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essays on symbolism in literature
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Of Mice and Men, by Steinbeck, shows many different views on society. This book has a lot different messages you can take and apply to real life. All the people in the story can relate to someone today and also to some stuff that still happens all around the world. When reading this book you can really start to understand and connect with the characters and identify their weaknesses and their strengths. Some things you really start to notice is how powerful some people are and how they use that power in everyday living. Many characters had power, because of that it helped some get by, helped some take advantage and boss people around, but power also hurt them. Power helped some people in this novel by helping them do what was right. …show more content…
For example he had complete control over his wife. She was not able to talk to anyone on the farm because Curley told her not to and he got jealous all the time. She did not have any friends and she was lonely all the time she did not even want to be with Curley because he was not a nice person at all. He would always go running around looking for her and would tell her to go back to the house and disrespect her, but what is she gonna do Curley has power over her. What would she do if she would leave thats to say if Curley would let her. He treated people like property because he felt he had the right to. Like the first time he met Lennie and George he was already starting stuff and he did not know them. “By Christ, he’s gotta talk when he’s spoke to. What the hell are you gettin’ into it for,” (25) in that quote you can tell he is already starting in with his attitude. He just felt like he was all big and bad and everyone else should do whatever he said. He was the type of guy that used his strength as power but i guess since he was small he felt the need to so instead of people messing with him hed fight back before there was even a fight to begin with which caused a lot more problems for
The quote that inspired John Steinbeck was the best laid schemes often go off track can be seen in the novel of Mice and Men. When Curley's wife met a man in her childhood that offered her to be an actress but the chance went away and she later died. Then Curley wanted to be a professional boxer but the dream never happened and he became a farmer then got his hand broken for trying to be tough. George and Lennie were going to buy a farm to live off the fat of the land then Lennie had to get in trouble and George had to give up the dream and kill Lennie for what he had done.
The book, Of Mice and Men is not just about the death of Lennie, as one might think, it’s also about power. Throughout the book, one can observe each character’s attempts to gain influence over the ranch crew, or at least to be accepted into a society. However, only one man can be on top, and that man became Slim, the ageless jerkline skinner. Unlike Curley, he lead with an understanding mind instead of abusing the power gained by achieving the American Dream.
In the novel I see Curley as a dictator figure because he is a bully
Power is a strong ability that can influence the behavior of people or current events. Those who have power in their everyday life have an advantage over those who don’t. In Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men his message is that characters who have power demonstrate an advantage over other characters.
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.
John Steinbeck was inspired by the line "The best schemes o' mice an' men [often go awry]" by Robert Burns in one of his poems. This line refers to ambitions that went off track during the process. There are multiple examples in the novel that refers to the line in the poem, that inspired John Steinbeck. Those examples are Curley's boxing career coming to an end, Curley's wife not becoming a actress, and Lennie's plans of tending the rabbits, but messed everything up.
The ending is powerful because of the shock at the end when George had to kill his best friend Lennie. It happened so fast that it seems like the author wanted to shock the readers without warning.
The novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck teaches readers many lessons, varying from power to violence. Steinbeck uses Lennie and Curley to show the reader any position of power holds advantages and disadvantages.
Have you ever noticed how authors turn a book into a classroom? In the novel, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck took readers through a journey of life lessons. He taught them the importance of friendship, the importance of having a goal, and he portrays how just anyone can struggle against loneliness. He used all the characters in the book to convey his messages to the readers. To sum up, Steinbeck weaved in many messages throughout his novel that allowed his readers to learn many lessons while reading. Let’s go more into detail on the lessons he really taught us.
1. Steinbeck describes the setting in such detail so we can picture in our mind exactly what the setting looks like. It is to give the reader a good image of the setting, and have the reader realize how the characters act. Steinbeck uses one of the five senses on page one to connect with his readers. He uses the sense of seeing. I can see in my mind what Steinbeck is talking about when he states “…but on the valley side the water is lined with the trees-willows fresh and green with every spring, carrying in their lower leaf junctures the debris of the winter’s flooding…” In this quote I can picture everything Steinbeck is saying.
A story is a game of chess. In the game, various chess pieces cooperate to combat a battle, simultaneously, when story elements unite, they create a piece of literature. Pointedly, the element of character is the form of a queen in the game of chess. They are used to protect the king. Or, in terms of literature, they are utilized to add depth and back up the plot.
When I first saw the book’s cover, the title caught my attention because I was curious about the relationship between a mice and a men, and so I made my mind to read it. While reading this book, I could sense and think about 3 main topics. They were the discrimination that black had to suffer back then, the importance of having a dream, and` the harsh life workers had to overcome.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a fiction novel. This novel is about two best friends who work as farm hands. Both men dream of owning a farm together one day. On the way to that dream the men face some struggles and that is what most of the novel is about. The novel goes into detail about how they overcome their struggle.
"If an author does not have at least one great popular success, he or she may well be ignored by the media, but if he or she is constantly popular, then the critics become suspicious of the writer's serious intentions" (Benson Introduction). What do critics from the literary world have to say about Steinbeck's writings? Critics have much to say, both positive and negative. What link exists between Steinbeck and his writings? Perhaps the most noteworthy biographical link between Steinbeck and his writings is that he was born and came to maturity in the Salinas Valley. In this area of California, bounded on the north and south by the Pajaro and Jolon valleys on the west and east by the Pacific Ocean and the Gabilan Mountains, Steinbeck found the materials for his fiction (Tedlock 3). John Steinbeck's agricultural upbringing in the California area vibrantly shines through in the settings and story lines of the majority of his works.
Of Mice and Men is a fiction novel written by John Steinbeck; the narrator tells the story knowing the thoughts and feelings of all of the characters, using third person omniscient point of view throughout the story. Sentimental, tragic, and moralistic are the most commonly used tones in the story, but they change as complications arise. The two protagonists, Lennie and George, experience both internal conflicts with their own disabilities and external conflicts with the world around them.