“As the years progress one increasingly realises the importance of friendship and human solidarity. And if a 90-year-old may offer some unsolicited advice on this occasion, it would be that you, irrespective of your age, should place human solidarity, the concern for the other, at the centre of the values by which you live.” -Nelson Mandela
John Steinbeck’s tragic fictional story Of Mice and Men tells the tale of two ambitious friends, George and Lennie. Together they work hard for a better life during the great depression. Friendship is rough, full of ups and downs. However, quality bonds between people makes life easier. To have no friends or any social connections is hard and destructive which is why Steinbeck represents the importance
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Caring for another person isn't always easy. The Harvard study of Adult Development followed 700 men for 75 years, and found that people are most happy when they have good quality relationships in life. Speaker Robert Waldinger explains, there are no two people who love each other who don't fight, that's normal. "And those good relationships, they don't have to be smooth all the time. Some of our oxygenarian couples would bicker day in and day out, but as long as they felt they could really count on each other when the going got tough, those arguments didn't take a toll on their memories " ( Ted talk, “What makes a good life?). Throughout the novella we see that George can be very harsh on Lennie because of Lennie’s naive behaviour, however their dysfunctional friendship helps them to avoid chronic loneliness. Of Mice and Men highlights the dejection of being alone. Lennie is talking to Crooks in his isolated shed, when Crooks starts telling Lennie how lonely his life really is. "Maybe you can see how you got George s’pose you didn't have nobody else… S’pose you couldn’t go into the bunkhouse and play runny because you black… A guy need somebody to be near him... I tell you a guy gets too lonely and he gets sick” (Steinbeck 73). Crooks is left out and lonely because of his color. Life for him is desolate. Crooks tells Lennie that that if he had a companion or at least someone to talk to his experiences
Of Mice and Men is based in the time of the ‘Great Depression’ in America in the 1930’s. The two main characters are George and Lennie who are very close friends, roaming around America together looking for work. Their friendship is so unique and foreign to their surrounding people, and at that time having one true friend was very rare because men didn’t have time to worry about other people, they just did their work and got their money. Their friendship is what makes the story so special, Steinbeck shows George and Lennie’s similarities and differences to other characters in the book to boldly show how unique they are.
In the book ‘Of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck is showing the importance of friendship and relationships between two friends George Milton, and Lennie Smalls. George Milton and Lennie Smalls are ranch workers who are looking for a job. Without a permanent home to live in. They try to find a place they could work during the 1930s, which was the Great Depression. During the story, the protagonist Lennie is childish, strong, and impulsive.
John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men features a variety of characters who found it extremely difficult to survive during the Great Depression era. In order to make even a very basic living, workers were forced to migrate from farm to farm. Steinbeck’s two central characters, George Milton and Lennie Small, are migrant workers in search of the Great American Dream. The novel focuses on their three day journey, where they encounter other men who heavily influence their lives. The most influential of these men is Slim, the “Prince” of the Soledad Ranch. Together, George Milton, Lennie Small, and Slim prove that a true friendship consists of understanding, forgiveness, and wanting the best for one another.
All the greatest accomplishments and advancements of the human species have been made through the biological instinct of humans to form bonds and make companions with others. John Steinbeck brings to light this philosophy through the main characters in the story Of Mice and Men. Lennie, a naive simpleton, has the dream of owning a ranch with George. Their companionship leads them to keep their innocent beliefs alive. Steinbeck brings to light the sense of hope that comes from companionship and illustrates the consequences of isolation by juxtaposing George and Lennie to the secluded ranch workers.
Good friendships make life easier. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is about two men, George and Lennie, who go on various journeys in order to get a job. Although George would consider Lennie to be his closest friend, he ultimately ends up shooting and killing Lennie. George did this, not out of hatred, but rather out of protection. A good friend will always want what is best for one another. Steinbeck uses his protagonists’ friendship in order to show that true friendship can help make any of life’s hardships less difficult.
While reading and evaluating Of Mice and Men (1937) by the famed novelist John Steinbeck, the several relationships in the story reveal both true, authentic friendship, as well as the opposite, sad, desperate degrees of loneliness and plummeting isolation. Similar to the people that we come across in our lives, a handful of the characters in Of Mice and Men portray false faces of contentment, yet in actuality, they are alone and caught feeling stuck and empty on the inside. On the other hand, there are numerous representations of sincere friendships that seem as if they could last a lifetime. There are also episodes of different characters being vulnerable and straightforward with each other in a frantic attempt to have someone
In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, many themes come up often throughout the story, especially the theme about bonds between two people. The novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck expresses theme of Friendship through various literary elements. Friendship is people that care for and respect each other. It is the link that makes people stick together through the struggles of life. This essay will prove that friendship is important in life.
John Steinbeck’s book Of Mice and Men is an extraordinary novel with unique characteristics. The novel is about an uncommon friendship between two extremely different individuals who are living and working together. This story belong to the genres tragic realistic fiction, historical fiction and drama. The linking between the novel and The Great Depression emphasizes throughout the story, which makes the novel very realistic and down to earth. The author touches on several themes such as: the unreachable American dream, the economic injustices, loneliness, friendship and people’s propensity for cruelty. In this book review, we will get into a deeper understanding of what the actual story means.
In Of Mice and Men, author John Steinbeck emphasizes the idea that the Great Depression shaped people’s friendships. This economic collapse produced an atmosphere of gloom and despair. Insufficient money and food created uncertainty and fear. However, Steinbeck asserts that the bonds between individuals, formed by shared experiences, are strengthened by common goals. George Milton’s and Lennie Small’s relationship is a clear reflection of this inseparable union, two men of complementary talents aligned in their vision of the universal American dream during financially tumultuous times.
‘Of mice and men’ is a tale of loneliness and hardship felt by the people living in America during the 1930 's. Written by John Steinbeck and published in 1937, it tells the heartbreaking story of two ranch workers during the depression; George Milton and Lennie Small. At the time America was very poor, with a shortage of jobs so people had to travel in search of new jobs. As many people were constantly moving, lasting friendships or relationships were hard to come across. People became scared to have friendships, scared of each other making them lonely and isolated. Most of the characters lived by ‘every man for himself’; only having to care for themselves, not having to worry about others and therefore
A relationship between two people cannot be called anything more without two distinct features. As explained by Frederick William Faber, “Many a friendship long, loyal, and self-sacrificing, rested at first on no thicker a foundation than a kind word”. The word “friendship” is simply a label to those who do not know what it truly needs. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the two protagonists have the true bond of “friendship” as well as the two important characteristics that should be included with it. George and Lennie prove that genuine friendships require a level of loyalty and sacrifice.
Lucy M. Montgomery, a famous Canadian author once observed, “True friends are always together in spirit” (Goodreads, 2016). Lucy M. Montgomery’s statement refers to true friendship as being, “always together in spirit” and not getting separated no matter how far apart they are. True friendship is revealed by the way people act during difficult situations and being able to stay together in either their thoughts or heart whether it be caring for the person, being responsible for them or protecting them. In the novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, the daily lives of Lennie Smalls and George Milton who are ranch hands that work near Soledad, California during the great depression are examined. Lennie and George are friends and move from
Henry David Thoreau wrote, “The language of friendship is not words but meanings.” One might say the presence of a true friendship and all of the love, care, and loyalty that come with it is a necessity, while others argue that it can be emotionally draining. Those who have that rare, true friendship, articulate that it brings them happiness. Many souls who have not experienced a true companion, reveal that they have become physically ill without one. In the novel Of Mice and Men, set during the Great Depression, John Steinbeck portrays true friendship as a relationship that requires sacrifice as well as strength.
Analysis : Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is infused with an abundant amount of themes, symbolism, and hidden attributes. By using George and Lennie as the main characters he is able to convey the ideal of friendship and overcoming adversity .Lennie ‘s adversity consist of the fact that he does have a disability mentally . However, together George and Lennie face the adversity of being unemployed and dispossessed males during the Great Depression. In the novel ,they describe themselves as “different” and George continuously tells Lennie they have each other. (Citation) They were able to conquer their adversities
Friendship is the strongest relationship two people can have. John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men,” for example, is about two men who go around California looking for jobs during the Great Depression. The camaraderie between the two main characters, George and Lennie, stands out particularly. Their friendship is similar to that of a parent and a child. George being the parent and taking care of Lennie by keeping him out of trouble; and Lennie being the child, ignorant of the world around him and simple-minded. In the case of John Steinbeck’s classic novella, the friendship of the two men produces risks for both; however, the emotional and physical benefits far outweigh the risks.