Many authors of fiction attempt to convey to the reader their opinions on certain topics, or themes, throughout the course of their stories. Through his novella Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck expresses his opinions on the powerful and the powerless, unity and isolation, and dreams and reality.
Although much of the story can be related to power (or the lack thereof), Steinbeck especially uses one scene to show us that power isn’t something you just have or don’t have, but that different people are powerful in different situations, depending on positions, perceptions, and reactions. The scene begins with Lennie entering into Crooks’s room. Crooks is initially unfriendly and begins to mess with Lennie, telling him that George isn’t coming back. We
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find that one moment Crooks is in charge, as Lennie perceives himself as powerless against this idea of something happening to George, and “Crooks’ face lighted with pleasure in his [Lennie’s] torture.”(Steinbeck 109) But, the next moment, Lennie’s anger is awakened in reaction to his feeling George being threatened, and Lennie’s physical strength gives him power as he “walked dangerously toward Crooks,”(Steinbeck 110) so that Crooks must retreat onto his bed. A few minutes later, Curley’s wife enters the scene. She receives almost complete power on this rare occasion even though she’s a woman, because her position is ranked higher socially than these “bindle stiffs”(Steinbeck 117). When Crooks perceives himself as powerful because she’s in his room, he tells her to leave, but she reacts, and “Scornfully dismissing him, she reminds him of his vulnerability and exposes his hidden fear,”(Zeitler) which is his fear of breaking societal taboos, as he could then easily get lynched. Only if the three men had combined efforts could they have made her leave, as we are stronger together than separate. Unity (friendship) and the lack thereof (isolation) are also themes that Steinbeck covers heavily in Of Mice and Men.
In the novella, he tells us that everyone fears isolation, that isolation is often forced on some, and that when we achieve unity, it can motivate us. Almost every character in the book is scared of isolation, and most characters are forced into it. From Curley’s wife – "I get lonely." "You can talk to people, but I can't talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad. How'd you like not to talk to anybody?"(Steinbeck 125, 126) – to Crooks, who is ostracized by the whole white community (except for Lennie), to Curley himself, who is hated and looked down on by all the workers on the ranch (and thus is kept from true unity with anyone, even his wife, who wants to leave him), they are all isolated and dislike this fact. Steinbeck also shows us why unity is so desirable, revealing that unity is motivating and empowering. When describing George and Lennie’s dream in the first scene, George says, “We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us.” (Steinbeck 49), revealing that their unity is what drives the dream, giving them hope and motivating them. Owens states, “The dream of the farm merely symbolizes their deep mutual commitment, a commitment that is immediately sensed by the other characters in the novel.” (Owens) Indeed, this sense of unity between them is noticed by many, including the boss, Curley, and Slim, who question its cause, and Crooks and …show more content…
Candy, who want to be a part of this unity. So, Steinbeck seems to be saying that the primary way through which unity motivates is our dreams. But Steinbeck’s main focus in the whole story must be that of dreams, and how, in reality, not many ever achieve them.
Steinbeck attempts to convince us of this by having many of his characters profess dreams, and then having none of them come to pass. George and Lennie’s dream is that they will “have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and——” “An’ live off the fatta the lan’,” (Steinbeck 49). But that never happens. “This is simply the way it is… and when George kills Lennie he is not only saving him from the savagery of the pursuers, he is, as John Ditsky says, acknowledging that ‘Lennie's situation is quite hopeless,’ “(Owens), and by extension is acknowledging that their dream is quite hopeless. In addition to George and Lennie’s dream, Steinbeck also tells us Curley’s wife’s dream. When talking with Lennie before her death, she reveals her dream of being in the movies and how it failed to come true, saying “He says I could go with that show. But my ol’ lady wouldn’ let me. She says because I was on’y fifteen. But the guy says I coulda. If I’d went, I wouldn’t be livin’ like this, you bet.” ” Though it surely makes a depressing story, the chaos and failure to achieve these dreams definitely gets its point across; our dreams are just that – dreams, and they rarely become a
reality. Through the course of telling the story of these two friends (not brothers), who don’t get a chance to love to farm, Steinbeck manages to teach us some lessons: about power, friendship, and dreams.
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.
In his novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck depicts the essential loneliness of California ranch life in the 1930s. He illustrates how people are driven to find companionship. There were so many moments of loneliness and sadness throughout the novel, including many deaths. Following the deaths, they were very unexpected making the novel more intense and latch onto it more.
Steinbeck uses foreshadowing throughout the story that hints on them not achieving their dream. Crooks one of the workers, predicts that Lennie and George will never get their own farm. Also, George looses hope and stops talking about the dream. As Crooks and Lennie discuss the plan to get a farm, crooks docent think that Georges and Lennies dream will become possible.’‘I seen hundreds of men come by on the road an’ on the ranches, …’em has a little piece of land in his head. An’ never a God damn one of ‘em ever get it…” In other words Crooks has seen many people with the same dream as George and Lennie that haven't come true. Crooks says that none of the peoples dreams come true, this foreshadows that Georges and Lennies may nit come true. As a result, The failure of dreams creates an effect creates an uncertainty that their dream will come true. Not only does Crooks think that their dream will not come true, but George lost hope in their dream too. While George and Lennie are sleeping by the water, George tells Lennie a story about what their farm would be like, but George breaks down and doesn't want to talk about it. While George and Lennie are sleeping by the water, George tells Lennie a story about what their farm would be like, but George breaks down and doesn't want to talk about it. “I aint got time for no more…” in other words, George is tired of having dreams he doesn't think he can
John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men contains the haunting theme of isolation that captures the "abused" little man of 1920’s America. Throughout the novel, it is shown that loneliness and isolation has a greater affect on us than may seem. Steinbeck's characters experience different forms of isolation based on the specific prejudice contained within themselves. This theme is shown in Crooks and his isolation due to his race, Candy due to his age, and Curley's wife due to her quality as "jail bait."
Loneliness and Companionship are one of the many themes that are conveyed in the novel Of Mice and Men, By John Steinbeck. Many of the characters admit to suffering from loneliness within the texts. George sets the tone for these confessions early in the novel when he reminds Lennie that the life of living on a ranch is among the loneliest of lives. However Lennie, who is mentally disabled holds the idea that living on a farm very high. "Tending the rabbits" is what Lennie calls it. Often when Lennie is seaking encouragement he askes George to tell him how its going to be. Men like George who migrate from farm to farm rarely have anyone to look to for companionship and protection. George obviously cares a lot for lennie, but is too stubborn to admit to it. The feeling of being shipped from place to place leaves George feeling alone and abandoned.
Throughout the novel you can get an insight into what it is like to live those characters lives. The novel follows and represents the lives of Lennie, Crooks and George and what they go through to survive. John Steinbeck portrayed these characters very well within following their dreams in life.
George’s struggles with himself become apparent at the beginning of the novel. Steinbeck clearly lets the reader know that George has conflicting feelings about Lennie. He believed, “ ...if he was alone he could live so easy. He could go get a job an ' work, an ' no trouble” (11). George is basically telling Lennie that sometimes, he wishes he could live
In Of Mice and Men, the author, Steinbeck, explores the theme of isolation. The whole book has a pessimistic and gloomy tone to it. Steinbeck has hinted at us the theme of isolation from full built evidence to subtle details (such as placing the city of the book in Soledad, California, a Spanish word for solitude). He argues that isolation forms when people become selfish and egocentric and worry about themselves all the time.
The main characters in the novel, Lennie and George, dreamt of owning their own farm where Lennie can tend to the rabbits. Steinbeck uses these characters dream as an example of a quixotic dream being deferred. To explain, when Lennie and George are sitting by the river imagining their future farm, George illustrates “OK. 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-...’ ‘...An live on the fatta the lan,” (Steinbeck 14). George and Lennie shared a dream that was not real and could not be achieved because the things holding them back in that time era. For example, the depression made it hard for people to find a job because many people were poor and didn’t need workers like Lennie and George. The two men were migrant workers who received a combined salary of one hundred dollars a month which is not nearly enough to buy land. Instead of being realistic, which would mean they would just keep trying to find regular jobs at ranches, Lennie and George kept hanging on to the dream even though it is preposterous. This dream that they have is very impractical for someone in their line of work, especially during the Depression. In addition, when George a...
Written in 1937, Of Mice and Men, by John Adolf Steinbeck Jr., American author and Pulitzer Prize winner, follows the lives of downtrodden farmhands, George and Lennie. As with many of Steinbeck's books, the themes in Of Mice and Men include his favored themes of class warfare and oppression of the working class. Steinbeck also focuses his literature on the power of friendship and the corrupt nature of mankind. In 1993, Professor Thomas Scarseth wrote a critical analysis of the novella analyzing many aspects of Steinbeck’s work including the presentation, themes, and writing style. In his essay, Scarseth explains the key themes of the Novella. He noted that the corrupted nature of man, the injustice of life, and the power of friendship were three important themes of the book. Much of Scarseth’s analysis contained numerous thoughtful insights. Were his insights and opinions valid, or were his, and Steinbeck’s, perspectives on these issues flawed?
Is the american dream always achieved, As a matter of fact what is the american dream? The american dream in Of Mice and Men is that Lennie and George are going to have a little house off the fatta the land which means live off of what they make and not others, they’ll have a couple of acres, a garden, a vegetable patch, chickens, cows, pigs and rabbits. Lennie and George still have a chance to achieve their dream while Curley’s wife has already thrown her dream away. So will George and Lennie achieve their Dream?
In his novel Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck illustrates a type of loneness that can only be found on the ranch life style in California. He shows how many lead a loneness, and a rehash lifestyle, but while some seek an companion to trek through the land with. The Boss, is the type of man that see many come and go, but also see some stay true and faithful, such as Slim or Candy. He never seen leaving his house to meet with the workers, or his son for that matter. Curley’s wife, she is known to being “looked over” by many men, and is constantly seeking conversation with others, mainly the workers, or is found looking for her husband, Curly.
Crooks also tells Lennie that he is discriminated against, which makes sense because he is the only black man on a ranch set in the 1930's. The reader can assume that because Crooks spends so much time alone and is judged by the color of his skin he is lonely and wants to be accepted by those around him. Crooks goes into depth about what it feels like to have no one to turn to. By writing that Crooks says, "he got nothing to tell him what's so an' what ain't so" and "he don't know whether it's right or not", the reader can assume that Crooks has doubts about if what he's doing is normal and wants someone to reassure him because he says that "he got nothing" and "he don't know". Steinbeck wrote "If some guy was with me" and "it would be all right. But I jus' don't know.". These examples support the theme because it shows that because Crooks is lonely, he craves someone else to justify his thoughts and
Richard Yaxley and John Steinbeck, authors of the novels Joyous and Moonbeam and Of Mice and Men utilise literary devices in order to illustrate a variety of ideas. Through the characterisation of Lennie and Joyous, the idea of prejudice is discussed in regards to their disability. In addition, the idea of isolation is established through the technique of setting, although both novels differ in setting both convey a similar message. Moreover, narrative structure is implemented in both novels, used to convey the idea of disability through the improper language used. Furthermore, Yaxley and Steinbeck highlight the ideas of prejudice, isolation and disability through various literary techniques.
Curley's Wife is the only women on the farm and due to that Curly makes her stay in a house all day. So she has no one to talk too but when she tries to talk to other people on the farm, many of them try to avoid her because Curly. Which makes her very lonely and starts to say mean or disrespectful things. Also after everybody but Lennie, Crooks, and Candy left Curly's Wife find them and said "what am I doin'? Standin' here talkin' to a bunch of bindle stiffs—a nigger an' a dum-dum and a lousy ol' sheep—an' likin' it because they ain't nobody else" (Steinbeck 103). This just further proves John Steinbeck’s concept because do to her being lonely she says such vulgar things to these men. As shown since she is the only girl on the farm drives her to be mean and