Analysis Of ' Of Mice And Men ' Essay

The psychological approach views literature through the lens of psychology. There are multiple approaches to the psychological aspect of literature but the two most recognized are the Freudian and Jungian approach. The best approach to use when critically analyzing the novel Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, is the Jungian approach. Because the novel’s main theme is a struggle with the idea of “self”, using this approach allows the reader to understand the main character, its influences, and ultimately his actions.

Everyone has dreams, big and small. When one dreams, there is a scent of whimsical hope in the air mixed with the powerful drive for success to obtain their luminous goals. But, many times these luscious dreams end up in grief and pain instead of a promised joy due to the hurdles in life, such as the certain circumstances that society professes or the flaws in a person that restrains them from their aspirations. The writer, John Steinbeck, incorporates this ideology in his novella, Of Mice and Men by creating three pivotal characters. Lennie, Crooks, and George all have schemes that go wrong, and yet hope to illustrate their desires of fulfilling their American Dream and to be prosperous for their own independent purposes.

Although Of Mice and Men definitely teaches young students about how the setting was set up back then, the themes of abuse and death included could be found highly inappropriate or offensive to young students today. These themes arise from the multiple abusive and gory deaths of characters throughout the novel. For example, the novel included a reoccurring scene of murder of innocent animals by Lennie including mice and puppies. Some readers are not able to handle such grimness, therefore finding it repugnant or simply unacceptable. Readers with their own pets may also feel a terrible sense of guilt and repulsiveness by simply reading the novel. Another example is portrayed when Lennie violently kills Curley’s wife by shaking her to death.

     Of Mice and Men was written during a period of racism. In the 1960's it was important for everyone to get along with eachother because not everyone was equal. George and Lennie showed a great part in friendship throught the whole book. At the ranch in Selinas mostly everyone showed friendship in some way. Friendship was a great factor when the book was published because of all the racism going on at the time.

The setting of this novella takes place in Salinas Valley in California during the 1930s, the time of the Great Depression. The Great Depression began when the stock market in the United States dropped rapidly.

get Curley but his eyes slipped on past and saw Lennie, Curley got into a fight with

John Steinback’s Of Mice and Men is a book that describes the chase of the American Dream. Although achieving the American Dream is a great desire for all, seldom does it actually come true. George and Lennie, the two main characters in the book, have a goal of pursuing their version of the American Dream, as do many other characters. However, due to relationships and other conflicts, that dream is not achieved.

In today’s world, we have come to see that trial, error, pain, and the striving for living a glamorous life are common; we all know it’s an exhausting task. Everybody seems to “go through the motions” at one point or another; we all seem to have this point in life where everything seems like a black hole that’s going nowhere. In the book, Of Mice and Men, and play Death of a Salesman, we see this is common, among many other similarities. However, no story is ever the same between two people’s lives, and this is also shown in these two works of literature.

O 'Brien, the author of the book is both the narrator and the protagonist of the book. As,

Of Mice And Men The novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ reveal life in the 1930’s. A time very diverse to ours. Steinback, the author of this novel wrote about various issues such as lifestyle of the travelling ranchmen, loneliness, friendship, the American dream, racism and sexism. The book is about two migrant labourers, George Milton and Lennie Small in California.

Throughout the story Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, Curley's wife plays an important role to conclude the ending resolution of the novel, even though she is only presented in-person three times. Each time she shows her expressions both physical and mentally. During the course of the story you see Curley's wife is a tramp and she uses her body to get attention from the men on the ranch. At the beginning of the story, George and Lennie meet Curley's wife at the bunk house; both have their own impression about her. Then the next two times she is involved in the story, Lennie gets to spend time with her in Crook's room and in the barn.

In my opinion, Of Mice and Men is a story of dreams, mercy, friendship, and loneliness. All of these themes played a different part in developing the characters’ personalities, goals, actions, and thoughts. The two main characters, George and Lennie, were especially affected by each of these ideas to form who they were. The unlikely pair also had a lot of affect on each other and how they developed throughout the book.

Of Mice and Men is a novel set on a ranch in the Salinas Valley in California during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The title of the book is a reference to Robert Burns's poem To a Mouse. (1759 - 96):

In order to know who the protagonist of a story is, it is essential to know what a protagonist is. According to Literary Devices, “A protagonist is the central character or leading figure in poetry, narrative, novel, or any other story”. This means that the protagonist is the main character of the story. The story revolves around this character and the conflict affects them. A protagonist is usually an honorable and sincere person who looks out for others. For a character to be the protagonist, the audience must be able to relate to that character. They also have to have a flaw that the audience can personally connect to.

The series of events that build the theme you reap what you sow is built upon by the various events like Linnies, Curly’s wife and Curly being either being killed or beaten as a sign of karma. Treat others the way you would want to be treated because if you find yourself in a difficult situation you're going to regret your earlier actions. An important lesson, of many, to take away from Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and