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john steinbeck of mice and men american dream
George Steinbeck.
George Steinbeck.
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“Go on,” said Lennie. “How's it gonna be. We gonna get a little place.”
“We'll have a cow,” said George. “And we’ll have maybe a pig and chickens... and down the flat we’ll have a... little piece of alfalfa-“
“For the rabbits,” Lennie shouted.
“For the rabbits,” George repeated.
“And I get to tend the rabbits.”
“And you get to tend the rabbits.” (Steinbeck, 102)
This is perhaps one of the most famous quotes in American literature. It shows many different themes at once, especially the ambitions of the two characters, Lennie and George. In Of Mice and Men, these two characters are out in the Midwest looking for work during the time of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Lennie is often a prime example of someone wanting something he cannot have. In the times like that are shown in Of Mice and Men, this is not all that uncommon. At the time that this book is written, the author, John Steinbeck, exemplifies the ambitions of the people actually living during this period through his literature. In fact, most of the events going on during the time of the Great Depression are prevalent in his books. In The Pearl, although it is set in a rural area of Mexico, it shows the themes and characteristics of things going on in the world around John Steinbeck. There were many factors that contributed to Steinbeck’s writing, especially the socially and politically charged times that he wrote in, and his childhood that was influenced by his parents and the naturally beautiful Salinas Valley.
John Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902 in Salinas, California. As a boy, he grew up in a farming community, and worked on ranches. At the age of fourteen, he decided that he wanted to become a writer. He went to Stanford University, but w...
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...ent most people, including him, were in. The Salinas Valley of California, with its fertile soil and beautiful landscapes, was the place that John Steinbeck called home. He developed a strong connection to nature, and in his books, describing the scene and nature was almost as important as the plot itself. John Steinbeck may have had inspiration from the people and the scenery around him during his adult years, but one of his key influences, in fact most people’s key influences, was his parents. His parents taught him a sense of community and involvement that rings in the background of all his novels. The things he experienced in his lifetime, from the nature of the Salinas Valley to the nurture his parents gave him, and the hardships faced by people around him during the Great Depression all contributed to the themes, motifs, characters, and settings of his novels.
Many characters have hopes and dreams which they wish to accomplish. Of Mice and Men has two main characters that go through obstacles to get what they want. In the beginning it is George and Lennie running away trying to get a job. Once both George and Lennie have a job they try to accomplish their dreams. Unfortunately they both can't get their dreams to come true since lennie does the worst and George has to shoot Lennie. Steinbeck uses characterization, foreshadowing, and symbol as rhetorical strategies to make George's actions justified.
George continued, “We’ll have a cow. An’ we’ll have maybe a pig an’ chickens.” He shakily raised the gun to the back of Lennie’s head “An’ down the flat we’ll have a little piece alfalfa.”
The theme of conflict looms over the entire plot in Of Mice and Men, beginning in the first scene, and persisting until the end. The conflict ranges from the captivating way Steinbeck makes man fight with his inner animalistic behaviour to the ever imminent conflict between George and Lennie with their drastically different personalities, appearances and understanding of their ideal, the American Dream. The Great Depression forms the backbone of Steinbeck’s novella, with events such as the stock market crash to the recovery from the First World War, allowing him to keep the realism of the conflicting events but still leave room for the intriguing, deeper side to each of the characters. Steinbeck manages to mask conflict within the novella by not simply stating the conflict, but using language and literary techniques he subtly implies it.
I. John Steinbeck used his personal experiences as a laborer to write many of his novels like Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath.
...usions and ideas, however, are not a mere regurgitation of Judeo-Christian values and mores, but rather a powerful commentary about the time following the Great Depression that sees the collapse of traditional social structures in the face of economic hardship. Specifically, through the character of George, his relationship to Lennie and the salient allusions to Christ, Steinbeck reevaluates the classic ideas of brotherhood and sacrifice and notes how these ideals have become underappreciated in the era of Of Mice and Men. Additionally, Steinbeck’s allusions to heaven through the rabbit dream are a literary manifestation in his belief in the power of hope and compassion in a cruel world. Thus, Of Mice and Men, built on its’ framework of Biblical allusions, is ultimately both a celebration of “gallantry in defeat” () and a criticism of the judgments of man’s peers.
1925: He went to New York City, working odd jobs, including manual labor for the
While growing up in Salinas, Steinbeck had the opportunity to spend a lot of time outdoors. His uncle used to take him on fishing trips, and combined with the times he visited his maternal grand-fathers' farm near King City, it undoubtedly gave him an appreciation for nature. Later in his life, he became a caretaker on a "large estate at Lake Tahoe," and he continued to spend time in nature throughout his life and often took his sons to go fishing or camping when they visited him during the summers (Steinbeck, E. & Wallsten, P.., 1975).
John Ernst Steinbeck III Jr. was born on February 27, 1902 in Salinas, California. Steinbeck's paternal grandfather, Johann Adolf Groβsteinbeck had abridged the family name to Steinbeck when he immigrated to the United States. The family farmhouse named as 'Groβsteinbeck' still exists in Heiligenhaus Mettmann North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. His father, John Ernst Steinbeck tried his hand at several jobs for his family’s bread and butter. He owned a feed-grain store and managed
Steinbeck had unique themes and style in his writing. “Although his subject and style varied with each book, the themes of human dignity and the sense of compassion of what a Time critic called “Steinbeck’s vision of America” remained constant”(Overview). In his books, his attention the detail and social justice gave him a human face to people.(Literary Lifelines 158). He usually based his stories in the North Central part of California, near his hometown of Salinas. Steinbeck 's themes are very unique and helped make the books what they are
refusal to play a literary role. He made him self as unpopular writer so he
The theme that John Steinbeck amits from the novel Of Mice and Men is not everyone’s american dream can come true because one wants it to. This alludes to a famous poem by Robert Burns called “To a Mouse”. The theme of this poem is the greatest schemes of mice and men often go astray. Meaning that things do not always go as one plans it to. The novel is set in the Great Depression (1929-1939) in Southern California (near Soledad). Characters in the novel such as George and Crooks have obstacles that hold them back from achieving their own american dreams. George is held back from his by having to care of Lennie, who cannot take care of himself. Crooks is held back from his american dream because of his skin color.
Perhaps the biggest influence in Steinbeck’s writing can be seen from his experiences of the Great Depression while he lived in California. Before Steinbeck made his living as a writer, he would experience the world from various points of views as he worked jobs such as a surveyor, bricklayer, ranch hand, and a store clerk (John Steinbeck). Seeing the world from the perspective of a hard laborer allowed Steinbeck to form his initial views that would become the basis for his early stories. The crisis that grasped California during 1930-1936 was the Dust Bowl, which according to a website dedicated to the great depression states “a million acres of farmland across the Plains became worthless due to severe drought and overfarming” (Causes of). Because of the despairing situation, Steinbeck was able to experience the severity first hand on many occasions.
John Steinbeck was an American writer born in Salinas, California, not far from the story’s setting. His father operated a flour mill and served as county treasurer; his mother was a schoolteacher (Bloom). The family was devoted to education; reading and books were essential to family life. Steinbeck’s early material was often rejected; he pursued his vocation with indefatigable tenacity (Swisher).
John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. was born February 29, 1902 in Salinas, California. Steinbeck grew up in the Sa...
In a society, everyone has dreams and hopes for their future, but they may not always come true. John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is an insightful story that embodies an important message about human desires. Dreams and hopes will be shattered in the face of reality. The relationships between the two main characters, George and Lennie, as well as the character of Curley’s wife’s, support this them. The message can also be seen through the use of setting and symbols in the text.