Friendship, Dreams, and the Conflict in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men

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Of Mice and Men was a book written by John Steinbeck. The book took place in the Great Depression era. The people were poor and jobless it was hard for the people to make money during this time. The Depression had everyone looking out for themselves and their family. In the book Of Mice and Men in analyzes the friendship, dreams, and the conflict. The friendship with George and Lennie is shown throughout the whole book. Of Mice and Men talks about the way the 1930’s were and the work you did to earn money (Cook). George and Lennie had to work on a ranch so they could earn money. George is the one to always take care of Lennie when he needs help. George and Lennie have a dream of getting a farm throughout the whole book and it shows. George tells Lennie in the book “O.K. Someday, we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and,” Lennie interrupts and says “An’ live off the fatta the lan’, (Steinbeck)” George wants Lennie around even though Lennie is a little slow in the head. George wants to help Lennie because he knows no one will help him if he is not around. Lennie even knows that when he says “I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you (Steinbeck).” Lennie also tries to act like George sometimes because he looks up to George. In the book it says “He pulls his hat down more over his eyes the way George’s hat was (Steinbeck).” The relationship is shown to by Steinbeck as he shows the way George and Lennie work together. George tells Lennie “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They belong no place…they ain’t got nothing to look ahead to” (Steinbeck). Steinbeck tries to show ho... ... middle of paper ... ...hard Wright. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1974. 49-72. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 16 Jan. 2014. Hart, Richard E. "Steinbeck, Johnson, and the Master/Slave Relationship." Ethics, Literature, and Theory: An Introductory Reader. Ed. Stephen K. George. Lanham, Md.: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2005. 315-327. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Jelena Krstovic. Vol. 160. Detroit: Gale, 2012. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 16 Jan. 2014. Leaf, Jonathan. "Of mice & melodrama." New Criterion 26.4 (2007): 84+. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 16 Jan. 2014. Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York: Penguin, 1993. Print. Thesing, William B. "John Steinbeck." Twentieth-Century American Dramatists. Ed. John MacNicholas. Detroit: Gale Research, 1981. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 7. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 16 Jan. 2014.

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