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The strengths and weaknesses of sigmund freud theory
The strengths and weaknesses of sigmund freud theory
The strengths and weaknesses of sigmund freud theory
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The second reason why Steinbeck's novel is realistic is because many characters have weaknesses and the weaknesses interfere with the characters plans and dreams. Lennie's weakness is he has a mental disability, forgets things, and loves holding and petting objects, pets and humans. His forgetfulness is showed in the beginning of the novel, when Lennie forgets what's George's and Lennie's destination is Although George reminded Lennie several times. Lennie also repeatedly killed the mice his Aunt Clarita gave. Candy and even Candy's dog have weaknesses. They are both quite elderly and in the novel , being a senior, is a weakness. Lennie shows his weakness when Curley’s wife finds out he killed the puppy and he explains by saying "...he made …show more content…
like he's gonna bite me...an'...an' I done it. An' then he was dead" ( Steinbeck 87.) This proves Lennie killed a puppy by holding it too tight.
It illustrates that every time Lennie holds something, he ends up hurting or killing it. His same mental disability was what caused Lennie and George to run away from the town named Weed. George explains this to the reader when he says "Jus' wanted to feel that girls dress...She yells and...we got to sneak out in the dark and we outta the country" (Steinbeck 11.) This shows how Lennie's weakness makes them leave a country. That Lennie's weakness was preventing George and Lennie to get to their plans. This is realistic because people's disabilities do get in the way of people's lives and plans. Disabilities restrict and set limits on things a person may want to accomplish in life .Candy and Candy’s dog also have weaknesses. They are both old. In fact, Curly's dog gets shot because of this by Carlson. Carlson believes the dog is too old and useless. Candy illustrates how age is a weakness when he his talking to George and feeling guilty for not shooting the dog himself and says "You seen what they done to my dog tonight? They says he wasn't no good to himself nor nobody else. When they can me here I wisht somebody'd shoot me" ( Steinbeck
60.) This is illustrating Candy saying, just like Carlson shot the dog because it was old and not good for anybody, they will shoot Candy. In the way Carlson shot the dog. Steinbeck wants the reader to know how disabilities,mental illness, and aging prevents people achieving their goals and plans in their lives. Altogether,age and disabilities do affect plans and dreams for many people. That is what makes the novel realistic.
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.
The characteristics of mice are simple and feebleminded. A mouse is helpless, timid and oblivious. Few characters in Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men possess such characteristics. Throughout the novel, Lennie exhibits the qualities associated with mice.
work, he states that Lennie is "…strong as a bull" and is "…a god damn
Although Lennie was unattractive and has the tendency of accidental violence, compassion was still something readers had for him. Steinbeck constantly reminded us that he has a mental disability which automatically makes someone feel pity for him. Additionally he was ignored and made fun of by other characters, “Blubberin’ like a baby! Jesus Christ! A big guy like you”(Steinbeck 10). Him getting in trouble was beyond his control because of his mental disability which is something else that makes a reader feel sympathetic for him. Also, the readers are solicitous towards Lennie because of how much he looks up to George. This is portrayed when Crooks asks Lennie what he would do if George never came back, “Well, s’pose, jus’ s’pose he don’t come back. What’ll you do then?”(Steinbeck 70). Because of his inability to comprehend information, he got extremely defensive and said, “George is careful. He won’t get hurt” (Steinbeck 70). This scene is crafted in such a way that it automatically
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 really helps him through problems that keep happening during the book. Lennie is incapable to live because he does not know his strength and George has to play the role as a living assistant for Lennie. Lennie does not mean to harm but because of his condition he essentially harms people. In the book it explains the trouble in weed and George explains “Well he saw a girl in a red dress and a red dress and he just wanted to feel it and when he touched it the girl just starts yelling and all he can think to do is hold on” ( Steinbeck 41). The quote states or explains how Lennie can scare or harm people.
At the beginning, the author describes his movement using a metaphor, as Lennie “[drags] his feet… the way a bear drags his paws” (p.2), to show that he is much alike a bear physically. In addition, Steinbeck uses a simile to emphasize Lennie’s animal-like behaviour, as he “[drinks] wit long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse” (p.3). By comparing his physical and behavioural characteristics, this can foreshadow that the author implies that Lennie is seen as more animal than human because of his metal disabilities. George further makes it evident when he infers that “somebody [would] shoot [him] for a coyote if [he] was by [himself]” (p.12). This shows that people are scared of him and his unpredictable, animal-like behaviour because of the lack of understanding about mental health during the early 1900s. Furthermore, this can be the foundation for the theme where the lack of communication and understanding with the mentally disabled can lead to dire and tragic
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.
Foreshadowing plays a large role in indicating that Lennie isn't going to last long in this harsh world. The beginning introduces this world in such a great way, raising your emotions with a happy tone in a wonderful peaceful scene and then sends that scene plummeting over a cliff into a dark unhappy environment. The strong characters in this environment attack the weak and the weak attack the weaker. An example of the strong against the weak is when Carlson compels Candy, "I'll put the old devil out of his misery right now," (p.47) to let him shoot his dog. An example of the weak attacking the weaker is when Crooks teases Lennie, "jus' s'pose he don't come back," (p.72) Lennie is the weakest because of his mental disability and his lack of thinking for himself. He would either run away or be eliminated through death. Candy and his dog mirror the image of George and Lennie. Candy being George and his dog being Lennie. When the dog dies, it foreshadows his death because the dog represented him.
Since the beginning of the book, Steinbeck characterizes Lennie as a man who sees the world through the perspective of a child, as if it is a dream. Lennie is a big guy, but he acts like a baby. In the beginning of the story, after George threw the dead mouse Lennie was petting, Lennie was “…‘Blubberin’ like a baby!” (9). This juvenile action demonstrates Lennie’s immaturity and childish
Lennie’s illness was seen as common and nothing to take concern over, which pertains to the vague yet soft sympathy from George whom “babysits” Lennie. George was an older brother to Lennie in a sense, helping him to get through life without any mishaps. However for George, Lennie’s illness determined their income and job status. In several incidences, Lennie overreacted in certain situations causing them to lose or leave their job spontaneously. At different points in the book, George became frustrated with Lennie: “You can't keep a job and you lose me ever' job I get. Jus' keep me shovin' all over the country all the time. An' that ain't the worst. You get in trouble. You do bad things and I got to get you out” (Steinbeck 12). This showed the overall frustration yet compassion towards Lennie, however extreme concern. According to Lennie, when he killed the puppy he said: “Why do you got to get killed, you ain’t as little as mice I didn’t bounce you hard” (Steinbeck 85). This really brought out the fact that Lennie’s illness was not to be tempered with, as he really couldn’t ever contemplate the harsh, unintentional things he’s done. When George and Lennie arrive at their new job, tension rises in the book and the author brings out that possible aspect of Lennie unintentionally doing something wrong which in turn would cause them to lose their job--or
These devices are incorporated into the journey of two companions working their way towards a dream. Steinbeck uses symbolism to complement his words to depict a higher meaning. As experienced readers will discover, the relationship between the intelligent, but small and weaker George Milton and the mentally handicapped, but large and stronger Lennie Small is symbolic. Even Lennie expresses this relationship “because I got you to look after me and you got me to look after you, and that's why” (14) .This suggests that they are not alone-they have each other. While George complains in the first chapter that he does not know why he keeps Lennie around, George argues "I could get along so easy and so nice if I didn't have you on my tail"(11), he later explains the importance of Lennie's friendship -:“I seen the guys that go around on the ranches alone. That ain't no good. They don't' have no fun. After a long time, they get mean. They get wantin' to fight all the time” (41). Although he is often irritated with Lennie, The reader can infer George stays with Lennie out of his promise to Lennie's aunt or the reader could look deeper and understand George cares about Lennie and that, meaning in life depends on upon sharing. This idea is central to Steinbeck's theme of brotherhood and how men are better if they are not alienated because, if alienated, they become mean and cruel out of their fear of vulnerability. The strength to oppress others originates of weakness, Steinbeck tells his readers. Most importantly for both George and Lennie, Lennie is the keeper of the dream. Without the child-like Lennie there is no dream of a ranch and rabbits and "livin' off the fat of the land." It is for Lennie's sake that George repeats the dream of them owning land. At first George does not really believe that this dream will come to fruition. But, with his childlike friend's
Steinbeck shows that people will trust others because of their personal prejudices. Because of his mental disability, Lennie often acts in inappropriate ways that cause both him and George to lose their jobs. George complains to Lennie that “I got you! You can’t keep a job and lose me ever’ job I get. Jus’ keep me shoving’ all over the country all the time. An’ the worst. You get in trouble. You do bad things and I got to get you out” (Steinbeck 11). Just like in Weed, a town that they have once worked at, Lennie and George has to hide from the townspeople because Lennie grabbed a woman’s dress in panic. Although Lennie acts with innocent intentions, the people around him simply do not spend the time to understand them. As soon as they move into the new farm, the boss and Curley display suspicion and even open hostility toward Lennie. They make their judgments about him before even trying to have a chance know him better. Even Crooks, also abandoned by society, regards him with contempt and disdain when Lennie first tries to enter his room. Lennie has no intention of hurting the other people, yet the people around him always feel uncomfortable around h...
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.
Lennie's greatest difficulty seems to be remembering; and it is the lack of the ability to remember that ultimately leads to his tragedy at the end of the book. In the novel, Steinbeck seems to reinforce Lennie's characteristics of strength, kindness, childlike manner, and somewhat animal-like personality. In this paper, I will focus on these characteristics. Strength Even though Lennie's last name is Small, he is, physically, just the opposite: a large man with great strength. This strength is represented numerous times throughout the novel.