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Steinbeck,Meerpool and Agard's work explore the theme of powerlessness and how it can lead to hopeless? during their time period of their writing. In Of Mice and Men, almost every main character has some form of weakness: Lennie is mentally disabled which means that he has less judgemental power than the other characters and he bases his actions in terms of consequences,rather than guilt.Although Lennie is physically strong and should therefore be considered to be powerful, this power becomes catastrophic if used without George's consent.A classic example of this is the death of Curley’s wife: George wasn’t present. Curley's wife is a woman and women were near the bottom of society during the 1930s. She is also socially weak hence why she …show more content…
is undoubtedly hopeless for attention and this can be seen throughout the book by the way she talks to Lennie and George in a seductive manner regardless of the fact that she has a man (quote and analisiss).Steinbeck emphasizes her insignificance by not mentioning her name throughout the entire book. She is always referred as Curley’s wife which makes her come across as a commodity, therefore she has no autonomy, making her powerless. Curley is short and this puts him at disadvantage during the fight scene with Lennie (put quote).
Candy's dog is shot against his will and Crooks is black and disabled.Crooks represents another type of powerlessness. By being the only black man working on the ranch, he is isolated from the others.Even /curley’s wife is more powerful than Crooks when.the insignificance of black people during the 1930s can also be seen by how often Steinbeck makes Crooks appear in the novel. This is never more apparent than when Curley's wife threatens to have him lynched.The fact that she, another powerless person, wields such power over him demonstrates how powerless he is in this …show more content…
society. Similarly,Meerpool wanted the readers to understand how powerless the Afro Americans were through Strange Fruit. He did so by using imagery, describing them with "bulging eyes and twisted mouth".In this case, the word "twisted mouth" suggests that the mouth was somehow destroyed with the intention to silence a voice.Furthermore, the fact that their eyes were “bulging” implicates that they were powerless not only because their bodies have accumulated so much resentment from the Whites which couldn’t be realeased, but also from the voice that is fighting to exit their bodies.The last stanza describes how the "strange fruit" have no hope of being taken care of (i.e burying them) because they are there ´for the crows to pluck’.This line of the poem is most powerful to demonstrate the purpose of the poem because humans as well as animals are taking over the Afro Americans by twisting their mouths an plucking them.Personification is also effectively used to show how powerless and defenceless the African Americans were.They were even taken over by nature;“for the rain to gather, for the wind to suck, for the sun to rot, for the trees to drop´ However, Gerorge is somehow powerful in the novel because he has the power to decide Lennie’s fate by ending his life. Similarly,Agard wrote Half Caste in the twenty-first century - a time where racial issues haven't been completely left aside.Just by acknowledging the purpose of the poem half caste, powerlessness can be easily identified; he is trying to address those who use the derogatory term half caste.By doing so, it shows is powerlessness already because he is trying to communicate with those above him.He attempts to over come this by speaking in a …… tone’.Because in Half Caste Agard accepts the label he's been given all his life by the whites, this is ,unfortunately, a weakness because who will listen to half a a person?"Caste" means pure therefore the term half caste refers to someone who is not of a pure race but a mix of two races and if you are being called half caste, you are being called half pure,half a human being,therefore you shouldn't even have any power because you are not considered to be a person.The fact that the poem doesn't have any full stops reflects his anger and it illustrates his hopelessness to tell people that the term half caste is wrong.To overcome his weakness,He speaks in broken in English in order to express his emotions that he is heartbroken by the fact that people use such word and it also means that he is being ironic because if he is considered half a person by society, he might as well pretend to be a "broken" person, a malfunctioning human.
Consequently it also results him in feeling self-pity which does make the reader have sympathy for Agard,
this therefore makes him powerless because you dont feel empathy for thos who. HE also uses imagery and repetition to show how ridiculous this the term half caste is. the use of “half-a-hand” half To conclude, all of the three writers explore hopelessness and powerlessness in a manner linked to racism.In Of Mice And Men, Crooks' powerless attempts at expressing himself are always hopeless.He is so powerless towards the relationships he has, that his loneliness makes him bitter and he is certainly jealous of George and Lennnie's friendship. In chapter four, he tries to make Lennie feel as lonely as he does by suggesting George might leave him.…..In Strange Fruit, the bodies and mouths of the weak were mutilated by racist society. However, in Half Caste, Agard actually uses what some people consider to be a weakness to his advantage by using it to forcing people to fully acknowledge the insulting nature of the term half caste.
Steinbeck clearly shows that Crooks never has any say on the ranch. No one cares about him. He’s just a “negro stable buck” (66). In this novella, No one ever talks to him except for candy. Lennie finally finds himself going into his room. While in there they speak about racial profiling. Crooks tell lennie that he’s the only African Americans on the ranch. He tells Lennie how he’s “alone out here at night” (73). He has nobody to talk to all he does is read books and think. The people on the ranch care less about his needs and wants, all they want him to do is to continue his work...
John Steinbeck, an American novelist, is well-known for his familiar themes of depression and loneliness. He uses these themes throughout a majority of his novels. These themes come from his childhood and growing up during the stock market crash. A reader can see his depiction of his childhood era. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck shows the prominent themes of loneliness, the need for relationships, and the loss of dreams in the 1930s through the novels’ character.
Also, the fact that Curley’s Wife does not have her own name and is simply a possession of Curley exemplifies the concept that women in the 1930s were treated as belongings of men and were stripped of their individuality, highlighting the social hierarchy in those times.
When Curly’s wife went to Crooks to ask if he has seen Curly around, Curly said that he hasn’t seen him, but still she was standing there and Crooks said, “You got no rights coming in a coloured man’s room. You got no rights messing around in here at all.” Steinbeck’s use of Crook’s dialogue shows that Crooks had enough pride and independence to stand up to Curly’s wife. She turned on him in scorn. “Listen, Nigger,” she said. “You know what I can do to you if you open your trap?” Crooks stared hopelessly at her, and then he sat down on his bunk and drew into himself. Steinbeck uses Curly’s wife’s dialogue to tell the readers that Crooks was always discriminated against. When Lennie was wandering around at the ranch and went into Crook’s room, Crooks said, “You go get outta my rooms. I ain’t wanted in the bunk house and you ain’t wanted in my room.” Steinbeck uses crook’s dialogue, racism and loneliness to demonstrate that Crooks wanted to be left alone, but also from inside he wants to talk to someone. Readers may feel sympathy at Steinbeck’s idea of racism. Crooks was always treated badly and is always discriminated against.
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.
Right off the bat, Lennie is described as lesser, and rather than helped he is given a “slap on the wrist”. To begin with, Lennie is always described as less capable or unable to do certain activities to the extent of others. For example, at the beginning of the book George and Lennie were attempting to get a job. George always said, “He can do anything, just give him a try” (22). George implied that the likelihood of Lennie receiving a job is significantly less due to him being disabled. Lennie being less likely to receive a job due to his mental disability shows discrimination and expresses how difficult it could have been for a mentally handicapped person to get a job during this era. Moving forward, rather than George helping Lennie, Lennie is put down and scolded for his mistakes. During a scene between Lennie and George, George exclaimed, “You forget. You always forget, an’ I got to talk you out of it” (23). As it is not necessarily Lennie’s fault, George is in the wrong to put down Lennie for his actions. However, rather than attempting to help Lennie, George puts him down for his mistakes and then is forced to apologize for his own actions later. Lennie is a prime example of oppression against the mentally disabled in Of Mice and Men.
Crooks. loneliness is caused because he is black, at the time the story took place there was racism. Since Crooks is black, he wasn?t able to socialize with the white men. When Steinbeck describes all of Crooks? possessions, it shows that Crooks has been at the ranch a long time and that his possessions are all the he cares about.
When you’re in a position of high authority, it comes with a great sum of power. Having a great deal of control can corrupt and can lead to the abuse of it. Abuse of power is using their power for their own benefit even if it may harm others. In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the effects of the abuse shown by Curley and Curley’s wife to the other characters will ultimately lead to a tragic end.
The book, Of Mice and Men is not just about the death of Lennie, as one might think, it’s also about power. Throughout the book, one can observe each character’s attempts to gain influence over the ranch crew, or at least to be accepted into a society. However, only one man can be on top, and that man became Slim, the ageless jerkline skinner. Unlike Curley, he lead with an understanding mind instead of abusing the power gained by achieving the American Dream.
The 3 themes in “Of Mice And Men” are loneliness, powerlessness, and dreams often fail.
Of Mice and Men, by Steinbeck, shows many different views on society. This book has a lot different messages you can take and apply to real life. All the people in the story can relate to someone today and also to some stuff that still happens all around the world. When reading this book you can really start to understand and connect with the characters and identify their weaknesses and their strengths. Some things you really start to notice is how powerful some people are and how they use that power in everyday living. Many characters had power, because of that it helped some get by, helped some take advantage and boss people around, but power also hurt them.
An example of how the men are discriminative towards Crooks is that he is forced to live in a shack away from the bunkhouse and also Crooks says that "They play cards in there, but I can't play because I'm black. They say "I stink" and "I ain't wanted in the bunkhouse." An example of when Curley's Wife is critical towards Crooks is when she looks into his room to see what Lennie and Crooks are doing and then she states, shaking her head, that they left the weak ones behind. Also, she threatens to have Crooks hanged because a black man should never talk to a white woman the way he just had. As a result of all of these discriminatory acts against him, Crooks feels unwanted and lonely because of his color and placement on the farm.
First and foremost, Crooks is a person who gets treated with discrimination, much more than anyone else. Simply because he is black and has a crooked back, from which he received his name from. People continuously treat him horribly, one person being Curley’s Wife. “Well you keep your place then, Nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even
Men, Steinbeck’s character’s life is dependent on the assumptions made about him. Of Mice and Men tells the story of two men with opposite character who face the hardships and reality of
The way Curley’s wife was treated changed the responsibility she had, the views of her, and being alone all the time. In life, women and those who are different aren’t seen as equal. They all have harder lives than the typical man does. Unfortunately, one of the characters who were different was outnumbered and was seen on a lower