What are delusions? Everybody has delusions, especially in the book “Of Mice and Men”. Some people choose to shatter their own reality and some people have to have reality slapped in their faces. They are really easy to create in your mind. You might not even know you have a delusion until it gets shattered; either by you yourself or someone else. Everybody has to face reality at one point, it’s just how life works.
By my reasoning, George is the central character. I pondered over it being Lennie, but his reality was never really shattered. He died before anybody could shatter it because at the end (of the book) he thought George wouldn’t hurt him so he felt safe with him, but he ended up killing him before Lennie himself could even realize that he killed him. George has a drastic role in Lennie’s life. To Lennie, George is crucial to his survival in this world. Without him, Lennie really would be unable to survive for long. The big conflict is that to George, Lennie seems completely harmless. He even tells Slim not to worry about Lennie, but George knew Lennie’s strength- Lennie’s the one who didn’t. All George wanted was to live on his own with him and have the perfect ideal life.
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They don’t really have a joint delusion- George does but because of Lennie’s mentality of a 3-year-old, his is more of a belief. Lennie looks forward to tending the rabbits, and George genuinely looks forward to living in peace and not having to constantly run away when Lennie messes things up for both of them. The main reason George wanted to buy a couple acres of land was so that he could live with Lennie without worrying about what he would ruin this time. To George, Lennie was the reason to keep on pushing for success. He kept on making excuses and kept on convincing himself that Lennie would change but when he finally killed an actual human being, despite on who it was, that was the last straw for George. Lennie wasn’t the only reason George wanted to buy land. In the book, he states how he wants.. He finally decided that the delusion in his head was going too far, and when he shot Lennie, his delusion was shattered instantly. Of course Candy still had hope despite seeing Curley’s wife dead but he wasn’t going to take action, once again. The hope went on until Lennie was on the floor, dead..murdered by his safety net- George. George’s dream was contagious.
First, Lennie was influenced, then Candy, then finally Crooks. Candy had some delusions of his own. Not ones as big as George’s, but he still had them. Once he was in on George and Lennie’s plan on having a perfect life, it sparked some hope that maybe he wouldn’t have to work at the ranch forever. All this hope at once generated delusions in his head. Delusions that he would hold tightly to. When Lennie and Candy visited Crooks in the barn and when he got to know what their plan was, he came up with a delusion of his own. He thought of himself to be worthy and equal enough to be in on the plan with the guys. Later in the book, Curley’s wife knocked some sense into him and shattering his short but meaningful
delusion. Curley’s wife was quite similar to Candy. Her goal was to have a perfect life too-just not correctly. She convinced herself that she deserved way more than what she got but, in my opinion, she was just lonely. Her husband didn’t give her the attention she wanted/ needed. She had many desires, they just all failed to come true. Due to a shortage of female community, she couldn’t go to anyone. She was desperate for having an acting career so when she couldn’t get in, instead of accepting reality, she blamed it on her mother. Just like Curley likes to blame everybody but himself and his wife. Even though in the back of her head, she knew what the reality was but instead decided to go along with the delusion in her head. She got killed by Lennie and I honestly think Curley let Lennie do his dirty work for him because, with the way his wife was acting, he was bound to do it himself. Candy’s dog was also killed, and instead of doing it himself, he let Carlson do his dirty work for him. The difference between George and Lennie is that George chose to do it himself, learning from Candy’s mistake. He knew Candy regret not killing his own dog so George didn’t wanna go through that and caught on to what would happen if he didn’t do it himself. In my eyes, Lennie, Curley’s wife, and Candy’s dog all connect in a way.
Candy didn't have anything so he wanted grow old on the ranch with George and Lennie (pg59-60) but then Lennie kills Curly's Wife and his dream dies (pg.94). Candy's dreams end in a pessimistic outlook because all he wanted got destroyed leaving him with nothing. Crooks dream was to be respected and not looked at for his color and wanted to live on the ranch with Curly Lennie and George (pg.64). Even though he wanted this he noticed by what Curly's wife said to him that his dream will never be achieved, so he changes his mind (pg.
According to Ericcson, delusion can best be explained through a quote by Eric Hoffer; “We lie loudest when we lie to ourselves.” (Ericcson 80). In other words, Ericsson considers delusion as when a man believes what he wants to be the truth in order to make an excuse and justify his actions, which would otherwise be considered harmful towards himself or others. Someone who is considered delusional, as many would call it, is someone who lives in a fantasy world and continuously lies to himself about who he really is. For instance, Ericsson uses the example of an alcoholic who mistakenly deludes himself into actually believing that the troubles going on in his life is a good enough reason to start drinking as opposed to his troubles being the results of the drinking. In these types of situations, Ericsson would probably agree with Lutz that delusion should be considered unjustifiable. As in white lies, Lutz describe delusion as some form of euphemism. They both involve lying, whether to oneself in delusion or somebody else in euphemism, in order avoid “a harsh and distasteful reality” (Lutz 82). However, the difference between Ericsson’s and Lutz’s views is that just as in white lies, Ericsson believes that while delusion can often be harmful and have many negative effects on someone’s life, he can also envision a situation where delusion can be beneficial and therefore justifiable. For instance, Ericsson describes delusion as a surviving tool that everyone uses on a day-to-day basis. He goes on to say that if there were no delusions at all and everybody fully understood all the consequences of their actions such as stockpiling nuclear weapons or global warming, that they wouldn’t be able to “function on a day-day level”, as thinking too much about the possible reality of these events can often be seen as “paralyzing” on the mind
Dreams give people motivation and a sense of hope to not give up when life's hard conditions get in the way of success. In the novella, Of Mice and Men, George Milton has his own “American Dream” where he will live in a house, that he bought with his hard earned money, with Lennie. They will grow their own crops and own farm animals to feed themselves. This dream keeps George motivated to find new jobs when Lennie gets them into trouble. George does not want to give up on working hard and making money on ranches.
Imagery is shown through two hallucinations that Lennie has before the end of the book. He has just escaped the ranch because of the accidentally killing of Curley's wife. Lennie also realizes that George will not let him tend rabbits on a farm, which was the desire that he wanted the most. After all George said, "But you ain't gonna get in no trouble, because if you do, I won't let you tend the rabbits" (65). Constantly throughout the book, Lennie pesters George about taking care of rabbits on a farm of their own; tending rabbits was Lennie's dream. As he hides near the river where he and George stayed the night before going to the ranch, Lennie begins seeing his Aunt Clara. But Aunt Clara was speaking in Lennie's voice. She begins to blame
The harsh reality is one which hit everyone in America in the 1930. People found work hard to find and crime was on the uprise. This meant, unfortunately, that innocent people were the easy prey and, as we see in the Of Mice and Men, there were plenty of characters that were easy prey. Of Mice and Men characters have and do thing that make them vulnerable in way which do cause trouble. In this essay, that harsh reality and easy prey will be shown through to see which characters are the most vulnerable.
At what point does innocent ignorance become an unsustainable danger? How many unchanged mistakes does it take before enough is finally enough? In the novella Of Mice and Men, best friends, George Milton and Lennie Smalls, travel together across the country finding work wherever it may be available. However, since Lennie has a mental disability in that he acts like a young child, it is hard for the two migrant workers to stay in one place and finish a job. Lennie is not aware of his own strength and after not having learned from his mistakes George decides to shoot and kill his best friend Lennie. Although Lennie is his best friend, George makes the terrifically hard decision to shoot him for the greater good. George makes the right decision
Delusions are a symptom of psychiatric disorders such as dementia and schizophrenia, and they also characterize delusional disorders. Delusion is defined as a false belief based on incorrect inference about external reality that is firmly sustained despite what almost everyone else believes and despite what constitut...
and has no family and the only old man on the ranch. We are told him
People are always trying to show that they are better than everyone else and put down others to raise themselves to the top. Many different medias showcase this idea, however few explain why. Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck shows that people who are perceived to be weaker then others are often alienated.
Candy dealt with his loneliness by being friendly with George and Lennie and becoming a partner in obtaining the small ranch that was George and Lennie’s dream. Candy kind of an outcast because of his age difference from other ranch hands. “I could cook and tend the chickens and hoe the garden some”(Candy 319). Candy attempts to be useful in someone else life. He heard that George and Lennie have this dream to “live off the fat of the land” as soon as they get enough money. Candy wanted to join, he offered as much as he can. He wanted to join the dream but not only did he want to join, he wanted to join the friendship of George and Lennie. “Maybe I can give you guys money”(Candy 325). Candy offered his money that he gets from the government for his disability. An exchange for money Candy gets a friendship out of it. So he is paying George and Lennie to be friends with him really. I think money will never buy a real friendship. Not only was Candy lonely and miserable trying to deal with loneliness, but so was Crooks...
As a result, George tries to solve the problem but unfortunately, he cannot find another way to save Lennie except kills him. He feels if Lennie is his responsibility, so he does not want anybody to kill him except himself. As a result, their dream of “live off the fatta lan’”(14) that they were talking about over and over from the beginning of the story is gone. George cannot get his own place by himself or without Lennie. In addition, there are foreshadows and many similarities between Candy’s dog death and Lennie’s death. First, both Candy’s dog and Lennie is killed because people around him does not like them and want them to die. Second, the gun that is used to kill the dog and Lennie is same. Third, Carlson and George kill them in the same way; they shot both of them in the back of their head. Fourth, Candy also tells George earlier if he better shoots his dog by himself, and that is same when George wants to shoot Lennie by himself. As a conclusion, the death of Candy’s dog has much in common with Lennie’s death. Both of Candy and George does not want them to get killed, but condition and people around them force Candy and George to kill them. Finally, the death of Curley’s wife caused a lot of problem, which makes George, Lennie, and Candy’s dream to have their own place is gone. Therefore, if Lennie does not talk to Curley’s wife, there will be no problem that is foreshadowed when Carlson kills Candy’s
Conflict, by definition, is a back and forth struggle between two opposing forces. In the literary work, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, it is clear, the protagonist, George Milton, undergoes many conflicts that lead to the novel’s overall purpose. Steinbeck weaves together George’s conflicts with others, himself, and with society to illustrate what the true meaning of friendship is.
Lennie sits next to the river gulping down swigs of greenish pool water. From behind him Slim bursted through the autumn brush and all out of breath. Lennie moves from his perch near the water's edge and stands up looking down on Slim.
Mental disabilities make an individual think a different way than what society thinks is acceptable. It can cause one to respond slower, both physically and verbally. The disability can make it difficult for the individual to grasp ideas a certain way, and often have to have someone explain it to them. George is that someone to Lennie. He helps set Lennie’s mind on the right track. However, George is not always with Lennie, and this makes Lennie’s thoughts wander off.
Mental illness. Since the beginning of time, people have had them. Ticks in their brains that made them different, and often shunned or feared. In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the character Lennie is shown to have mental illness, making him childlike and stronger than he knows. Steinbeck illustrates this by giving him Animalistic Qualities, He listens to George and only George, and showing how childlike he can be.