Good Vs. Evil In Of Mice And Men, By John Steinbeck

A theme is a unifying or dominant idea in a literary work. Steinbeck described the competition of good versus evil as the story of mankind itself. He believes that every generation to come since Adam and Eve will now be immersed with the struggle of good and evil due to Eve’s curiosity that led to sin, eventually banning both her and Adam from the Garden of Eden. In East of Eden, Steinbeck makes the contest of good versus evil apparent through his contrasting description of the setting, the characters’ opposing personalities, and society’s changing morals.

Choices are the decisions we make in life, some are good others are bad. Choosing a bad decision can affect families mentally, financially and emotionally. Bad choices always have consequences. A persons emotions can alter them into making terrible choices. Sometimes there is not a choice that is positive.

In John Steinbeck’s Of mice and Men the concept of justice is explored as a deliverance of what is deserved. Steinbeck also explores how justice is culturally relative and how justice is linked to power in a way that only those in power can distribute justice. In the novella, the distribution of justice varies with the person depending on their culture, and the only people who distribute justice in the book are those in power. By exploring this way of justice in the novella, Steinbeck attempts to make reference of the bad idea of justice that the American government had at the time, and how their idea of justice needs reform.

In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Steinbeck succeeded in making Lennie a sympathetic character. What makes him a sympathetic character is his childlike, kind, and unintelligent. Of Mice and Men is about two men, George and Lennie who are just arriving at their new job after getting kicked out of their last job. They arrive at their job searching for their American Dream. To be able to live on their own piece of land with their own harvest and their own animals. The second man Lennie is a big man who doesn’t understand how strong he is. He’s not the brightest and his kind, childlike features make you want to root for him. When things don’t go his way you feel bad for him. Steinbeck does a great job of making you feel sympathetic for Lennie

In the 3 pieces Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare, and Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim, experiencing hatred causes characters to lie to people they love. In all of the stories, they are manipulated and forced through hatred to lie about who they are, what they are doing, or what something is. Lennie in Of Mice and Men is forced to lie about who he is, Romeo and Juliet in Romeo and Juliet have to lie about their marriage due to a feud, and in Into the Woods, the Baker and his wife lie about beans and what they do to steal from a child. In these 3 pieces, hate impacts love for others by the characters’ experience of hate forcing them to lie to the people they love.

Some people argue that happiness helps make good decisions because happy people strive for the best result. David states, “[Positive emotions] help build vital social, physical, and cognitive resources that lead to positive outcomes and affiliations” (124). David points out that with the right amount of positivity, people make good judgments. The author acknowledges that happiness can have benefits, but she states that too much happiness could hurt human development because the mind does not consider the consequences of an action. Julie Norem, a psychology professor, points out, “’If you’re a pessimist who really thinks through in detail what might go wrong, that’s a strategy that’s likely to work very well for you’” (qtd. in Wallis). She explains

Alice Walker, an American novelist, once stated that “the most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” In current society, power is everywhere, and everyone has at least has some control, no matter how ineffective they might feel. In the novella “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, the concept of power is represented on a ranch in the 1930’s. On the ranch, there is a group of outsiders- people who do not fit in- that consists of Crooks, a black stable buck, Curley’s wife, who is married to the powerful Curley, Lennie, a worker with a mental disability, and Candy, and old swamper. These outsiders are isolated and feel powerless compared to the rest of society. However, within this group of outsiders, power structures still exist and everyone has power in one way or another. Steinbeck, through the story of Crooks and Curley’s wife, teaches that no matter how powerless someone seems, they may still wield power over others.

How does one survive in an area where every disability can hurt you in the long run? In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the setting is a ranch in Salinas, California . Throughout the novel, some of the characters struggle with the problem of their disabilities denying them the same opportunities the average man at the ranch has. Steinbeck uses characterization to illustrate the theme of survival of the fittest.

In the story Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck, the two main characters of the story are George and Lennie. The central point of the book is their unusual relationship. Their relationship establishes one of the most important themes of the novel, the importance of companionship and loneliness. Their relationship helped me to understand that they both rely upon their friendship to survive as they are completely different from each other. Lennie depends upon his friendship with George to make the correct decisions. George relies upon the friendship with Lennie to plan for the future. This helps me to understand that we are all aware of the value of friendship and loneliness especially during difficult times.

There are many reasons why George might have shot Lennie, but there is only one that makes sense based on previous conversations. George’s decision to shoot Lennie was not out of malice, but out of protection and kindness, because Lennie was so kind and innocent, and George didn’t want him to suffer.

Unit 3A The Good and Bad in Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men characters I am writing this essay to explain how John Steinbeck presents good and bad in the characters George and Curley from the novella “Of Mice and Men.” Also in this essay I will discuss Steinbeck’s uses of explicit language to help us understand character types for the characters Curley and George. The last thing that this essay will show is how Steinbeck engages us to show good and bad in characters. John Steinbeck wanted us to understand men, as “if you understand each other you will be kind to each other”.

In the book Of Mice and Men there are three people I feel sorry for, and their names are George, Lennie, and Crooks. First, I feel sorry for George because of the fact that he always has to be around Lennie to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t do any stupid things. For example when George had to ask Lennie to stop drinking water from the river multiple times. (Steinbeck, 3).

‘Of Mice And Men' by John Steinbeck is a classic novel, tragedy, written in a social tone. The authorial attitude is idyllic, however, as the story develops it changes into skeptic. It is evident that Steinbeck knew the setting and places he is writing about.

When someone encounters Lennie and George, they are setting up camp in an idyllic grove near the Gabilian Mountains. It is lush and green and inhabited by all varieties of wild creatures. It represents, as the ensuing dialogue makes clear, a safe have -- a place where both humans and beasts can retreat should danger

The book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is about two characters, George and Lennie, who are migrant farmers during the Great Depression. Lennie is extremely strong, but he is mentally disabled. George takes care of Lennie, but often looks at his companion more as a burden then a friend. In the book George and Lennie have just begun working on a farm and they are trying to make money to obtain their dream which is to own a farm. Thomas Scarseth wrote a review of the book, in his review he stated that the novel is a great piece of literature. He supported this with reasons such as Steinbeck's writing reveals that all men are created equal in their ability to suffer, which means it's not just kings and great people who suffer, everyone does. Another point Scarseth makes is that all characters are very complex, but not simple minded. One more idea Scarseth says makes the book great is that all pieces of literature don't end happily, but those that do are the ones that stick with us the most. Thomas Scarseth's analysis of the book Of Mice and Men is accurate that the book stands out from all others because of it's characters, theme, plot, and symbols