Themes in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men

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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. Lennie Small, a mentally impaired man, is first introduced to us traveling with George. George, however, is not related to Lennie. Lennie travels with George because no one else understands him like he does. Lennie says, “Because…because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you…” (Steinbeck 14). Lennie believes if George ever left him that he could live in a cave by himself and not bother anyone again (Steinbeck 12). Lennie realizes he would be alone without George, but he never has known anyone else to depend on but George, and from that, they have a bond, a friendship. This shows Lennie’s need for his relationship with George. A friendship is not all they have together, Lennie and George have dreams. Lennie and George have worked up the idea of owning their own piece of land together. Lennie wants to tend the rabbits (Steinbeck 11) and George just wants to be his own boss (Steinbeck 14). The only problem with their dream is that it is unrealistic. They cannot buy land to tend and just go days without tending it because they do not want to. Like many traveling farm hands during the 1930s, George and Lennie think they could work up enough money to buy their own place and not give a “hoot” about anyone but their selves. Although their dream is unattaina... ... middle of paper ... ...ure." The Penguin Companion to American Literature. New York: Penguin Books Ltd, Harmondsworth, 1971. CliffsNotes. CliffsNotes. 2013. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2014 25-04 . Kellman, Steven G. "Magill's Survey of American Literature." Kellman, Steven G. Magill's Survey of American Literature. Pasadena: Salem Press, Inc, 2007. LitCharts. LitCharts. 2014 24-April . Ryan, James. "ebscohost." 2005. ebscohost. 8 April 2014 . Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York: the Penguin Group, 1993. Sustar, Lee. Socialistworker.org. 2012 8-06. International Socialist Organization. 2014 24-04 .

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