The Nature Of Life In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

911 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Theme of loneliness in mice and men

The book “Of Mice and Men” was published in 1937 by John Steinbeck. It is one of Steinbeck 's influential novels. The book talks about lonely lives of two migrant workers, George Milton and Lennie Small. Of Mice and Men shows the impact of the “Great Depression” had on many American 's ability to succeed financially. John Steinbeck wrote Of Mice and Men in order to express his social conscience about America in the 1930 's. Of Mice and Men is a novel about dreams, friendship, loneliness, and hope. Through the memorable characters of George and Lennie, Steinbeck painted a portrait about friendship that we all can learn from. John Steinbeck 's Of Mice and Men is a story about what it means to be human. Steinbeck 's story of George and Lennie 's ambition of owning their own ranch, and the obstacles that stand in the way of that ambition, reveal the nature of dreams, loneliness, and sacrifice. Lennie, the mentally handicapped big guy who makes George 's dream of owning his own ranch …show more content…

He touches the hair of Curley 's wife, but she gets scared. In the result, Lennie accidentally kills her and runs away. The other workers from the farm form a mob to punish Lennie, but George finds him first. George understands that Lennie cannot live in the world, and he wants to save him the pain and terror of being killed and tortured by the mob, so he shoots him in the back of the head. Of Mice and Men tells exactly the relationship between the two central characters, their friendship and their shared dream. These two men are very different, but they come together, stay together, and support each other in a world full of people. They sincerely believe in their dream. All they want is a small piece of land that they can call their own. They want to grow their own crops, and they want to breed rabbits. That dream made their relationship and makes the book so convincingly for the

Show More
Related

  • Of Mice And Men Rhetorical Analysis

    477 Words  | 1 Pages

    Many characters have hopes and dreams which they wish to accomplish. Of Mice and Men has two main characters that go through obstacles to get what they want. In the beginning it is George and Lennie running away trying to get a job. Once both George and Lennie have a job they try to accomplish their dreams. Unfortunately they both can't get their dreams to come true since lennie does the worst and George has to shoot Lennie. Steinbeck uses characterization, foreshadowing, and symbol as rhetorical strategies to make George's actions justified.

    Read More

  • The Blindness on John Stienbeck´s Of Mice and Men

    545 Words  | 2 Pages

    Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a novel about loneliness and the American Dream. This book takes place during the Great Depression. It was very difficult for people to survive during this time period. A lot of people hardly survived let alone had the necessities they needed to keep relationships healthy. Of Mice of Men has a common theme of disappointment. All the characters struggle with their unaccomplished dreams. The migrant workers, stable buck, swamper, and the other men on the ranch had an unsettled disappointment of where they were at in their lives. George and Lennie, two newcomers to the ranch, aren’t like the other guys. They have each other and they are the not loneliest people in the world. Lennie has a dream though he wants to own a farm with plenty of crops and animals one day. The only problem is his blind curiosity of people and things around him. George wasn’t justified for killing Lennie because Lennie was innocent and never got the chance to find out what he did wrong.

    Read More

  • Themes in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men

    1108 Words  | 3 Pages

    John Steinbeck, an American novelist, is well-known for his familiar themes of depression and loneliness. He uses these themes throughout a majority of his novels. These themes come from his childhood and growing up during the stock market crash. A reader can see his depiction of his childhood era. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck shows the prominent themes of loneliness, the need for relationships, and the loss of dreams in the 1930s through the novels’ character.

    Read More

  • Human Experience In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    796 Words  | 2 Pages

    John Steinbeck explores human experience in the novella ‘Of Mice and Men’ in friendship, loneliness and marginalisation. He does this through the characters as explained thought the paragraphs below.

    Read More

  • Importance Of Journeys In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    1035 Words  | 3 Pages

    Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a fiction novel. This novel is about two best friends who work as farm hands. Both men dream of owning a farm together one day. On the way to that dream the men face some struggles and that is what most of the novel is about. The novel goes into detail about how they overcome their struggle.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Murder In Of Mice And Men

    2516 Words  | 6 Pages

    Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck is of two men who care for each other very deeply. They have their financial struggles and one partner with mental disabilities. They battle their hardships together, but when Lennie, the mentally disabled, makes a mistake and kills someone, it forces George to have to take away Lennie’s life. Critics believe George Milton committed cold-blooded murder when he killed his close companion, Lennie Small; I disagree and believe George’s heroic journey instead lead him to the mercy killing of Lennie.

    Read More

  • Curley's Wife Foreshadowing

    824 Words  | 2 Pages

    When lennie got in trouble in weed, he was holding on to a girls dress and she screamed which got him in trouble. As lennie quoted in document B, “Jus’ wanted to feel that girl’s dress, Jus’ wanted to pet it like it was a mouse. When he saw her dress he wanted to pet it, so when he went to go pet her dress he grabbed on when she started screaming and he wouldn’t let go, and then they sent people after george and lennie so they had to run away. Lennie has also killed the pup that was given to him by petting it too hard. Lennie said in document B, “ why do you got to get killed? You ain’t so little as mice. I didn’t bounce you to hard, you wasn’t big enough’. Lennie had killed the pup when he was just petting it, he didn’t want to kill it he was just patting it and since he is a gentle giant, he didn’t know he was patting it to hard. Lennie definetly made a clew, that he was going to kill curley’s wife, because in all the other events he got in trouble in he would end up doing a bad thing, just like in weed, and just like when he killed the

    Read More

  • How Does Steinbeck Use Power In Of Mice And Men

    685 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Of Mice And Men

    1098 Words  | 3 Pages

    The daily struggle of the working class, fear of loneliness and the reality of putting all your energy into plans that fail are the different themes relating to John Steinbeck's novel, "Of Mice and Men". The characters depicted by the author are individuals who are constantly facing one obstacle after another. The book illustrates different conflicts such as man versus society, man versus man, man versus himself and idealism versus reality. The book's backdrop is set in the Salinas, California during the depression. The two main characters include two men, George and Lennie. Supportive characters include a few ranch hands, Candy, Crooks, Curly, Slim and Carlson.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast George And Lennie In Of Mice And Men

    1246 Words  | 3 Pages

    As the story, Of Mice and Men, ends, it it easy to realize how important the theme, characters, and symbols are and how they reflect ordinary life. The theme proves that no one can stay lonely forever, and everyone needs someone to be there for them. Many people could see themselves in the characters as they figure out who they really need. Lastly, as we hold onto our youth we also hold onto unrealistic dreams just like George. Before he can let go of the dreams, he must mature and get rid of the part that is holding him back,

    Read More

  • Of Mice and Men is one of John Steinbeck

    1764 Words  | 4 Pages

    Of Mice and Men is one of John Steinbeck’s major novellas. It tells of George Milton and his mentally-handicapped friend, Lennie Small. George, a short, shrewd operator is the foil to Lennie: a humongous, infantile oaf whose last name “Small” embodies nothing but utter irony, for he is not by any means small. Similar to the majority of Steinbeck’s books, Of Mice and Men’s setting is in the Salinas Valley, California— however, this one takes place in the 1930s. The novel revolves around the idea of the American dream and the hurdles the characters face in their quest to achieve it. The novella takes place during the great depression. During that horrid period, each individual has their own idea of the American dream. Steinbeck touches on several themes related to the dream such as the actual dream itself, loneliness, powerlessness, and the future’s unpredictability. Steinbeck adequately utilizes these themes to depict the unfeasibility of the American dream.

    Read More

  • Appearance Deceives In Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    996 Words  | 2 Pages

    Men, Steinbeck’s character’s life is dependent on the assumptions made about him. Of Mice and Men tells the story of two men with opposite character who face the hardships and reality of

    Read More

  • Conflict In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    748 Words  | 2 Pages

    After Lennie gets into the debacle with Curley’s wife, he runs to the oasis described at the beginning of the book. George fears the men will tear Lennie apart and murder him. He also knew he would be institutionalized, or “caged” if he survived the attack. He had the moral clarity that let him see that killing Lennie was the best thing for him. When George kills Lennie, it’s a kind of mercy killing.

    Read More

  • Analysis of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men

    986 Words  | 2 Pages

    This event and Lennie accidentally killing his pup (this again was caused). by Lennie not knowing his own strength) foreshadow and parallel Lennie. killing Curley's wife, he said. Lennie again killed accidentally, by breaking. her neck when she panicked after he refused to let go of her hair.

    Read More

  • Of Mice And Men George And Lennie's Relationship

    951 Words  | 2 Pages

    Helen Keller once said, “Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light”. There is always a time during one’s lifetime when one will depend on another significant person. John Steinbeck wrote the book Of Mice and Men during the late 1930s, which was during a period of agricultural and economic downfall. As a result, the period, called the Great Depression, caused unemployment, and made former middle class Americans into migrant workers who suffered the hardships of moving from place to place. Furthermore, through John Steinbeck’s use of characterization, he defines that the friendship between Lennie and George changes how their lives are lived.

    Read More

More about The Nature Of Life In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Open Document