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In Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck, there is a lot of evidence to show that the world is designed to prey on the weak. One character in particular, Crooks, is a very good example for this. Not only is he is a black man in the segregated 1930’s, he also has back problems. Because of this, people treat him like a lower class person than everyone else, though in the great depression nobody really had any money. One quote from the book to show this is when Curley’s wife says “I could get you strung up a tree so easy it ain’t even funny” (page 81) She uses her power over Crooks to put him into what society says is his place. He stood up for himself and she made sure that the used her power as one of the “strong” to put him back in line. Even after
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.
In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, Curley’s insecure character is shown through what other characters say about him. One instance in which Curley’s insecure disposition is shown is when the other men are talking about him after he verbally attacks Lennie. When George demands to know why Curley disrespected Lennie, one of the other men responds saying Curley tends to pick fights with big guys like Lennie and furthermore explains, “Kind of like he’s mad at ‘em because he ain’t a big guy” (26). A great deal of Curley’s insecurity stems from his size. Despite superficial efforts to make himself appear bigger, Curley knows he will never amount to the size and strength of the other men on the ranch. To compensate for his size, he often times tries to prove himself through fighting.
As Slim and George arrived at the bar, neither of them said a word. Slim looked at George but George avoided his attempt at making eye contact. They walked in and sat at a round wooden table that looked to be a decade old. George sat down at one end and Slim sat down on the other directly across.
The authors John Steinbeck and Robert Burns approach their ideas in very different ways, while having the same themes the reader comprehends key concepts in a different light. Throughout the short story “Of Mice and Men” and the poem “To a Mouse” the theme of hope is a key concept, even though while in both stories their hope did not bring them their happiness, friendship brought them together. Correspondingly while having similar themes of friendship, loneliness, and hope, this all takes place in different settings with different characters.
The historical context behind the “Three Blind Mice” dates back to the sixteenth century during the reign of King Henry the VIII. It has been said that this rhyme is “about Mary I (1516 – 1558), the daughter of King Henry” (Three Blind Mice). Mary I was King Henry’s first daughter with his first wife Catherine who was a Catholic. Later on Mary I became illegitimate, because the marriage between her mother, Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII was declared invalid” (Three Blind Mice). Originally King Henry VIII requested for his marriage to Catherine be annulled by the Catholic Church, and it was declined, so he decided to create his own Church with his own religious beliefs that caused a chain of events throughout history.
Throughout the novel Of Mice and Men, Crooks, Curley’s wife, and Lennie could not reach their potential because of the discrimination against them. In the Depression era, people discriminated against African-American people by using derogatory terms, physically assaulting them and limiting their socialization. They discriminated against women by calling names and making offensive assumptions. Mentally disabled people are targets of brutal actions, stereotypes, and betrayals. Steinbeck warned people not to discriminate against others by showing various conflicts and tragic endings that are caused by discrimination.
excited one. He now has hope of doing something and it came from the "dream
In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck there are many events in the plot of the story that occur that prove that when man is cruel to man, some peoples lives are negatively affected. One instance in where this is proven true is when the men on the ranch and Curley's wife are cruel and discriminative against Crooks causing him to be the one to mourn. 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 hung 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. Also those examples are part of the theme of the novel, people need to accept and understand those different from themselves, which also helps to prove the interpretation of the quote. Another example in this novel that proves that when man is cruel to man, the lives of people are negatively affected is when Curley picks on and tries to hurt Lennie. Curley chooses to fight Lennie because he thinks he won't fight back but because George gets angry and tells Lennie to fight back, he does. George being angry is not the only negative effect that Curley's teasing had on man, but also now Lennie is angry and in danger of getting in trouble and Curley himself gets hurt.
The ill-treated men crippled by age and disability are treated with disregard placed beneath the healthy farmworkers in the chain of command. Their treament causes Candy “[to look] helplessly at him, for Slim’s opinions were law” (Steinbeck 45) leaving him at hands of the farm’s god Slim. Candy’s subservience to a higher being relates to the enslaving of Crooks and his embarassment at being forced to become docile to white men. Their joint oppression leaves them to gaze “helplessly” (Steinbeck 45) when they are in a moment of weakness in their homes unable to find a place where they will not be targeted. Crooks, in order to repel this weakness, tries to put on a persona when Lennie comes to his room “stiffen[ing] and a scowl came on his face” (Steinbeck 68). His facade eventually gives into Lennie’s desires as Lennie is similar to him based off the fact that he must do whatever George says as Lennie is mentally unfit. The weak in this survival of the fittest band together to find home, but as seen with the murder of Lennie by George, the weak, even with the help from others, will never be able to rise above the leader of their
There are several characters in Of Mice and Men who have power other others. Powers they’ve earned, and powers that they were given.In a time era where everyone abonded one other, most of these powers were used for each own’s selfish advantage. Not all characters gave up on others though, and use their powers for the wellbeing of everyone. Powers like money, authority, and fear control characters, and give other characters power over others.
Discrimination is a problem that plagues those whose qualities are vulnerable. There are many examples of discrimination in the novel, Of Mice and Men. The characters face discrimination in many different ways including racial, age, gender, and disability. Crooks, the black stable buck, is the victim of racial discrimination. Candy, the old swamper, is a victim of the age discrimination. The victim of gender discrimination is Curley's wife because she is a woman. Life of the victims is hard because of the things they have to go through. Lastly, Lennie is mentally handicap so he discriminated against because of that.
When the working class is controlled completely by the wealthy, as in Of Mice and Men, it seems that all morals disappear and society becomes completely about selfish desires and getting money. There is a perfect display of this concept in the book when Lennie is killed and all Carlson can say is “now what the hell ya suppose is eatin’ them two guys?” (Steinbeck). Carlson has no idea what is wrong with George, because to him it no longer matters what happens as long as he gets paid for working. While this is all true, there is one thing that all of these men still had in common despite their
Lennie to take care of. The next day George convinces the farm boss to hire
He clearly calls for women and the disabled to be treated and cared for better, as well as to be understood for their differences. He demonstrates through Curley’s bitterness that the selfishness of the elite is disadvantageous to the elite themselves. He also sends a clear message that pain inflicted onto one person or group of people can make them want to inflict pain back, a clear warning to the perpetrators of this pain onto minorities and the poor during this era. This is evident when Crooks jealousy says to Lennie, “I ain’t wanted in the bunkhouse, and you ain 't wanted in my room” (Steinbeck, 68). Lennie’s response of confusion emphasises that hatred and bitterness is not pure, since Lennie in many ways has the mind of a pure child. In the time since The Great Depression, African Americans, women, and the disabled have all gained greater rights and, in most cases, the general public has learned to accept these people as the equals they truly
Are the main characters of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men Lennie and George have a good relationship but is it good for them? From the book Of Mice and Men the two main characters George and Lennie . George is a small, strong, and kind; the other main character, Lennie, is tall, strong, and helpless. These two characters have a relationship almost like brothers, even though they are not. In the book the characters are always fighting but they care about each other deeply. The importance of their relationship is shown throughout the story with baby details that lead to the much more understandable overall theme in the book about how a good relationship benefits all the people.