Lucy Hui Mr. Smith English 2 Honors 6 October 2014 Book or Film John Steinbeck’s 1937 novel, Of Mice and Men, has inspired many stage productions and films, of which the most notable was the MGM film adaptation directed by Gary Sinise in 1992. The story follows the lives of a pair of friends, George and Lennie, as they pursue their dream of owning of a ranch. Oftentimes, comparisons are drawn between books and their film adaptations, with viewers preferring one or the other. In this case, the book is better in its use of certain elements. The book’s characterization and the motif of the impossibility of the American dream make it more effective at communicating tone to the audience. One of the book’s greatest strengths is its characterization. The introduction of the character, Slim, is a prime example. When he is first introduced, Slim is described as “the prince of the ranch….His authority was so great that his word was taken on any subject, be it politics or love….His ear heard more than was said to him, and his slow speech had overtones not of thought, but of understanding beyond thought” (Steinbeck, 34). Steinbeck’s words show that Slim is a revered person, and others respect and look up to him. The description also shows he is capable of the perception that the others on the ranch do not seem to have, and indicates that he might able to understand the unique relationship George and Lennie have. Slim has a commanding presence and a profound sense of understanding
The character in Of Mice and Men that is most similar to Tom Buchanan in The Great Gatsby is Curley. Curley and Tom Buchanan have many similarities throughout both books. These shared characteristics stem from one thing both men have an abundance of: privilege. Curley and Tom are easily two characters with the least amount of struggle in The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men.
Of Mice and Men is an excellent story about two ranch workers who have a dream. This movie is directed by Gary Sinise, and he also plays the role of George. There is one setback to this dream. Lennie is not the brightest person on earth and he travels with his acquaintance George. George is a smart person and he took in Lennie when his aunt Clara died. Lennie at the beginning had to flee with George from a town called Weed because Lennie touched a girl's dress and ripped it. Lennie and George then go to a ranch and meet The Boss (Noble Willingham), Candy (Ray Waltson) ,Curley(Casey Siemaszko) and many other Characters.
The author, Steinbeck, uses his own personal experience to “serve as an inspiration…” (Johnson 1) when writing this particular story. His past experiences also helped him for the future. Lennie, of all characters, is the least dynamic. He undergoes a significant amount of change and develops throughout the story. He has been isolated with George throughout his life. His sole purpose in life is to make George happy and to own a farm with George and take care of the soft rabbits. Lennie is the most innocent and defenseless. He also is the largest and strongest, which does not help in certain situations. Lennie is the protagonist in the story. He gains the readers sympathy by his intellectual disability and helplessness. Lennie murders things by accident such as the mouse in his pocket, the puppy and Curley’s wife. He enjoys the touch of and somehow uses those murders and experiences to scare him from doing it again. George’s opinion means the most to him.
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.
This theme of of Mice and Men is that things don't always work out the way you plan, its developed through the characters dialogue and actions the throughout the book. The two main characters ,George and Lennie, despite their differences, form a family like friendship to face the loneliness that comes with being a Ranch workers. Lennie and George both cling to the hope that they can one day buy a small house throughout the course of the book. Their idea is first mentioned in the beginning, but it's clear the this idea was thought of before the book's plot line. "O.K. Someday- we're gonna get the jack together and we're gonna get the jack together and we're gonna have a little house and couple of acres an' a cow and some pig and--" This shows
American journalist David Grann once said, “You want the story to be about something, have some deeper meaning, but there is also an emotional, almost instinctual element, which is, does this story seize some part of you and compel you to get to the bottom of it?” Every piece of text has a meaning that goes deeper than the page it is printed on. Of Mice and Men is an example of this. Of Mice and Men was written by John Steinbeck in 1937. The story takes place in California during the Great Depression, a time where it was laborious to be anything close to successful. Everyone believed that with a minimal amount of hard work and money saved up, the American Dream could be at their fingertips. The two main characters George and Lennie struggle to get land to call their own. Lennie is driven by his dream of tending rabbits, but he makes it challenging when he is the main reason of their setbacks and complications as they move from job to job. Fortunately, George is always there to clean up the mess. Of Mice and Men is studied as an allegory because the characters symbolize problems more substantial than the ones Steinbeck clearly writes about. John Steinbeck zooms in on other problems that America struggles with besides the enticing desire for just materialistic things. Steinbeck criticizes racism, the mistreatment of those who are disabled, and the disrespect of women.
The classic novel, Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck was made into a Hollywood Blockbuster in 1992. Directed and acted by Gary Sinise and John Malkovich, Hollywood took a stab at trying to recreate this literary success. The novel, which takes place in the 1930’s, follows the lives of two men, George and Lennie, as they try to attain their dream of owning a farm. George is a smart man who always seems to have things figured out. Lennie is massive, but has the mind of a young child. George looks after him, but it is not easy since Lennie always seems to get himself in some kind of trouble. As they struggle towards their dreams, George and Lennie face obstacles that test
The personality of George and Lennie are demonstrated by the use of different verbs and adverbs. Typically, the descriptive words used towards Lennie demonstrate his absence of maturity. For example, when Steinbeck mentions “dabbled,” “shapeless,” and “timidly,” he is trying to display Lennie’s indecision and hesitation when it comes to dealing with struggles, conflicts, or anything. On the other hand, Steinbeck uses adverbs such as, “sharply” and “gently,” which suggests the fact that George thinks deeply before he speaks or takes action. Overall, the reader is able to surmise, that Lennie still has state of mind where he requires the care of an adult, in this case, George. In addition, Lennie looks up to George as a role model because he believes if he emulates what George does, he will not land in
Friendship and companionship play a big role in people 's life and how they interact with others, and the world in general. How people build relationships is something that will stick with them for the rest of their lives. The less relationships that people build, the more lonely, and self-kept they become. Throughout the book Of Mice and Men, George, and Lennie are examples of the positive effects on building relationships, and Crooks is an example of the negative effects on not building relationships. Crooks represents loneliness, and not building relationships. George and Lennie represent dependence on one another, and an example of how to build a strong bond/relationship. Throughout the book Of Mice and
Friendship is a value that everyone should clearly understand the meaning of. Guidance of others through obstacles and making helpful choices. However, there are highs and lows of each friendship, people should always be there for each other as human beings no matter what color you are or what disability you might have. In the novella Of Mice and Men, the author develops the importance of friendships and companionships. The author, John Steinbeck, illustrates the value of friendship throughout the novella by expressing the feelings, thoughts and actions of the characters in the book. While showing the characters doings, Steinbeck also describes the amount of frustration that transfers character by character. This is
Imagine running through the woods to find your best friend,and you tell him a story to calm him down. After a while you end up shooting them in the head.Candy the old swamper who has had many experiences that brought him down,he has had a dog who had been with Candy for a long time.George on the other hand has been best friends with Lennie since they were children and has been like a parent to a child.Both Candy and George had someone they cared about get killed.
After having read the original version and the more recent film adaptation of John Steinbeck’s majorly successful novel, Of Mice and Men, the apparency of differences between the two is at times subtle while also being very obvious during different portions of the movie. In the film there are several major differences between the movie and the book with three being particularly apparent. We are shown the differences through the portrayals of characters, Lennie’s sanity and, simply, the scenes themselves.
In the 1930`s people who handicapped would be considered metal and would be placed in a mental hospital and would not have the right to do anything. In todays society people who are handicapped are treated with respect and are not thrown into mental hospitals. You cannot judge a person based on something like that
Of Mice and Men is an action-packed, but peaceful film and novella by John Steinbeck. The movie has been made as an interpretation by Gary Sinise, who is the director and one of the main characters. Of Mice and Men is about George and Lennie (Gary Sinise, John Malkovich) who are very close friends. George is a short and smart man. On the other hand, Lennie is a big man who is mindless.