preview

Migrant Workers as Outsiders in "Of Mice and Men" Essays

Decent Essays

‘Of Mice and Men’ is a novel written by John Steinbeck. The novel is set in the 1930s, where the Great Depression years occurred and had a huge impact of many lives in California. California was struggling not only with the economic problems of the Great Depression but the severe labour strife too. ‘Of Mice and Men’ has an explicit context, because of the social and political events during the 1930s America. This also creates the climate of the novel. Hardship and homelessness ran through the country, creating many problems that ordinary people had to face. ‘Of Mice and Men’ also follows the careers of two men, George and Lennie, who dream of a better life on their own farm. Steinbeck wrote this novel because he had strong …show more content…

An outsider is a person who does not fit in well with everyone else in a particular environment or society. The outsiders I have chosen are George, Lennie and Crooks, purely because they are the only characters who are different from the rest. George is an outsider because he is like a father-figure to Lennie. He always looks after him, and this is significant throughout the novel. As evident, George keeps looking out for Lennie to ensure everything is okay and there are no problems with him or anyone else. George knows Lennie is big and strong, and after the incident in Weed, he takes more care into ensuring Lennie is not having any difficulties settling in with the other people in the ranch. Steinbeck included George in the novel to show how people similar to George had to live every day of their lives knowing that it was going to be tough. George tries his best at protecting Lennie and so orders Lennie to be careful in what route he chooses, and then gets mad at Lennie when he disobeys. This creates a sense of rebellion between both him and Lennie, who yells at George for being too mean. For example, in chapter 1, George is seen talking to Lennie aggressively using foul language, “You crazy son-of-a-bitch. You keep me in hot water all of the time”. These conflicts relate to Steinbeck’s portrayal of life in this period of time. A

Get Access