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Literary criticism of mice and men
John Steinbeck 1930
Literary analysis on of mice and men
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John Steinbeck derived the title of his famous novel “Of Mice and Men” from the poem “To a Mouse” by Robert Burns and the two stories have much in common. The title specifically came from the sentence; “The best laid plans of mice and men can often go askew.”(paragraph 7 lines 3 and 4.) This sentence described the narrator of the poem destroying the mouse's nest and reflecting on how even the best of plans can go wrong. These stories contain many similarities as both speak of hope and dreams and how they can become crushed in one fell swoop. The book “Of Mice and Men” has a story that describes the loss of hope and destruction of two ranchers’ dreams. It follows Lennie and George, two ranchers on the run from another ranch. George is a short
man who is “quick and dark of face” (page 2) while Lennie is a huge bear of a man with a “shapeless”(page 2) face and large pale eyes. They have just come from the town of Weed in which Lennie had been falsely accused of molesting a young girl. They escape Weed with only some food, some clothes, and their “plan” to live together in a little cabin. They just want to have just a bit of land and live off the “fatta the lan’”(page 14) but their dreams soon shatter as Lennie accidentally kills the owner of the new ranch's son’s wife. He runs away to the place George told him to go should he get in trouble and waits for George. George knows that if the other ranchers find him then Curley (The ranch owners son) will demand Lennie lynched so George speaks to Lennie about their dream and makes him happy before shooting him in the back of the head. Their hopes and dreams dead as well. “To a Mouse” by Robert Burns is also a story of lost ambitions. The story tells the tale of a man harvesting his crops before winter and finding a small mouse’s den in his field. The mouse had made the den so that it could weather the cold winter but its plans ruined and its hope crushed as the farmer destroys its den and thus its hopes for surviving the winter. At this point the quote: “The best laid schemes of mice and men can often go askew,” comes in describing how the mouse’s plans and ambitions were destroyed. It shows that often times people make plans but even the best of plans can fail. There contains many similarities between the stories. I think that the mouse represents George. He has plans to accomplish his dreams, he works towards his goal but life ruined them in a second. Lennie is the farmer. He completely ruins the plan by killing Curley’s wife just like the farmer destroyed the nest. Lennie shattered his and George’s plan and their hopes gone, just like the mouse. These two stories contain things that every person goes through. There lies hope, a plan, a dream destroyed. Not everyone succeeds. While not always as drastic a failure everyone goes through failures. The trials of life require dream after dream to be abandoned and plan after plan to fail. The whether or not people can move on and keep fighting decides whether or not they eventually succeed.
The classic novel, Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck was made into a Hollywood Blockbuster in 1992. Directed and acted by Gary Sinise and John Malkovich, Hollywood took a stab at trying to recreate this literary success. The novel, which takes place in the 1930’s, follows the lives of two men, George and Lennie, as they try to attain their dream of owning a farm. George is a smart man who always seems to have things figured out. Lennie is massive, but has the mind of a young child. George looks after him, but it is not easy since Lennie always seems to get himself in some kind of trouble. As they struggle towards their dreams, George and Lennie face obstacles that test their friendship. In the end, with Lennie dead, George finds out that dreams aren’t worth striving for, and eventually, loneliness overcomes everything. The movie, running almost two hours, stays very true to the book, although some things are removed or added. While the movie differs from the book in a few ways, it still gives its audience the same message.
Life for ranchers in the 1930’s was very lonely. They have no family, and they do not belong anywhere. They come to the ranch, earn their pay, go into town, waste their money, and start all over again at another ranch. They have nothing to look forward to. But George and Lennie are different; it is not like that for them because they have each other. It was George and Lennie’s dream to own a piece of land and a farm. That dream is long gone. In the story, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, Curley caused the death of his wife and Lennie’s death; Curley also shattered George and Lennie’s dream.
John Steinbeck's agricultural upbringing in the California area vibrantly shines through in the settings and story lines of the majority of his works. Steinbeck's novel, Of Mice and Men, takes place in the Salinas Valley of California. The drama is centered around two itinerant farm workers, George Milton and Lennie Small, with a dream of someday owning a place of their own. Lennie Small is a simple-minded, slow moving, shapeless hulk with pale eyes whose enormous physical strength often causes him to get into trouble. George Milton on the other hand is small in stature, clever, dark of face and eyes, and acts as Lennie's guardian and calming force.
Both “To a Mouse” and Of Mice and Men are very interesting and intriguing well-developed works by two distinctly different authors. The authors have different writing styles, as well as different ways of formatting their works. However, they share the same message. This message is that no matter what one does to prepare, they should always have a Plan B. Things can and often do go awry. By comparing both subjects, the reader can gain a better understanding of the similarities and differences between the two. They also learn precisely why the inquisitive author Steinbeck found inspiration in Burns’ detailed and symbolic poem.
While reading the stories “Of Mice and Men” and the poem “To a Mouse” the audience can infer that both stories have to do with hope for a better future. While Lennie and George live on the ranch there
When asked about John Steinbeck’s career, people often refer to Steinbeck as a playwright, journalist, and a well-known novelist. The book Of Mice and Men is a popular novel by John Steinbeck and a required read for most high school students. Most of Steinbeck 's novels have a central theme focusing on the relationship between man and his environment. The American dream for George and Lennie, two of the main characters in Of Mice and Men, is to have a place of their own, to be respected, and to work hard for everything they earn and deserve. In Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, the land and a hope of a better life becomes the talisman of an American dream for Lennie and George that is left unfulfilled.
The stories, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck and The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allen Poe, both have a character that breaks a social convention. In this case, both characters, George and Montresor, were murderers. It’s clear that these characters have broken a major law, but how and why they did it will determine whether or not their justification is enough.
John Steinbeck 's Of Mice and Men is a story about what it means to be human. Steinbeck 's story of George and Lennie 's ambition of owning their own ranch, and the obstacles that stand in the way of that ambition, reveal the nature of dreams, loneliness, and sacrifice. Lennie, the mentally handicapped big guy who makes George 's dream of owning his own ranch
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 novel Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is about two ranch hands, George and Lennie. George is a small, smart-witted man, while Lennie is a large, mentally- handicapped man. They are trying to raise enough money to buy their own ranch, by working as ranch hands. During the setting of the story, they are at a ranch whose owner’s name is Curley. It is in this setting that the novel reveals that the main theme is death and loss.
John Steinbeck's novel, "Of Mice And Men," is an ingenious piece of art. work in which his simple use of dialogue and skilful use of parallels.
The novel, Of Mice and Men, is a story of two men by the names of George and Lennie. They are migrant workers new to the California area where they soon are to start work. They have a homogeneous relationship. George is described through the text as a small dark man that has strong features. He is strong-minded and the main character of this novel. Lennie on the on the other hand is described as shapeless. He possesses an incredible strength that George does not have. George is the brains of the operation while Lennie is perceived as the strength behind it all. He is devoted to George and t...
Women’s Rights Past and Present: John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men Hillary Clinton once said, “Human rights are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights.” Women’s rights were very weak in the era of John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men. From limited jobs to low income, women were treated as worthless and weak. In this essay, I discuss how historians say women were treated in 1920s and 30s and how women’s rights have progressed. I will also show that the way historians described women’s rights in the 1920s is the same as how they are depicted in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men.
Steinbeck first introduces the power of fate in the underlying motif of impending disaster exhibited in the title and opening chapter. The title may be seen as a potent warning of the tragedy that will follow, ‘the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry’ is an excerpt from Robbie Burn’s poem ‘To A Mouse’. Steinbeck uses this title to reveal a harsh reality to the reader, of the grim nature of human existence at the time of The Great Depression; the characters seek power over their destinies yet rarely obtain it, due to external forces beyond their control. The dead mouse in Lennie’s pocket, serves as an ominous reiteration of the end that awaits the weak and unsuspecting creatures at the hand of fate, after all despite Lennie’s great size and strength his mental incapability’s render him as helpless as a mouse. Steinbeck further develops the power of fate in his repeated use of animal imagery which sees Lennie comparable with a bear, horse and terrier. Animals in the novell...
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.