authority because he is the Boss's son. - Curley is said to be evil and was born with authority. - Steinbeck uses Curley to highlight the American Dream. No matter how hard you work success only comes to those who are fated to receive it. This links to the theme of fate. And his fate has brought him power and authority because of what he can do and because he is the Boss's son. How Does Priestley Present Mr Birling Priestley presents the character of Mr Birling as a symbol of the capitalist ruling class and the need for socialist ideals. Priestley begins by presenting Mr Birling as a successful, albeit 'hard-headed businessman'. It is clear from the stage directions which tdescribe'The dining...
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...NORTH AMERICAN FICTION BRIEF INTRODUCTION: Before starting our study of American Fiction we must understand what American Literature is in itself and which pieces of writing we can include within this label. It is believed that when a piece is written in North America, more precisely in the USA, it would automatically be given this epithet. But it should be taken into account that this idea is quite broad and doesn’t reflect the real essence of the term. However, there is also another definition that gathers this essence: American Literature is the one that represents the Americanism, the singularity of the USA philosophy and culture. This way, instead of focusing on who the author is, it is focused on the content of the writing. In that which concerns Fiction, the following documents are the ones considered as narrative: Speeches Letters Short Stories Essays Political Documents Sermons Novels Diaries 1 FIRST LITERARY EXPRESSIONS The first documents in which the idea of Americanism is very present are the Sermons. They respond to the strict Protestantism settled in the New Continent after the arrival of the Pilgrim Fathers and Puritans in the Mayflower (1620) and the Arabella (1630). They established a theocratic community whose main and only point of reference was the Bible. That is why the idea of the ‘city upon a hill’ is still very present in American mentality. As we all know...
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...What’s the first thing you do when you set about starting an essay? Many people start by searching through the text on which their essay is based in the hope of finding suitable quotations to help ‘answer’ the essay question. Well, there’s no getting away from this basic process, but there are ways to make it altogether more efficient, useful and most importantly, more likely to earn a higher grade. More on this later. The Argument Essay The secret of a good essay? Write it as an argument for what you believe! What is there to argue about? Plenty! You’ll be arguing to support your point of view on the essay question - one that you’ve boldly stated in the opening lines of the essay! “This is what I believe and I’m going to show you why I believe it..!” This is a view you’ll have developed after careful reflection and consideration on what the essay question or title asks or states. The trick is to be able to condense this view down into a brief and succinct statement. This becomes what is called your thesis statement....
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