When it rains, it makes some people feel joy and calmness, and it makes others feel sad and gloomy. It is fascinating how the exact same thing can affect two different people in 2 different ways. This same statement applies the way ignorance leads to innocence and vice versa and how that affects people, as seen in the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck and the book The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. In both books, the authors used the characters Lennie and Bruno to show that ignorance is often mistaken for the many kinds of innocence and that innocence and ignorance are interchangeable in a way. First of all, innocence is seen in different ways between Lennie’s and Bruno’s actions and the way they handle situations and shows how their ignorance and innocence affects their decisions. In the first chapter of Of Mice and Men, George and Lennie settle down to eat dinner. Lennie, being naturally childish because of his disability, says“I like em’ with ketchup” (Steinbeck 10). Lennie’s innocence makes him forget about the terrible state he and George are in. George, after hearing this, freaks out and starts screaming at Lennie and comes pretty close to smacking him. This shows that even something as innocent as asking for ketchup can get you in trouble in this cruel world. This also shows that people in that day in age were cruel and didn’t show as much compassion as people do today. In The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Bruno was sitting by Shmuel as he normally does. This time, Shmuel says to Bruno “Bruno: We're not supposed to be friends, you and me. We're meant to be enemies. Did you know that?” (Boyne 213). In the quote, Shmuel tells Bruno about the horrible truth, but Bruno decides to ignore it. This shows that Bruno ... ... middle of paper ... ... a perfect example of a truly innocent person (Shmuel) and an arguably unsympathetic character (Bruno) whom can be portrayed as denying the truth meeting the same fate. As we can see by Lennie’s death and Bruno’s death, ignorance and innocence lead to the same fate in the end. Although some people may appear to be innocence, they may just be hiding ignorance, and if some people look ignorant, they may just be innocent. We can see this by Lennie and Bruno’s actions, the way they both handle situations, and the way that their horrific fates are similar. The next time you take someone as ignorant, stop and think if they are being ignorant, or if they just have an innocent, childish mind. Boyne, John. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Dublin, Ireland: David Fickling Books, 2006. Print Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York, New York: Penguin Books, 1978.Print
The authors John Steinbeck and Robert Burns approach their ideas in very different ways, while having the same themes the reader comprehends key concepts in a different light. Throughout the short story “Of Mice and Men” and the poem “To a Mouse” the theme of hope is a key concept, even though while in both stories their hope did not bring them their happiness, friendship brought them together. Correspondingly while having similar themes of friendship, loneliness, and hope, this all takes place in different settings with different characters.
Analyzing innocence has always been a difficult task, not only due to it’s rapid reevaluation in the face of changing societal values, but also due to the highly private and personal nature of the concept. The differences between how people prioritize different types of innocence - childhood desires, intellectual naivety, sexual purity, criminal guilt, etc. - continually obscures the definition of innocence. This can make it difficult for people to sympathize with others’ loss of purity, simply because their definition of that loss will always be dissimilar to the originally expressed idea. Innocence can never truly be adequately described, simply because another will never be able to precisely decipher the other’s words. It is this challenge, the challenge of verbally depicting the isolationism of the corruption of innocence, that Tim O’Brien attempts to endeavour in his fictionalized memoir, The
Although Lennie was unattractive and has the tendency of accidental violence, compassion was still something readers had for him. Steinbeck constantly reminded us that he has a mental disability which automatically makes someone feel pity for him. Additionally he was ignored and made fun of by other characters, “Blubberin’ like a baby! Jesus Christ! A big guy like you”(Steinbeck 10). Him getting in trouble was beyond his control because of his mental disability which is something else that makes a reader feel sympathetic for him. Also, the readers are solicitous towards Lennie because of how much he looks up to George. This is portrayed when Crooks asks Lennie what he would do if George never came back, “Well, s’pose, jus’ s’pose he don’t come back. What’ll you do then?”(Steinbeck 70). Because of his inability to comprehend information, he got extremely defensive and said, “George is careful. He won’t get hurt” (Steinbeck 70). This scene is crafted in such a way that it automatically
An excellent example of this view of the mentally handicapped can be found in John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, with the character Lennie. The other characters in this novel such as George and Curley treat Lennie as if he were a child all throughout the novel. George never lets him do any of the talking when t...
What were you thinking when you killed innocent Lennie? Some people believe that the killing of Lennie was like the killing of his puppy. Others feel it was comparable to the killing of Candy’s dog. Lennie, like his dog, was innocent and unaware of the cruel world around him. However, Lennie, with his physical strength, also killed many innocent beings, including a weak and innocent puppy and, killed a human being. In contradiction, Carlson killed Candy’s dog in an act of compassion to relieve an old and suffering animal. Did Lennie then become like Candy’s dog and killed by you in an act of kindness and compassion? There is debate weather or not your decision to end the life of your best friend was valid. As a reader your actions were portrayed as an act of courage. The decision to put Lennie to rest in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men was a courageous act because it enabled Lennie to be freed from the cruel world in which he lived and to live in the make believe world that he and you had dreamed of. Killing Lennie also saved you from another situation like the one in Weed; however, is Lennie’s death also the death of your dream?
Lisca, Peter. "Of Mice and Men." The Wide World of John Steinbeck. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1958. 130-143. Rpt. in Children's Literature Review. Ed. Jelena Krstovic. Vol. 172. Detroit: Gale, 2012. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 13 Jan. 2014.
As Mark Twain once stated, “The more I know about people, the better I like my dog.” This sentiment is often echoed by general society; people seem to have lost faith in humanity. However, John Steinbeck illustrates his more optimistic opinion about “the perfectibility of man” by suggesting how man can improve. In his novel, Of Mice and Men, two tenants called George and Lennie go through many hardships all while chasing their dream of possessing their own farm. While they work at a farm, they meet an old swamper called Candy who offers to help them achieve their dream; he does so to ensure that he will have a future after he is fired for being too old. On page 60, Candy discusses the recent death of his dog and asks to join in on George and Lennie’s dream. Through this passage, Steinbeck proves that humans have an animalistic tendency of eliminating those who are weaker than them. This is depicted through the details connecting Candy to his dog as well as Candy’s diction when describing his potential future life. Steinbeck’s negative attitude towards man’s predatory nature implies that society needs to improve and prevent such oppressive behavior from occurring.
One day when Shmuel gets sent to shine glasses at his house him and Bruno start talking. A soldier see them and Bruno told him he didn’t know who he was, and the soldier beats the boy, Bruno feels terrible and want to make it up to Shmuel. Bruno wants to understand why the life behind the fence is so awful and why Shmuel isn’t happy. Bruno thinks it’s not better, but interesting because there are other kids to play with. They form a strong bond that can't be broken by anything and it makes him realize that his friends in Berlin weren't as special as Shmuel is and their friendship. The two boys have been talking and have been friends for about a year and decide that Bruno wants to go on the other side of the fence to see what its like and help him find his papa.
In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck brings out the themes of Lonliness and companionship, and strengths and weaknesses through the actions, and quotations of the characters. Irony and foreshadowing play a large roll on how the story ends. Lennie and his habit of killing things not on purpose, but he is a victim of his own strength. George trying to pretend that his feelings for Lennie mean nothing. The entire novel is repetitive in themes and expressed views.
.The novel Of Mice and Men was written by John Steinbeck. In Soledad, California during the Great Depression in the 1930's two men of the one named George and the other named Lennie were men who travel around working at ranches. George is the small, quick-witted one, and Lennie is the big, slow, dumb and extremely strong one. They have a dream, to have a little place all to themselves, without anyone bothering them. Their dreams are shattered though, when Lennie, who doesn't know his own strength, gets in trouble. In the pursuit of love, happiness and the American dream, man becomes a victim of his own circumstances and discovers that the good life becomes impossible for humanity to obtain and contains many flaws. Lennie and George represents Cain and Able a biblical story who were two brothers searching for their elusive dream. In the story of Cane and Abel ,Cane was to take care of Able .Both brothers were to prepare and offering to God to receive His blessing. When God came to look upon that offering God asked Cane were is Abel .In curiosity and furiousness Cane asked God" Am I my brothers keeper?" Just like in the story of Cane and Abel ,George is Lennies keeper ,George is consistently watching over Lennie no matter where they go .In the story of Cane and Abel,Cane was furious with God because God had asked of his brother .Cane prepared his offering just for the fact of the knowledge that he was to receive blessings in return.Those who are more able should take care of those who are not able to complete tasks in life.But in order in being capabable of doing that one must have patience and faith in that matters and struggles that a person has to go throught with one other.In similarity Geor...
A man with a child-like mind can not get far in life. Other characters recognize that Lennie is a child. Lennie has many limitations to live the American Dream, and acting like a child is one of them. On page nine in “ Of Mice and Men”, George takes away Lennie's dead mouse and Lennie begins to cry. “ “ Blubberin’ like a baby!”” (9). Lennie is called a baby because in George’s eyes, a grown man should not cry. With Lennie, he is not like every other average man. When a kid has a role model they try to act as that person. Lennie's role model is George. He will not only imitate George but he will obey him as well. Lennies imitation of George begins on page four when they
Written in 1937, Of Mice and Men, by John Adolf Steinbeck Jr., American author and Pulitzer Prize winner, follows the lives of downtrodden farmhands, George and Lennie. As with many of Steinbeck's books, the themes in Of Mice and Men include his favored themes of class warfare and oppression of the working class. Steinbeck also focuses his literature on the power of friendship and the corrupt nature of mankind. In 1993, Professor Thomas Scarseth wrote a critical analysis of the novella analyzing many aspects of Steinbeck’s work including the presentation, themes, and writing style. In his essay, Scarseth explains the key themes of the Novella. He noted that the corrupted nature of man, the injustice of life, and the power of friendship were three important themes of the book. Much of Scarseth’s analysis contained numerous thoughtful insights. Were his insights and opinions valid, or were his, and Steinbeck’s, perspectives on these issues flawed?
...dship even in the darkest and devastating of endings. The interpretation of Bruno and Shmuel’s bond in the film The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is fundamental in understanding the significant theme of love and friendship.
There is an important time, though, during someone’s life where this innocence is stolen and leaves as different person. This event is the main function in “My Father’s Noose”, “Dothead”, and The Glass Castle. Each character has their own certain tick that their innocence blinds them from. Jeannette Walls’s ignorance blinds her from the abuse of her family and peers, while Totoy’s blinds him from his mother’s abuse. The speaker in “Dothead” is blind to the abuse of his peers. After going through each ordeal, the characters lose their innocence by gaining knowledge of the way people work. Discovering that not all people are good pressures the characters to take a deep look at the way they act and their code of
The children couldn’t accept what they thought was so horrible. There was a lot of ignorance and carelessness portrayed throughout this short story. The theme of ungratefulness was revealed in this story; The author depicted how disrespecting someone can inturn feed you with information you may wish you never knew and how someone can do one wrong thing and it immediately erases all the good things a person did throughout their