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An analytical essay explaining how characters in mice and men influence the plot
Analytical essay of mice and men
Analytical essay of mice and men
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First off, Lennie is an uneasy character with a mental disability in the book Of Mice And Men. He stays with George throughout the book, but is not a stable companion. He is a sympathetic character that causes more damage than he knows he does, yet he understands what he puts George through. He does not fully understand the main ideas in life, and does not put them together, as to what is right and what is wrong. Lennie often mentions running away from George to go live in a cave because he has so much pressure on him to act like the average man. George has to repeat many times what he has said, because Lennie’s brain cannot process what he is trying to tell him. He often loses control of his emotions, and attempts things he does not consider …show more content…
bad. For example, when Lennie accidentally killed Curley’s wife, he wanted her to stop yelling because he did not want George and Curley to be mad at him. He got caught up in his emotions and could not control himself until he realized what he had done. Another example, would be when Lennie killed his puppy inside of their barn. After the tragic event, omitting the fact that he had not told anyone, Lennie sat in the barn registering what happened. He had realized what he had done and knew he had done wrong and could not take it back. Lennie can rush to conclusions and does not think as easily as other characters in the book, causing the mistakes he has made, to put him in a bad and complicated situation. Second of all, the Scarecrow in the movie The Wizard Of Oz, is looking to be granted a wish to receive a brain.
He is a sweet and daring character, yet does not believe he has a brain since he is only made of straw. With the Scarecrow not having a brain, this is much like Lennie, who acts the same way the Scarecrow would. The Scarecrow has a wish that when he sees the wizard, he will be granted a brain, much like Lennie stating he has a wish to go live in a cave and let George live on his own without a worry. In the movie, the Scarecrow often tries to run away and abandon his fears, whereas in the book Lennie felt that he was bothering George with the way he acts, and thinks that it is George’s wish for him to go run away to live in a …show more content…
cave. In addition, George is Lennie’s caretaker and friend in the book Of Mice And Men.
He is the role model for Lennie, and leads him in the right direction when it comes to staying out of trouble, and making the right decisions. George has been through a lot throughout the plot of this book, including all of the situations Lennie had accidentally caused. When George found out that Lennie killed Curley’s wife and the puppy he got for him, he was shocked and unstable. He knew that Lennie could not control his emotions, and was sure what the outcome of the circumstance would end up being. George had to decide whether to let actions play out or give Lennie and clean and abrupt death. Lennie had been George’s friend since their childhood, and did not want his friend in a bad state. He did not want to see Lennie suffer when he did not mean any harm when it came to Curley’s wife and his
puppy. Lastly, Dorothy is the main character in the movie The Wizard Of Oz, and is more of a leader and responsible character than the rest. She helped the Scarecrow, Lion, Tin-Man and herself to get to the Wizard of Oz in hopes to have their wishes granted. Dorothy faced many obstacles during their journey, including the wrath of the Wicked Witch of the West. Dorothy kept all of the characters together, while also staying calm and collected. She was always the first to say something positive and came up with excellent ideas as to where they should hide in order to stay safe from the Wicked Witch of the West. George is the same way with Lennie, he has to push him in the right direction at times to make sure he does not get himself into any trouble. She is much like George in other ways, because she puts a foot forward, and steps up as a leader. George watches out for Lennie’s safety, while Dorothy does the same for the other characters. To conclude, the book Of Mice and Men and the movie The Wizard of Oz have many relations to each other in several ways. Lennie is not a strong person, and he is also defenseless, while the Scarecrow is not a strong character, and needs the help of others to keep his strength to get his wish of a brain. Also, George is much like Dorothy, as they are both leaders. In the book and the movie, a character has a dream.
George and Lennie were lifelong friends and had varying personalities even from the start. Lennie thought about how his Aunt Clara said he should have been more like George. At the time when the story took place, the two men were travelling together, and had been for some time, working and then moving on to search for the next job they could find. They were like many other men in search for work, except it was rare for men to travel together. George felt a need to take care of Lennie because he was somewhat slow. George was an average man of the time. He was a good size, nice, but firm, and he had aspirations to be more than just a nomadic laborer. Lennie, on the other hand, had always been a little different. He was big, goofy, clumsy, but sweet. They were also both good workers. George was concerned with working and getting his money before they got into trouble and had to leave camp. Lennie was the one who normally started the trouble. He was a hard worker and lived to appease George, but he got distracted easily which angered George. George told about how they would own a house and a farm together and work for themselves. Lennie loved to hear the story and think about the possibilities, even though nobody knew if any of it was a possibility. George and Lennie's differences in part led to George's inclination to kill Lennie. Despite their dissimilarity, the two men needed each other probably more than they realized.
John Steinbeck wrote a story about two men that only had each to depend on. Many of George and Lennie's struggles come from things they cannot control such as Lennie's mental issues. George and Lennie are very poor and they work on farms together, but they have to move a lot because Lennie always does something stupid. The greatest tragedy in Mice and Men was when Lennie was left alone with Curley's wife. She was the reason why Lennie ended up being killed. She knew of to manipulate others to get her way and that is what she relies on most of the time.
Lennie's stupidity and carelessness constantly causes him to unintentionally harm people and animals. When he gets into sticky situations, George is there to help him get out of them. Ever since Lennie's Aunt Clara died, George has felt that he has a sense of duty
After reading the novella I think that George is a really good friend to Lennie. The first reason that I think that he is a really good friend to lennie, because that he runs off with Lennie when Lennie gets in trouble. George have a choice of running off with Lennie and been trace by those people or he could just don’t care about Lennie and keep his job. But he choose to run off with Lennie and been trace by those people. The second reason that I think George is a good friend to Lennie is because that in the novella it shows that George care about Lennie. On the first section it shows that George tells to Lennie to get off the the green water and throw away the dead mouse that Lennie had. He did that because the mouse might get him
Lennie is broken and incomplete in many ways. He has a mental disability which differentiates him from the others. He depends on George for everything and cannot do things on his own even though he is a grown man.
In the Salinas River Valley, after the Great Depression, there were a large number of unemployed workers seeking jobs. In the fiction novel "Of Mice and Men," by John Steinbeck, Lennie Small is among one of those men. Lennie and his friend George both have just received jobs on a ranch as farm workers. What brings the two together is their dream to someday own their own land. Lennie has a lot of character and personality traits that define him. One trait that he has is he is very forgetful. Another trait he has is he is very curious. A final trait he has is that he is very reliant. Although he might not be the intelligent person in the book, he has a very well developed personality. Lennie demonstrates his personality and character traits throughout the novel.
George kills Lennie because he did not want to witness Lennie being hurt or killed carelessly, run off by in his own and not being able to take care for himself, and Lennie’s mental disorder will never change how Lennie reacts to certain situations. Many believe taking the life of another without consent is unacceptable but in certain situations like George’s, he has to decide due to Lennie’s mental disorder that was leading him into unpleasant situations. George is an admirable character who choose to protect and do justice to his distressed friend,
Lennie is depicted in a very childlike manner throughout Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Accordingly, he acts in a manner that is persistent with a child in that his motivations precisely lead to his actions. He does not act in a pure sense of dishonesty, reflective of the purity that is peculiar to someone who is like a kid at heart.
Lennie was not very smart and couldn't do much by himself. He had to be told what to do or he wouldn't do anything at all. He fits all the profiles for a retarded person. He doesn't have any self-control. When he starts to panic he gets out of control and even kills Curly's wife because she starts to scream. Lennie loves animals and can't stop talking about them. He always says that when they get their own place that he wants lots of rabbits, his favorite animal. To him George is like his father figure, since Lennie never really had any parents. He is easily amused and panics quickly.
Consistently throughout the story George and Lennie were there for each other; in fact towards the very beginning Lennie and George discussed how they were better off than most guys because they had each other (14). When George killed Lennie a part of him died too, George knew murdering Lennie would hurt him mentally and emotionally. However he did it because he wanted what was best for his friend no matter the cost. His actions were altruistic and that made his decision the more favorable one. Another instance when George was selfless was when he gave up his dream. Throughout the story George and Lennie dreamed of and worked towards owning their own piece of land together. However, after discovering Curley’s wife dead, George returned to reality and informed Candy that they would, “never do her” (94). After losing his friend George understood the impossibility of achieving the American Dream. Beforehand George knew he would not want to live out his dream without Lennie, so by protecting Lennie and giving up on his own dream he put Lennie above himself. Conversely, someone may believe that George's actions were selfish and that he benefits himself by killing Lennie. After George comes after Lennie, the dim-witted man asks if George was going to yell at him. Reluctantly George told him “If I was alone, I could live so easy,” (103). Although George said
The book opens with a lengthy description of where the beginning of the story takes place. We are then introduced to Lennie and George, and we soon learn that they are headed towards a Ranch to find work. We then learn of Lennie’s obsession with mice, and how his love for them always ends up with them dead, either to stress, or Lennie killing them himself. George is repulsed by this, but always knows when Lennie has one in his possession, which hints that the two have a very close relationship. It also becomes clear that Lennie suffers from some kind of mental illness, as he is forgetful, depends on George, and has the mentality of a child, however, the immensity of his disability isn’t known, as he is able to complete tasks that George asks him to do, such as collecting wood for the fire. Lennie’s disability also puts a lot of stress on George, which becomes clear in the first few pages. He is quick to snap on Lennie, but knowing of his disability, he is also quick to apologize, in his own way, of course.
Although George has the brains in the group, Lennie, who is mentally handicapped, still causes problems very often. Lennie has the body of an adult but the mind of a child. In page 11, George explains the incident that occurred in Weed to Lennie: “‘...well, how the hell did she know you jus’ wanted to feel her dress? She jerks back and you hold on like it was a mouse.’” Lennie enjoys
George’s relationship with Lennie has made him selfless; his conversations, with and with out Lennie, are generally revolving around Lennie, although in the case of their dream-ranch George seems to find fulfilment for himself as well. Due to these altruistic tendencies that he shows throughout the novel, a danger is bestowed upon George; he tends to care for Lennie far too much, and too little for himself. In occasional moments, he escapes his sympathy and compassion for Lennie, and realises the burden that he causes. This usually results in George taking his frustration out on Lennie, which can often harm his simple mind, leaving Lennie upset and forced to confess to his own uselessness, and George feeling guilty for what he has caused. We can learn very little about George through his actual conversations, which made it necessary for Steinbeck to focus the novel on him in particular, and let the reader gain an closer insight on him through his actions. Generally, he seems to be caring, intelligent and sensible, but is greatly worn by the constant attention Lennie requires. This illustrates a major theme in Of Mice and Men, the dangers that arise when one becomes involved in a dedicated relationship.
“I want you to stay with me, Lennie. Jesus Christ, somebody’d shoot you for a coyote if you was by yourself. No, you stay with me. Your Aunt Clara wouldn’t like you running off by yourself, even if she was dead.” (page 13). After Lennie and George fight over the dead mouse, Lennie tells him that George would be better off if Lennie went to the mountains to live in a cave. George doesn’t let him. He tells him that he wants him to stay because not only did George somewhat promise Lennie’s dead Aunt Clara that he would take care of him, but he also learned how to live and adjust with the fact that Lennie has kind of a childish mind.
After Lennie gets into the debacle with Curley’s wife, he runs to the oasis described at the beginning of the book. George fears the men will tear Lennie apart and murder him. He also knew he would be institutionalized, or “caged” if he survived the attack. He had the moral clarity that let him see that killing Lennie was the best thing for him. When George kills Lennie, it’s a kind of mercy killing.