Good And Bad In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

The perception of good and bad is varied, but to be good or bad is very different. Many are misled by the term and so I will now define it. What us people call being good is genuinely triggered by actions or kind gestures. Actions as such serving your country regards killing to survive. Then you have kind gestures such as giving money to the homeless or to a charity. This is a sympathetic gesture so we class it as good.
Same way we perceive good according to action is the same with bad. Although a soldier who fights for his country is good, killing in itself is bad. This goes to show that sometimes there is no being good without being bad also. So what is good and bad? The easiest way to describe good and bad is, to be good is to do the right thing, to be bad is doing the wrong thing.
The characters I feel show the idea of good is George, Slim and Lennie. I gathered that these three show very powerful elements of good. I suggested George because of his

righteousness displayed throughout the book George has showed nothing but love and care in the most prideful way. The way he has done this is by protecting Lennie and speaking on his behalf to help Lennie live a comfortable lifestyle. This is also good because George is aware of Lennie’s tendency of getting into trouble but still he loyalty grows day by day.
I also listed Lennie because of his innocence. His perspective on the world shows he has nothing but a beautiful heart. Lennie enjoys grooming soft things, especially pets. He enjoys it so much that it goes out of proportion to the extent of killing. His love overwhelms him and only becomes a disaster.
Lastly I chose Crooks due to discrimination. Crooks has been victimized in such a way that he can only remain humble and look forward. I could have suggested slim or candy but I feel that Crooks has an interesting way of showing he’s good. He doesn’t step out of line and he has his own space. Crooks has accepted his appearance and the way of life for a black man in a white environment.
At some point, Lennie enters Crooks’ room. At first he assumes Lennie was no different from the other workers until they had an aggressive exchange of words leading Lennie towering over Crooks. Crooks calmed him down realising that Lennie was a harmless man. He welcomed him to sit down, now suddenly George enters to escort Lennie out the room whilst asking Crooks if he was any trouble. Restlessly Crooks informs that he was alright.
Those that represent bad I would say is Curley and Curley’s wife. I have selected Curley as a bad character because Steinbeck perceives him as a man that takes advantage. The story tells me he is jealous and mean-spirited. These characteristics can only result to bad things. There was a point Curley singled out Lennie as he was big and didn’t say much. Lennie size was an intimidation to Curley as he was small. He felt the urge to want to challenge Lennie to dominate him.
Despite Curley’s wife’s welcoming personality, she portrays a typical up bringing of a young lady of that day and age. Steinbeck shows the readers what women are capable of and how it mentally ruins men. The book also implies that the workers of the farm are distant from Curley’s wife as they feel she can lead to nothing but trouble. She has a flirtatious persona with an urge to lead individuals to temptation. I can also mention her choice of words when she doesn’t get her way. When the men are at crooks’ room the men suddenly become distant when she walks in. They consistently limit conversation what then leads to Curley’s wife addressing them as “Bindle Bums”.
Steinbeck’s book really intrigues me the elements of inequality, Women’s role and working life. Inequality is a big factor in this book mainly towards Curley and Crooks. My reason behind this is because Curley for instance is only valued to be a young man, son of the boss. He seems to be a ringleader of the pack because of his position. Despite being another worker at the farm alongside the others, he’s still a lot more comforted. He lives with his wife at the ranch in a house whilst the other workers sleep in a bunkhouse.
Crooks on the other hand features inequality because of his race.

Back in those days, blacks were still in a race to beat racism and inequality. Whilst Curley sleeps in a house, the men live in a bunkhouse, Crooks sleeps in a stable. He’s completely singled out from the rest of the workers and is addressed by “Nigger” or “Negro”.
The author shows the readers that a stable life is to work. Everyone must work to earn money and so there he has based it on ranch workers who work in hot and stuffy conditions. The working conditions can be so difficult that many have dreamed of having their own land and building upon a dreamed that many fail to achieve.
Steinbeck has indicated the thought of women having no business in a working lifestyle. The reason I suggest this is because Curley wife does nothing but wonder around, looking for someone to vent to. She is always turned away by Curley and told to stay at the house, which can be very difficult and depressing for her character as she is one that likes to

socialise.
I came to realise the moral Of mice and men. All characters show a side to every personality of humanity and how the world is like when they converse. I could also see that everyone has a dream but not everyone can achieve it and that is the way of life. I say this because of everyone’s desire to what to do something, from Curley’s wife wanting to be a star, to George and Lennie fantasying about having their own land.