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Society in the word of literature
Society in the word of literature
Reflection of society in literature
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Guinness World Record holder, Robert M. Hensel once said, “There is no greater disability in society, than the inability to see a person as more.” John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men is a beloved American book teaching people to see the true colors of others and to not judge by stereotypes. This novel tells the story of two men with a unique friendship that experience many hardships to find their place in the world and one must make the ultimate sacrifice for the other. Steinbeck portrays the barriers society places against us, or that we place around ourselves, become inescapable prisons through Curley's wife's objectification, desperation for companionship and victimization, Lennie’s vulnerability, and Candy’s isolation. Steinbeck uses Lennie to represent vulnerability through his mental illness and how it held him back from the world. “Yeah? How'd you eat. You ain't got sense enough to find something to eat.” (12). Because Lennie has little to no common sense he forgets almost everything. Therefore, he can not rely on himself to live resulting in George taking care of Lennie. Towards the end of the book George has to make a very tough decision for Lennie, “An' s'pose they lock …show more content…
Lennie, Candy, and Curley’s wife all fit into one of these categories somehow and because of that society wasn't fair to them. Society continues to act this way towards people today, in some ways the 1930’s were more harsh. Today the mentally handicapped are able to get help from someone who cares although, it is still harder for a person of older age to find a job. Through reading Of Mice and Men the readers experience the hardships people went through in the 1930’s to fit in and be successful. In addition, this changes the way you view people in these conditions and helps you understand what they are
Lennie Small, a mentally impaired man, is first introduced to us traveling with George. George, however, is not related to Lennie. Lennie travels with George because no one else understands him like he does. Lennie says, “Because…because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you…” (Steinbeck 14). Lennie believes if George ever left him that he could live in a cave by himself and not bother anyone again (Steinbeck 12). Lennie realizes he would be alone without George, but he never has known anyone else to depend on but George, and from that, they have a bond, a friendship. This shows Lennie’s need for his relationship with George.
John Steinbeck was born in 1902, in California's Salinas Valley, a region that would eventually serve as the setting for Of Mice and Men, as well as many of his other works. He studied literature and writing at Stanford University. He then moved to New York City and worked as a laborer and journalist for five years, until he completed his first novel in 1929, Cup of Gold. With the publication of Tortilla Flat in 1935, Steinbeck achieved fame and became a popular author. He wrote many novels about the California laboring class. Two of his more famous novels included Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath. Steinbeck got the title for Of Mice and Men from a line of Robert Burns, a Scottish poet, “The best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry." In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck includes the theme of loyalty and sacrifice between friends. Steinbeck illustrates the loyalty and sacrifice between friends through the friendship of Lennie and George.
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
George really helps him through problems that keep happening during the book. Lennie is incapable to live because he does not know his strength and George has to play the role as a living assistant for Lennie. Lennie does not mean to harm but because of his condition he essentially harms people. In the book it explains the trouble in weed and George explains “Well he saw a girl in a red dress and a red dress and he just wanted to feel it and when he touched it the girl just starts yelling and all he can think to do is hold on” ( Steinbeck 41). The quote states or explains how Lennie can scare or harm people.
In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses stereotypes and discrimination to convey a message of how the characters feel. A lot of the stereotypes and clichés are just common beliefs of the times, but a few are situational. To quote a quite distinguished reader, "Characters are ‘trapped’- either by what others think of them, or by their situation." A lot of the character’s feelings about themselves and what others think of them will lead to loneliness.
Steinbeck gives a lot of reasons for George to stay with Lennie, but his critics also have some merit in their criticism that the story isn't believable. Steinbeck's critics suggest that Steinbeck is "simply sentimental in this regard." There are some very compelling reasons George would like to stay with Lennie... but being "sentimental," towards Lennie has nothing to do with it.
Steinbeck makes Lennie and George well developed, with colourful personalities and appearances at the beginning, as both of them are looking for work during the Great Depression. From reading the first chapter, I feel that I can relate to George because of his wise, parent-like, and rigid personality. George is a very responsible and tries his best to take care of a very mentally unstable person, where getting irritated is very easy. I also experienced a similar situation, but not with a mentally disabled person. My grandfather, a heavy smoker and alcoholic, suffered a lot of mental problems referring to addiction, as well as health problems because he was diagnosed with throat cancer in the last six months of his life. It was a tough time for my family because both of my parents had to work in order to support the family, so I was the only person who could take care of him. Furthermore, he was confined to a hospital bed until the day he passed away. Staying by his side and providing whatever he wanted was very difficult because there was very little communication, besides writing, because he could not talk due to an artificial respirator in his throat. Staying in the hospital for the majority of the time over the course of six months is extremely tough because of school and family problems I had to deal with. This is relatable to the
Difficult decisions are made by everyone, in fact, they are a factor of life. Within John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men one of the characters, George, was pressured to quickly decide on a life changing event. That decision being too kill his friend Lennie or, as a result, let him die at the hands of somebody else, someone who wanted to harm him. As George knew, Lennie’s requisite death was needed in order to protect him. George’s decision was the appropriate decision considering that Lennie was a danger to himself and others; furthermore, George acted out of love.Therefore, by killing his friend George protected his companion as well as numerous others.
Several characters in the novel Of Mice and Men are presented with additional obstacles throughout the book. Whether because of color, sex, or disabilities, John Steinbeck purposefully did this to illustrate oppression. Of Mice and Men explores the effects of systemic oppression on women, African-Americans, and people with disabilities.
John Steinbeck explores human experience in the novella ‘Of Mice and Men’ in friendship, loneliness and marginalisation. He does this through the characters as explained thought the paragraphs below.
Throughout the novel Of Mice and Men, Crooks, Curley’s wife, and Lennie could not reach their potential because of the discrimination against them. In Depression era, people discriminated African-American people by using derogatory terms, physically assaulting them and limiting their socialization. They discriminated women by calling names and making offensive assumptions. The mentally disabled people were target of brutal actions, stereotypes, and betrayals. Steinbeck was warning to people not to discriminate others by showing various conflicts and tragic ending that caused by discrimination.
George’s relationship with Lennie has made him selfless; his conversations, with and with out Lennie, are generally revolving around Lennie, although in the case of their dream-ranch George seems to find fulfilment for himself as well. Due to these altruistic tendencies that he shows throughout the novel, a danger is bestowed upon George; he tends to care for Lennie far too much, and too little for himself. In occasional moments, he escapes his sympathy and compassion for Lennie, and realises the burden that he causes. This usually results in George taking his frustration out on Lennie, which can often harm his simple mind, leaving Lennie upset and forced to confess to his own uselessness, and George feeling guilty for what he has caused. We can learn very little about George through his actual conversations, which made it necessary for Steinbeck to focus the novel on him in particular, and let the reader gain an closer insight on him through his actions. Generally, he seems to be caring, intelligent and sensible, but is greatly worn by the constant attention Lennie requires. This illustrates a major theme in Of Mice and Men, the dangers that arise when one becomes involved in a dedicated relationship.
In the short story Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, there are many themes and literary elements that circulate around the two main characters George and Lennie. One of the most important themes in this short story is the presence of disabilities within the characters. These disabilities represent the significance of how during the Great Depression many people who had disabilities were said to be an added cost or “weaknesses”. Most characters are illustrated with some form of disability that enables them or makes it difficult to accomplish certain goals while also working against them in the environment in which they live in.
Introduction: This is a novel that John Steinbeck has written telling about two friends who travel together and meet more people who also become friends with them. But the outcome of meeting the friends is really bad because of what Lennie does and of what George have to do with Lennie Thesis Statement: Steinbeck shows that Lennie and George have a strong relationship, because George stays with Lennie even though Lennie puts him through hard times, Lennie trusts George completely, and George kills Lennie even though he didn’t want to, which shows that he loved him and didn’t want him to suffer. 1.George stays with Lennie even though Lennie puts him through hard times, 2.Lennie trusts George completely, 3.George kills Lennie even though he
Right vs Wrong and Good vs Bad… We are faced with moral dilemmas every day, some are more difficult than others but it is all based on our preferences. It's what we think we should do while we are being forced to choose between two actions. All of the characters through Of Mice and Men, The Crucible, and The Dark Knight undergo situations and have their own way of doing the right thing. Out of all the characters, the dilemmas dealt with by Of Mice and Men characters were the most heartfelt. While, Batman had the toughest dilemmas.