Comparing John Steinbeck's 'Of Mice And Men'

Although some people's dreams were destroyed at this time, some clenched tightly on to their dreams. Such individuals were characters that stuck together. George and Lennie had a dream. They wanted their own land where they could do what they wanted, somewhere they could call their own.

John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men follows the journey of two men, George Milton and Lennie Small, who struggle through the navigation of working on a ranch in California and fulfilling their dreams together during a time of financial depression. The novel begins with George and Lennie traveling through the California wilderness to get to a new ranch just south of Soledad where they are going to begin new work. They had to leave their previous jobs in a town called Weed because Lennie had caused trouble with a girl by holding on to her red dress because he wanted to feel it, and this incident spiraled into rape allegations against Lennie. As George and Lennie make their way to the new ranch, Lennie; who is a large, but simple minded man; found a dead mouse and wanted to keep it to pet because he likes soft things. George, who is more serious and protects Lennie, takes the mouse away from him because even though it’s dead, he should not be messing with it. Lennie often does not realize his strength because of his mental incapabilities and as a result, he causes a lot of trouble and harm. George finds taking care of Lennie to be taxing, but he knows that their friendship is an important bond that he does not want to be without. In order to comfort Lennie in the wilderness, George tells the story of their shared dream to own their own ranch where they can follow their own rules and live as they please. When they finally arrive at the ranch the next day, George and Lennie

Solidifying the theme of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the protagonist George expresses his significant loneliness despite a strong kinship with his friend Lennie, “’I ain’t got no people… I seen the guys that go around the ranches alone. That ain’t no good’” (41). Published in 1937, amidst the horrific turmoil of the Great Depression, Steinbeck’s novella struck a sensitive chord with readers. Set in the heart of California’s Central Valley, this story follows two men, George and Lennie, as they run from old shadows to a new farm for work. Clinging to the distant dream of owning their own piece of land, the men imagine life outside their present difficulties. Illustrating that life is varied by emotional complexities beyond black and white, George’s longing for companionship and family seep through in conversations with his new co-worker Slim. Despite Lennie’s sheer physical strength, his mental abilities are limited to that of a naïve, innocent, and very young boy; the result is a relationship akin to an uncle and nephew. Lennie, with primal-like behaviors and a gold-fish memory, struggles to adhere to George’s words of wisdom. In the end, tragedy strikes them both as George is forced to kill Lennie due to an accident with the son of the landowner’s wife – a woman who looks for trouble at the onset. Consequently, George’s state of loneliness is bequeathed to a new level as he begins to imagine life without Lennie in tow.

Steinbeck uses symbolism in his book very well. The most prominent to me was what owning land meant to each of the men. It was the hope and freedom for their unhappy lives. This seems to be a constant theme throughout the book. The more George and Lennie speak of their dream of owning a house on a farm, the more you realize that is the ultimate commodity to these constantly working men. Many of the men expressed how unrealistic their dream was, but relished in the idea nevertheless. Lennie held on to the dream even the seconds before his death. I would

First off George Milton, in his appearance he is small, and smart. George has to be the leader always; he has to be a step ahead just in case something goes wrong. He is the provider, because without George, Lennie would not survive. George knows that, which puts a tremendous amount of pressure and stress on George which he talks about how life would be without Lennie. Without Lennie, George would be lonely and in a way Lennie motivates George. They both have the dream to get enough money, and having their on farm. The dream motivates George that, maybe one day that will eventually come true, but in the mean time George has to keep Lennie safe.

with George where he can take care of rabbits. One night, before arriving at the ranch, Lennie and George camp by the Salinas River and talk about their hopes for the future. Lennie says to George, “Tell about what we’re gonna have in the garden and about the rabbits,” (14). Later in the story, Lennie is in the barn with Sometimes dreams don’t come true

In Of Mice and Men George and Lennie are almost like brothers as they travel and do everything together. It was rare to have such a close friend like they had with each other and they knew that. They both knew that they had to stay with each other or else they would have a very tough time. This is because George and Lennie have opposite characteristics. George is smart and small while Lennie is big, strong, yet dumb. This could be surprising to one because they are so different but so friendly to one another even though they have so many differences. In the beginning of the novel, George and Lennie had a disagreement and when Lennie threatened to leave his partner, George said, “No-- look! I was jus’ foolin’, Lennie. ‘Cause I want you to stay with me” (Steinbeck 13). This shows that George knows that he needs Lennie because Lennie is very strong which can get them a lot of work on farms so that they can make money. Lennie had a dream where a

What do Steinbeck’s first description of George and Lennie tell us about their characters? Discuss this in the regards to the role/relationship of Itinerant workers in the 1930’s Great Depression:

Their dream also sets George apart from the others because it means he and Lennie have a future and something to anticipate. Unlike Lennie, George does not see their dream in terms of rabbits; instead, he sees it in a practical way. Their farm will be one where they can be independent and safe and where he will not have to worry about keeping track of Lennie 's mistakes. They can be secure and in charge of their own lives. However, Lennie is the one who adds the enthusiasm because George never really believed they could swing this farm of their own. He mostly uses the story to give Lennie something to believe in for their future. Only when Candy offers

Together they have a dream to save up enough to own a farm where George is his own boss and Lennie can have animal to feed and pet. But the failure of their dream is followed by many ironic twists. In this essay, I will be discussing the main issues Steinback raised through the novel about that lifestyle that revolved around ranchmen in the early 1930’s. The main

Steinbeck uses the ranch workers to express the emotion of isolation so that we can easily engage with the emotion by realising what it was like for a ranch worker back in the day. As George is a ranch worker and feels isolated, Lennie on the other end who has a serious mental disability and is often referred to a child does not understand the emotion of isolation that George feels, because he is oblivious due

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is about two men, George and Lennie who travel from ranch to ranch hoping to make enough money to buy their own land. Buying the land is what George and Lennie talk about constantly, this is in fact their American Dream. They have recently left a town called Weed because of an incident that happened there and are now heading to Soledad to work on another ranch. John Steinbeck was successful in making Lennie a sympathetic character because he portrays Lennie as a big strong muscular man that has basically no brain, so he doesn’t really know his own strength so when he hurts someone or does something bad you can’t really blame him.

     The friendship between Lennie and George went beyond what was unambiguous, they shared a common dream, and they never stopped trying to acheive their dream. They dream of a peice of land of their own. Independence. A couple of acres, a cow, some pigs, and rabbits that Lennie dreams of tending to. Their dream will later be shattered by fate.

Steinbeck uses the ranch as a metaphor to show how American society preyed on those who were old and disabled, this impacted on the Iives of everybody who was powerless and weak. This can be seen in the way that Candy is ignored when the more dominant men on the ranch decide to kill his dog, because they think it is useless and when Curley turns on Lennie, "..slugging him in the face". It also leads to the powerless preying on each other. This can be seen in the way that Crooks taunts Lennie about what would happen if ".. George went into town tonight and you never heard of him no more...".

John Steinbeck wrote ‘Of Mice and Men’ to show how hard life was for migrant ranch workers during the time of the Great Depression and how they were often exploited by their employers. In showing how George and Lennie’s dream of owning their own piece of land did not come true, Steinbeck explores a wider theme, criticising the idea of the American Dream. The American Dream tells people that there is ‘opportunity for each... regardless of the fortuitous circumstance of birth and position. Steinbeck criticises this as these ranch workers were given few opportunities. Settings play a very important part in the novel as they pinpoint clear times and places giving a sense of realism to the story, but they are also used to create atmosphere.