Analysis Of Of Mice And Men

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Of Mice and Men is a novel by John Steinbeck. This book is an analogy about what it means to be a human. George and Lennie share the ambition to own their own ranch, but they encounter obstacles that stand in the way. Ironically, Lennie will become the greatest obstacle in them achieving their dream. This novel was first published in 1937, which is one of the most important aspects of the book. The reason why it is one of the most important aspects of the book is because one result of the Great Depression was a lack of steady jobs, which increased the amount of nomadic workers. When Steinbeck wrote this novel, ranch hands were beginning to be replaced by machinery and their way of life was disappearing fast.
The overall setting of Of Mice and Men is a farm in California; however, this novel has four major settings. These include the clearing by the pond, the bunkhouse, Crook’s room, and the barn. Each is important in its own unique way. The clearing by the pond is important because it is the place where George and Lennie meet when Lennie is in trouble. The Bunkhouse is important because it is where all the men live and where they entertain themselves. Their lives are very plain and they are all very lonely. All of the details about the bunkhouse describe to the reader the lifestyle of the characters and provides a view of what they have to live with. For example, “Inside, the walls were whitewashed and the floor unpainted.” Crook’s room is where we learn the inner lives of Crooks, Lennie, Curley’s wife, and Candy. This part of the novel sheds a light on the life of Crooks. It shows that he is a man of learning because he has all of these books and magazines lying around the floor and his bed. These four major sett...

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...uring the Great Depression and I think that Steinbeck really captured what it was like to be a human-being during that time. George didn’t want to kill Lennie, but he did what he had to do. After Lennie killed Curley’s wife, George let him know he wasn’t mad; however, he knew Curley was going to get revenge on Lennie and George did not want to let him suffer through that. Slim is the only one who understands that George shot him out of love. Even George did not know how much of a danger to society Lennie was and he always thought his strength could be contained. What I learned from the book is that if you have a dream, go for it. Nothing was going to stop George and Lennie from trying to achieve their dream of being property owners. It took a lot of courage for George to physically shoot the gun, but in the end, he knew it was best for him and everybody else.

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