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Now and then character analysis
Writing technique of john steinbeck
Now and then character analysis
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Who wouldn't want to live a happy life? The characters in, Of Mice and Men and The Pearl desired land, money, and power. However, greed is harmful, deceiving, and controlling of the mind. People want to overcome fate. People want to be greater than what they are. However fate triumphs in the end. George and Lennie want to get out of poverty as like Kino and Juana. George and Lennie want to "live off the fatta the lan'."(Of mice and men.14) They want to be free, from working, from running, from not getting their fair share. Kino craves to get his household out of poverty by selling the "greatest pearl in the world."(the pearl.19) Kino wants to advance his social position by planning to let his son "go to school."(the pearl.25) Kino and …show more content…
Juana wanted to move up the social ladder like Lennie and George. In neither novels do the characters get what they want to achieve. Kino "drew back his arm and flung the pearl."(the pearl.89) Kino lost his Pearl, his hope of a better life. George and Lennie don't achieve their goals either. After George kills Lennie, George could no longer achieve their dream. Candy wistfully says, "Then—it’s all off?"(of mice and men.95) George lost his chance of departing from poverty. George lost his pearl, Lennie. Lennie is also like Coyotito.
They both rely on someone else for help. George orders Lennie to "Hide in the brush .... come for you."(of mice and men.30) Lennie is like a baby, he needs to be taken care of, in even the most basic ways. Coyotito is managed by Kino and Juana. When Coyotitio got stung by a scorpion, he wails out in pain. Juana tells Kino, "Go get the doctor."(the pearl.7) Coyotito can't take care of himself, he relies on his parents for assistance. Lennie is like Coyotito in the way, that they rely on others. After Lennie met George at the bush, George "pulled the trigger."(of mice and men.106) George killed Lennie because, he no longer wanted, to get in trouble. Kino heard a "hysterical cry from the little cave ... the cry of [Coyotito's] death"(the pearl.87) Kino was anguished when he lost his son. He lost his real hope, his son. The pearl was what lead, to the death of his beloved son. The pearl represented his greed, his desire, his dark side. When he thought he could beat fate, fate triumphed and made him experience agony. Greed led to the demise of both …show more content…
characters. Curley is like the doctor.
When Kino calls the doctor to his house, he is selfish, ignorant, and greedy. He asks Kino, "[Do you] have money to pay for this treatment."(11) The doctor doesn't treat Coyotito first, before asking if he had money. The doctor doesn't care to help people, he just wants to make money. The doctor only comes back when Kino found "pearl [of] the world."(19) Curley is like the doctor with their many similar atrocious characteristics. When Curley first meets Lennie, he rudely intrudes upon Lennie's lack of desire, to speak to him. Curley says, " Well, nex' time ... answer ... when you're spoke to."(26) Curley hikes his importance on the farm, when in reality, he is only there because his father is the owner, of the ranch. Curley only does what is best for himself. After Lennie breaks Curley's arm, he is threatened that if he tries, to can Lennie and George, Slim would, "tell ever'body ,an' then ... you [will] get the last laugh."(of mice and me.65) Curley would reveal what had happened if Slim hadn't threatened him. Curley doesn't reveal the fight in an endeavor, to hide from his wife, his
failure. Many people from the poor, the bourgeoisie, and the wealthy play the lottery, for a chance to strike it rich.Many people see winning the lottery as a good omen, but it can lead to disaster. William Post III was a lottery winner on February 24, 1988. He won a whopping 16.2 million dollars. Compared to the 3 dollars he had before he won it was a dream come true. However, his brothers and relatives were greedy, controlling, and deceiving. His own selfish brother hired someone to murder him; His relatives told him to make horrible business deals. His greed to make more money by making business deals cost him his fortune. Fate triumphs in the end. The two novels, Of Mice and Men and The Pearl, are similar in the way that greed leads to the demise of the characters. Greed leads people to suffer, to want, to fight. The craving for land and money leads people to forget about their morals and their values. Greed corrupts and destroys the good in people. It brings out the dark side of people. In both stories the ending is the same because of greed.
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.
This is a novella written by John Steinbeck in 1937, about two men that lived during the depression. They were migrant workers, who wanted to buy a farm. ()
He marries a good looking wife and will fight anybody who messes around with her because he knows she is slooze. As a result of her being a slooze, Curley does not trust her and will not even let her go into town. Curley, to prove himself, likes to fight big guys as well, he is “like a lot of little guys. He hates big guys. He’s alla time picking scraps with big guys. Kind of like he’s mad at ‘em because he ain’t a big guy” (pg 26). Curley is just waiting to fight Lennie, and when Lennie started laughing, Curley’s “rage exploded… he slashed at Lennie with his right, and then smashed down his nose with a right…Curley slugged him in the face… and then he slashed at Lennie’s eyes” (pg 62-63). Just for laughing, Curley decided to beat him up which is truly evil. Luckily, Lennie beat Curley by crushing his hand. However, to save his reputation, Curley agrees to tell everybody he got his hand stuck in a machine. These events show the character Curley’s persistence on trying to prove himself to others. They also show that he is a wannabe tough guy because he will lie to save his reputation of being
Curley makes sure his wife doesn’t talk to anyone. She is a victim of herself because she married a man that she hardly even knew. She married him though, to have a companion. She killed herself and Lennie because of her need for companionship. She craves companionship because she is an attractive woman with a need for interaction.
...to change their lives in some positive ways. George and Lennie want to own a farm. Curley’s wife wants to be a movie star. Curley want the love from his wife. Crooks wants to be treated equally. However, in the end of the book, none of them achieve their dreams, a confirmation of the phrase - The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry. (To a Mouse)
Life is not a bed of roses. People use this expression to stress the fact that there are and will be difficulties in life. John Steinbeck, in his novella Of Mice and Men, does not fall short of the same views. It takes place in the year 1937, a period associated with the Great Depression, and illustrates the hardships of the time, and more so those that laborers such as George and Lennie experience. Life proves to be full of disappointments for both men who are victims of harsh circumstances in more ways than one. The two have a dream to own a farm of their own but circumstance and fate robs them of their dream for a better life. This is a depiction of the lost American Dream during the Great Depression which lasts between 1929 up to the 1940s. The poem titled “This Is Not The Life” further depicts the hardships found in life. It clearly portrays the uncertainty and struggle associated with living during the Great Depression. Thus, both the novella and the poem explain that human dreams for a great future are subject to circumstance and fate, which most of the time collude against human success in life leaving only a trace of broken dreams, pain and misery.
dream; that one day they may buy a farm, and Lennie will be able to
In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, many themes come up often throughout the story, especially the theme about bonds between two people. The novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck expresses theme of Friendship through various literary elements. Friendship is people that care for and respect each other. It is the link that makes people stick together through the struggles of life. This essay will prove that friendship is important in life.
George and Lennie’s similar views of their future makes them want to work to better achieve that goal. Their friendship is tied together by the belief that working hard together will eventually lead to their ultimate achievement.
Every character in the novel has moments of feeling happy and endures a moment where they believe that they are about to achieve their dreams. Naturally everyone dreams of being a better person, having better things and in 1920’s America, the scheme of get rich quick. However each character had their dreams crushed in the novel mainly because of social and economical situations and their dream of happiness becomes a ‘dead dream’ leading them back to their ‘shallow lives’ or no life at all.
Of Mice and Men By John Steinbeck 1. How significant is the theme of loneliness in Of Mice and Men? 2. To what extent is it correct that The Great Gatsby, Death of a Salesman and Of Mice and Men explore important, but different aspects of ‘The American Dream’? 3.
Throughout the book, Lennie and George discuss their dream of owning “a little house and a couple of acres” where they can be their own boss and “live off the fatta the lan’.” This dream is a representation of the dream that everybody has, a place where they can be themselves, surround themselves with people they like, and just belong. Another theme in the book is the loneliness that seems to haunt many of the characters. 5. Who is your favorite character from Mice and Men?
Kino, Juana, and Coyotito go back to the beach and row out to an oyster bed, where he begins to search for the pearl. As Kino continues to search, Juana takes things into her own hands after being refused by the doctor and sucks the poison out of Coyotito and then puts seaweed on the wound, unknowingly healing him. Meanwhile Kino gathers several small oysters but suddenly comes across a particularly large oyster. He picks the oyster up and returns to the surface. When Kino opens the oyster he discovers the pearl. Word that the pearl has been discovered travel through the town quickly. People in the town became jealous of Kino and his family which eventually leads to a great deal of harm.
Kino, Juana and their infant son Coyotito live in a modest brush house by the sea. One morning, calamity visits their home when Coyotito is bitten by a scorpion. With hopes of protecting their son, Kino and Juana rush him to the doctor's clinic in town. However, when they arrive at the gate, they are turned away because they are poor natives and not paying customers. Later that same morning, Kino and Juana take their family canoe out to the estuary to go diving for pearls. Juana makes a poultice for Coyotito's wound while Kino canvases the sea bottom. Juana's prayers for a large pearl are answered when Kino surfaces with the largest pearl either of them has ever seen. Kino lets out a triumphant yell at his good fortune, prompting the surrounding boats to circle in and examine the treasure. In the afternoon, the whole neighborhood gathers at Kino's brush house to celebrate his find. Kino names a list of things that he will secure for his family with his newfound wealth, including a church wedding and an education for his son. The neighbors marvel at Kino's boldness, wondering if he is wise or foolish to hold such ambitions. Toward evening, the local priest visits Kino, to bless him on his new fortune, and to remind him of his place within the church. Shortly after, the doctor arrives, explaining that he was out in the morning but has come now to cure Coyotito. He administers a powdered capsule and promises to return in an hour. In this period, Coyotito grows violently ill and Kino decides to bury the pearl under the floor in a corner of the brush house. After the doctor returns, he feeds Coyotito a potion to quiet the baby's spasms. When the doctor inquires about payment, Kino explains the story of the pearl to him. This intrigue...
Kino often “hears” songs that represent his situation. For example if he is in danger he may hear the Song of Evil or the Song of the Enemy. The songs in this book set the theme for what has happened, what will happen, and what is happening. In The Pearl Kino hears the Song of Family, the Song of Evil, and the Song of the Pearl.