John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men Essays

Lennie is a big and tall man. George and Lennie always travel together. George is responsible for lennie Anne his actions. He is always making sure Lennie is well and staying out of trouble. George is always doing nice things for

Of Mice and Men follows George Milton and Lennie Small in an adventure to get their American Dream. It takes place in 1930’s Soledad, California. The novella, by John Steinbeck, focuses on topics of friendship, masculinity, the American Dream, poverty, loneliness, injustice, and mercy. George and Lennie's’ relationship, has a distinct mentor and protegee dynamic.

Throughout the novel, George showed qualities of leadership, interpersonal and intrapersonal skills, sense of fraternity, sense of respect for others, and sense of human dignity. These character traits of empathy to keep himself and Lennie alive. Lennie had a mental disability that everyone overlooked, he was very tall and broad, and did not realize his actions or strength. George felt guilt over Curley’s wife death and was unsure if the law would find

Loneliness is an emotion of isolation and no hope or dreams in life, which is what John Steinbeck achieves by portraying this through the characters in his novella Of Mice and Men. The main characters are affected by loneliness in their own different way throughout the novella. rf

Besides the American Dream, the theme of death plays a major role and is recurring in both texts. From the novel ‘Of mice and men’, both Lennie and Curley’s Wife die. From this we can deduce that they both got killed due to their differences and society looking at them in a different way. Both texts also foreshadow the future deaths from the beginning to the end of the texts, there is hints everywhere. The moment that Curley’s Wife was introduced, an ill feeling overcame the atmosphere indicating that Lennie will be getting into a mess with her. At the beginning, George clearly states that Lennie always gets George into trouble. Steinbeck states ‘You do bad things and I got to get you out’. Previously, before George and Lennie arrived at the ranch, Lennie got into trouble by supposedly attacking the only woman in Weed. This also suggests that there will be trouble between Curley’s Wife, who is the only woman on the ranch and Lennie. Connecting ends with ends, this shows that the only two women are insecure. Later on, there was an intimation that she is going to be killed by Lennie as Lennie kills the soft things he likes to ‘pet’ such as the puppy and the mouse. In the novel Curley’s Wife lets him touch her dress, which is soft therefore leading to an inevitable death.

Barbara Sher once said, “‘Isolation is a dream killer’” (qtd. in Wishcraft). In his novella, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck scrutinizes the effects that alienation can have on society. Many characters experience loneliness throughout the novel. He illustrates the results of individuals becoming isolated from their peers. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck portrays characters alienated from society in order to illustrate the harmful effects of loneliness caused by discrimination.

”Wha’s the matter with me?’ she cried. ‘Ain’t I got a right to talk to nobody? Whatta they think I am, anyways?” (Steinbeck 87) In the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Curley’s wife is discriminated against because she is a woman living in the 1930s when few females could live economically independent of men. By choosing not to name her, Steinbeck reinforces her insignificance on the ranch and her dependence on Curley. While a misfortunate victim of isolation, Curley’s wife exerts unexpected power attempting to mask her pain.

To begin with the book Of Mice and Men is a very touching story; Steinbeck did an amazing job describing each character to show their differences. George Milton and Lennie Small the two main characters in the story are very different in appearance, but are similar in some aspects. They are migrant worker that go to different plantations just trying to earn money and stay out of trouble.

Lennie and George have a stunning relationship throughout the story.The fact that George could just leave Lennie in Salinas River where he raped the the girl with the red dress,George could have just let him go to jail where nobody knows why he done that except George his only friend .Lennie Small is huge and lumbering and, in many ways, the opposite of George Milton. Where George has sharp features and definite lines, Lennie is "shapeless." Often he is described in terms of animals. He lumbers like a bear and has the strength of a bear, but his actions are often described like those of a dog.

He knows that he has given up the life of a free man. He knows that he

'I could get along so easy and so nice if I didn't have you on my

This is important because it shows that George wants to be alone but does not truly want to be lonely. Lennie is George’s responsibility. George views Lennie as a brother, friend, and partner in crime. Without Lennie, George is lonely but he knows that he saves Lennie from his own personal misery in the end. George knows he needs Lennie just as much as Lennie needs him. He needs his friendship and is lonely after he takes that friendship away from himself.

Even from the very start of John Steinbeck's novel, Of Mice and Men, the uniqueness of George, as a character, is already noticeable. He is described as "small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp strong features" and has an obvious dominance over the relationship between Lennie and himself. This lets the reader know from a very early stage in the book that George is different, and probably the essential character. George's character seems to be used by Steinbeck to reflect the major themes of the novel: loneliness, prejudice, the importance of companionship, the danger of devoted companionships, and the harshness of Californian ranch life.

‘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.

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.