I'm going to talk about the social injustice which had taken place on most of the characters in the novel Of Mice and Men. In the plot of "Of Mice and Men", all of the ranch workers got very little amount of money although they worked for long hours. They had only one free day and stayed in one room which was not large enough. Generally, they were all in a lower status than their boss, they didn't have a family or anyone to depend on. In addition to these, they had also suffered from the attitudes of Curley (who was the son of the boss) towards them, and they couldn't do anything about it. Steinbeck used a very simple language with a detailed description to express the social injustice in their lives, so that everyone could understand that one of the main theme of the novel was social injustice. In my point of view, in this novel, social injustice can be seen best on four specific characters: Lennie, who had the six year old boy's mind, Crooks-a black man, Candy-an old man and Curley's wife who had no freedom. Firstly, I am going to talk about Lennie who was known as a man with lack of intelligence and self control. Curley used this weakness of Lennie's to make him angry every time. Curley blamed everyone's fault on Lennie and tried to punish him. For example, when everyone was making fun of him, he focused his anger on Lennie and tried to argue with him. This incident happened when Candy said "Glove fulla vaseline" and when Curley saw Lennie, he "stepped over to Lennie like a terrier" and said "What the hell you laughin' at?" before he attacked him (Page 62). This incident affected me in a way that now I am convinced that people who hold the power always dominate the weaker ones. Steinbeck used an... ... middle of paper ... ...be seen very clearly in the novel of "Of Mice and Men". In this novel, each of the characters stands for a different type of an example of social injustice. However, in my view, they all have the same theme. All of them were lonely, lacking power and wisdom. They didn't have anyone to depend on. Social injustice applies to these characters as discriminating them from the society according to their colour, race, intelligence, disabilities, gender and power. Further more, John Steinbeck expressed and visualized the characters by using "slang" language in their dialogues and he also used a simple language to describe the whole scene and events. In the whole novel, it could be seen that the use of language gives the impression as if readers themselves were viewing the incidents. Social injustice could be seen even by reading the dialogues of the characters.
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.
One of the factors that create an imbalance of power within a society is a person's socioeconomic status. Often people with low socioeconomic status are undervalued in society. This imbalance can cause issues with the feelings of security and confidence. Also opportunities and choices can be limited for some people, but expanded to others. People often identify with roles of different socioeconomic status groups, based on their own socioeconomic status, and this can limit creativity and the potential of groups or individuals. If the world believes that people can go from “rags to riches” in America, then there should be an opportunity for all socioeconomic groups.
Powerlessness creeps up, striking at the back of the neck with a blow, due to the consequence death of a dream, pity of others, and the weak ones’ desperate reliance. In relation to, the English nationalist, Charles Darwin, describes powerlessness as someone who is weaker than others in his famous quote, “survival of the fittest”. This idea is also portrayed in Of Mice and Men, in which John Steinbeck defines fear as the food for the powerless and those who are sympathetic are also powerless, and the more fear one devours, the more powerless one becomes.
and has no family and the only old man on the ranch. We are told him
The American Dream is a dream that everyone imagines to be picture perfect. The American Dream means having freedom, equality and opportunity’s to achieve the dream that you conceptualize to be right by you. In the novel, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck did not want to just illustrate the American dream as being easy, but he wanted to point out the American Dream as being difficult too. Steinbeck made a work of art by composing a great novel to make the reader understand that life can be difficult and at times dreams are hard to achieve. Of Mice and Men was written and based on the settings of the Great Depression (Anderson). The Great Depression was a very dire time that left multiple of people despondent and the unavailing to move on with their lives. The Great Depression created a world where everyone had to seek and survive for themselves. In the novel Steinbeck wanted to explore and point out how powerless people where during the time of the Great Depression. Steinbeck purposely incorporated his characters to depict the life struggle of what people go through during grim times. In the novel, Steinbeck illustrated a great set of characters Lennie, George, Candy and Crooks. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck discusses handicaps, hardships, and friendships of the characters.
The world is universally filled with injustice, therefore, humanity has dealt with the topic of discrimination. Injustice in our society occurs when it showcases several individuals disrespecting one another about their natural identity. In today’s world, discrimination can be categorized into many different groups, such as ageism, racism, and sexism. In our society every individual has been a victim or an oppressor at some point. Therefore, we should be prepared to face the challenges of injustice by standing up for individuals who are victims of discrimination. The novel Of Mice and Men deals with the types of discrimination that involve individuals like Candy who face injustice in different ways. Personally, I have also experienced discrimination. Additionally, a historical Canadian named Viola Desmond had faced discrimination and was determined to confront the issue of discrimination against her race. Therefore, we should be
Conflict, by definition, is a back and forth struggle between two opposing forces. In the literary work, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, it is clear, the protagonist, George Milton, undergoes many conflicts that lead to the novel’s overall purpose. Steinbeck weaves together George’s conflicts with others, himself, and with society to illustrate what the true meaning of friendship is.
After reading the two books for my world literature, of mice and men and the outsider I decided I will compare the two books on the topic choice; portrayal of society in the literature studied. This includes points such as: Meursault and Lenny not being accepted in society for who they are because they are different then others; another point would be there is a lot of violence within societies.
Of Mice and Men is a novel written by John Steinbeck. It is set in California during the great depression. The story follows two ranch hands who travel together and are very poor. Throughout the novel we witness many different philosophical references. Many different types of characters from this novel are reused in today’s society. Steinbeck also writes eloquently about the many different emotions, aspirations, and dreams of man.
When you’re in a position of high authority, it comes with a great sum of power. Having a great deal of control can corrupt and can lead to the abuse of it. Abuse of power is using their power for their own benefit even if it may harm others. In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the effects of the abuse shown by Curley and Curley’s wife to the other characters will ultimately lead to a tragic end.
go" and is tied on the ranch. When Curley's wife says that Candy is "a
Sometimes people can be unfair and treat people unequally. Whether you are a boy or a girl
Discrimination was one of the issues that caused conflict in the novel “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck. One example of discrimination in the novel comes in the form of racial discrimination against Crooks, as he is an African American. Another example of discrimination is gender discrimination against Curley’s wife. Finally, there is discrimination against mentally disabled people, which is evident in Lennie’s character. The ranch hands' actions and conversations demonstrated the racial discrimination against Crooks for his skin colour, gender discrimination against Curley’s wife for her gender, and prejudice against Lennie, who was mentally disabled individual. This prevented the characters from reaching their full potential and causes tragedy.
“Society is inside of man and man is inside society, and you cannot even create a truthfully drawn psychological entity on the stage until you understand his social relations and their power to make him what he is and to prevent him from being what he is not. The fish is in the water and the water is in the fish” (Miller, 47). Society forms a man, yet a man portrays the society. You cannot have one without the other as they are both connected and affected by each other. In the book Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck presents society in several characters. Those men showed the ways of society through their feelings, actions, and words. One of those men was Curley. Curley is a character who points out society’s most glaring flaws.
Can anyone withstand the truth that here are so many innocent people in the world that justice has not been delivered to? In this world of goodness, beauty, glory and also unfairness, evil, and betrayal, not all are provided with equality; although it is not a simple task to decide, “We the People” shall not stand by and stay absent from the responsibility to fight for the justice and equality of all men and women, for if this fails to, the evils of this very world will take over the humanity of all the people in our country. The amount of people who do not have the ability to lead fair lives are seriously disregarded, and these are not just people have a bit of unfairness in their lives, but they are also people who live through a whole unjust