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Essays on symbolism in literature
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Of Mice and Men, by Steinbeck, shows many different views on society. This book has a lot different messages you can take and apply to real life. All the people in the story can relate to someone today and also to some stuff that still happens all around the world. When reading this book you can really start to understand and connect with the characters and identify their weaknesses and their strengths. Some things you really start to notice is how powerful some people are and how they use that power in everyday living. Many characters had power, because of that it helped some get by, helped some take advantage and boss people around, but power also hurt them. Power helped some people in this novel by helping them do what was right. …show more content…
For example he had complete control over his wife. She was not able to talk to anyone on the farm because Curley told her not to and he got jealous all the time. She did not have any friends and she was lonely all the time she did not even want to be with Curley because he was not a nice person at all. He would always go running around looking for her and would tell her to go back to the house and disrespect her, but what is she gonna do Curley has power over her. What would she do if she would leave thats to say if Curley would let her. He treated people like property because he felt he had the right to. Like the first time he met Lennie and George he was already starting stuff and he did not know them. “By Christ, he’s gotta talk when he’s spoke to. What the hell are you gettin’ into it for,” (25) in that quote you can tell he is already starting in with his attitude. He just felt like he was all big and bad and everyone else should do whatever he said. He was the type of guy that used his strength as power but i guess since he was small he felt the need to so instead of people messing with him hed fight back before there was even a fight to begin with which caused a lot more problems for
John Steinbeck, the author of the novel Of Mice and Men uses many stylistic devices and description in chapter one to give the reader a deeper understanding of what may occur throughout the novel. Firstly, the name of the city the two protagonists, Lennie and George, are heading to is called “Soledad,” which means loneliness in Spanish; this is symbolism and foreshadowing because it can mean that as they get closer to the city, their relationship as friends may deteriorate and they may end up alone towards the end. Furthermore, this could also mean that there can be major problems in further chapters because of Lennie’s unpredictable behaviour due to his mental disabilities. In relation to Robert Burns’s poem, “To a Mouse,” the author may be
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.
The men showed their respect in almost unnoticeable ways, “Carlson stepped back to let Slim precede him.” (Steinbeck, 36) It was such a small act, but powerful when one considered Carlson: a big, overbearing man, powerful in his own right, stepped aside for a greater power to take the lead. Even Curley respected him in his own way; he knew the power Slim wielded was greater than his own, and what was worse, his wife knew it as well “ ‘Thinks Slim’s with his wife, don’t he’” (Steinbeck, 54). He thought Slim would try to steal his wife, a subconscious assumption, as Curley probably would have done the same if any of the men under him had a wife. He thought that was what powerful men did, so he assumed that was what Slim would do. However, the best example of subconscious respect was when George pleaded for Lennie’s life: “ ‘Couldn’ we maybe bring him in an’ they’ll lock him up? He’s nuts, Slim. He never done this to be mean’” (Steinbeck, 97). Slim was the first man George looked to for help, not Curley. The very fact that he didn’t even try with Curley until Slim turned him down showed he trusted Slim to do what was right, and he hoped that was to help Lennie. Hope, that was what Slim offered, hope and wisdom, what did Curley have to offer? These almost unnoticeable actions actually speak louder than when Slim’s power was proclaimed outright, his respect
The quote that inspired John Steinbeck was the best laid schemes often go off track can be seen in the novel of Mice and Men. When Curley's wife met a man in her childhood that offered her to be an actress but the chance went away and she later died. Then Curley wanted to be a professional boxer but the dream never happened and he became a farmer then got his hand broken for trying to be tough. George and Lennie were going to buy a farm to live off the fat of the land then Lennie had to get in trouble and George had to give up the dream and kill Lennie for what he had done.
In the novel I see Curley as a dictator figure because he is a bully
Power is a strong ability that can influence the behavior of people or current events. Those who have power in their everyday life have an advantage over those who don’t. In Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men his message is that characters who have power demonstrate an advantage over other characters.
John Steinbeck was inspired by the line "The best schemes o' mice an' men [often go awry]" by Robert Burns in one of his poems. This line refers to ambitions that went off track during the process. There are multiple examples in the novel that refers to the line in the poem, that inspired John Steinbeck. Those examples are Curley's boxing career coming to an end, Curley's wife not becoming a actress, and Lennie's plans of tending the rabbits, but messed everything up.
"If an author does not have at least one great popular success, he or she may well be ignored by the media, but if he or she is constantly popular, then the critics become suspicious of the writer's serious intentions" (Benson Introduction). What do critics from the literary world have to say about Steinbeck's writings? Critics have much to say, both positive and negative. What link exists between Steinbeck and his writings? Perhaps the most noteworthy biographical link between Steinbeck and his writings is that he was born and came to maturity in the Salinas Valley. In this area of California, bounded on the north and south by the Pajaro and Jolon valleys on the west and east by the Pacific Ocean and the Gabilan Mountains, Steinbeck found the materials for his fiction (Tedlock 3). John Steinbeck's agricultural upbringing in the California area vibrantly shines through in the settings and story lines of the majority of his works.
The ending is powerful because of the shock at the end when George had to kill his best friend Lennie. It happened so fast that it seems like the author wanted to shock the readers without warning.
The novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck teaches readers many lessons, varying from power to violence. Steinbeck uses Lennie and Curley to show the reader any position of power holds advantages and disadvantages.
Have you ever noticed how authors turn a book into a classroom? In the novel, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck took readers through a journey of life lessons. He taught them the importance of friendship, the importance of having a goal, and he portrays how just anyone can struggle against loneliness. He used all the characters in the book to convey his messages to the readers. To sum up, Steinbeck weaved in many messages throughout his novel that allowed his readers to learn many lessons while reading. Let’s go more into detail on the lessons he really taught us.
1. Steinbeck describes the setting in such detail so we can picture in our mind exactly what the setting looks like. It is to give the reader a good image of the setting, and have the reader realize how the characters act. Steinbeck uses one of the five senses on page one to connect with his readers. He uses the sense of seeing. I can see in my mind what Steinbeck is talking about when he states “…but on the valley side the water is lined with the trees-willows fresh and green with every spring, carrying in their lower leaf junctures the debris of the winter’s flooding…” In this quote I can picture everything Steinbeck is saying.
When I first saw the book’s cover, the title caught my attention because I was curious about the relationship between a mice and a men, and so I made my mind to read it. While reading this book, I could sense and think about 3 main topics. They were the discrimination that black had to suffer back then, the importance of having a dream, and` the harsh life workers had to overcome.
A story is a game of chess. In the game, various chess pieces cooperate to combat a battle, simultaneously, when story elements unite, they create a piece of literature. Pointedly, the element of character is the form of a queen in the game of chess. They are used to protect the king. Or, in terms of literature, they are utilized to add depth and back up the plot.
Of Mice and Men is a novel by John Steinbeck. This book is an analogy about what it means to be a human. George and Lennie share the ambition to own their own ranch, but they encounter obstacles that stand in the way. Ironically, Lennie will become the greatest obstacle in them achieving their dream. This novel was first published in 1937, which is one of the most important aspects of the book. The reason why it is one of the most important aspects of the book is because one result of the Great Depression was a lack of steady jobs, which increased the amount of nomadic workers. When Steinbeck wrote this novel, ranch hands were beginning to be replaced by machinery and their way of life was disappearing fast.