Experiencing the horrible and panful misfortune that many people faced in the 1930s due to the great depression John Steinbeck wrote one of the most critically acclaimed novellas Of Mice and Men. The novella follows the story of two migrant ranch workers George and Lennie who while trying to find work develop a close friendship and share a dream of one day owning their own land. But beneath the surface of what seems like a simple tale of two unlikely friends is a much deeper story and inside of those who were accepted and those who were marginalised. John Steinbeck has ability in his writing to touch the readers and convey his messages of friendship, race, alienation and misogyny that were very present in the 1930s throw his characters Crooks, …show more content…
In Of Mice and Men Carly’s wife perfectly portrays the life of an average women in 1930s America she has no name and is only labelled as Carly’s wife meaning she isn’t her own person but belongs to her husband. Her character is labelled as useless but her presence doses cause many of the story major plot twists. Steinbeck is showing that like mentally and physically disabilities and other minorities , women suffer to due to the misogynist views that men held during the 1930s Curly wife is lonely he is living in a male dominate world trapped with no place to go. Curly wife is labelled as a “tart” and it is apparent that the men in the story misjudge her she is not seeking out a physical relationship but rather a companion to stop her loneliness he dream was to become an actress but due to Curly and the male dominate world she is trapped in, she has to come to terms with the fact the dream she is hoping for will not come true. Candy is another character in Of Mice and Men that faces being marginalised Candy is old and due to him losing his hand has lost his usefulness to the ranch he wouldn’t have a job If the others didn’t feel sorry for him many characters act
Steinbeck’s message involves women. According to him, women are unimportant and shouldn’t be involved in working society. Also, that women don’t work and aren’t busy. In the book, most women do not have names, they refer to them in ways such as “Curley’s wife.” This shows that women were thought to not be as important as the men. Then, there is Aunt Clara who has a name, but Steinbeck makes Lennie constantly forget her name. He is saying the same thing as with Curley’s wife that women aren’t important and her own relative can’t remember her name. Women were also thought to be a burden or hold men back from achieving the american dream, or living the life they want to live, for example when Aunt Clara is talking about George in Lennie’s dream. She said, “All the time he coulda had such a good time if it wasn’t for you. He woulda took his pay an’ raised hell in a whore house, and he coulda set in a poolroom an’ played snooker.
Of Mice and Men is the classic tale by John Steinbeck of two men trying to achieve the American Dream. But things are not going great for George and Lennie. They move from town to town trying to get a job to be able to afford to get their own property, which is made more difficult by the fact the novel takes place during the Great Depression. Besides the obvious effect of the poverty caused by the Great Depression on the characters that it is the reason George and Lennie are migrant workers, it also causes the characters, not just George and Lennie, to be more suspicious and distrustful of those around them. The setting in which this novel takes place, the Great Depression, causes most of the characters to isolate themselves, everyone except
The novel Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck is set in America in the 1930’s and it describes the lives of migrant farmers as they go from farm to farm looking for jobs. It also shows the loneliness of the characters and the hard work that they put in. The main characters of the book are Lennie, a man-child, and George, a small man but very powerful character that takes care of Lennie in their journey. Also when they get to the farm they meet the bosses wife who is very lonely and looks for company in the workers. Steinbeck uses characterization to bring his characters to life using various techniques.
She is forever associated with a man that she hates. Even Lulu, Candy’s dog, has a name. With the inclusion of Suzy, a woman who owns a brothel, Steinbeck allows readers to understand the hypocrisy of society during the Great Depression. Curley’s wife is lonely. She is condemned to marry a man she despises, is forced to abandon her dreams and forbidden to talk to anyone. She is desperate. Desperate for companionship. She tries talking to the men on the ranch but is isolated on the assumption that she is a temptress. Despite her never acting on any sexual endeavours due to society’s restricting motifs that women could only be a housewife or a temptress, the men suppose she is trying to seduce them. Due to these unfair assumptions, she is seen to be nothing but trouble and this diminishes her worth to men. Suzy on the other hand, although a woman, is celebrated because she provides prostitutes for the men. This shows that, if women during the Great Depression were of use to men, they would be commemorated, but if they weren’t, they would be marginalised, seen as inferior and forced to be property of their husbands.
In the late 1930 unemployment rates were dropping at exponential rates, people were traveling west looking for jobs, hoping to gain even the smallest amounts of money. They were struggling to survive, fighting for jobs and living in horrible conditions. The Dust Bowl had wiped out most of their homes and many were desperate, people referred to them as migrant workers. The story Of Mice and Men revolves around the adventure of two migrant workers, George and Lennie. The book begins with a scene of nature, calm and beautiful yet cruel and complex. Much like nature, John Steinbeck's book tells the dark side of our nation and it’s people. Because of this, Steinbeck's book is still valuable to teach students. His simple yet complex story characterizes
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.
John Steinbeck’s landmark novel Of Mice and Men is perhaps best known for its revolutionary telling of two characters that are very different, but have come to rely on each other to survive during the Great Depression. The two characters are men named George and Lenny. George is somewhat of an average fellow who has no real special skills or attributes. Lenny is large and abnormally strong, but unfortunately has the mind of a child. Lennie looks up to George as if he were a role model. This statement is best supported in the book; “Lennie, who had been watching, imitated George exactly. He pushed himself back, drew up his knees, embraced them, looked over to George to see whether he had it just right. He pulled his hat down a little more over his eyes, the way George's hat was” (Steinbeck). Both characters help each other find work and save the money they earn to purchase a farm together. Their plans keep getting delayed due to Lenny’s habit of getting into serious trouble. George and Lenny are forced to flee the towns that Lenny has gotten in trouble in and continually move to other cities to find jobs. Of Mice and Men has been praised by readers everywhere and is hailed as a modern classic. Of Mice and Men’s success is usually said to be a result of the complex and emotional bond between the two main characters. Many readers forget about the supporting characters that help or hurt George and Lenny during their story. The minor characters in the story each have their own
In 1929, tears swept the nation and gloom bestowed itself upon a once happy place. The Great Depression had started. People lost everything ,so many became migrant workers. Of Mice and Men, a classic novel written by John Steinbeck, emphasizes many sad themes, but gives us a good insight on what life was like in the 1940’s for many people. Although there are other themes, rootlessness, loneliness, and poverty are extremely prominent throughout the novel in many characters.
John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, takes place during the Great Depression in the 1930’s, in the Salinas Valley, California. It establishes the prospect of the American Dream, discrimination,loneliness, and disenfranchisement through its characters. George and Lennie provided the value of the American Dream, to which the leading female role, Curley’s wife, represents how women are exempt from the American Dream, and appeared as less than equal to men. She developed a form of loneliness throughout the course of the novel. The novella seeks to demonstrate the way of which life was like for the characters of all different statuses and backgrounds. Through Curley’s wife’s character, we are able to see how life was like for a women during
Ostracism and objectification are widely seen in our world today. People are ostracized because they of what they believe in, their lifestyle, and even over their heritage. Women and men are objectified in magazines, album records, and advertisements. Curley’s wife is a symbol of the objectification in women at that period in time, Lennie shows the stigma against people with a mental illness, and Crooks indicates the way African Americans were treated and ostracized. In Steinbeck’s historical novella Of Mice and Men many characters in the story, such as Lennie, Curley’s wife, and Crooks are ostracized and/or objectified at some point within the book. When these characters are objectified and/or ostracized, they tend to lose focus in their character
In the novella 'Of Mice and Men', by the well-known author, John Steinbeck, the reader is introduced to a various range of different characters on the ranch, within this realm prejudice attitudes and discrimination play a significant role. The characters in this short novel act in a world of their own, having no connections to any other type of society; through this Steinbeck strongly depicts what discrimination was similar to during this period of time. At the ranch are the white-males, who retain power over the lesser groups of people. This inequality causes discrimination against people of color, women, and those that are disabled, either mentally or physically. To add to, discrimination is intensified due to the loneliness of the itinerant lifestyle, where Crooks was even isolated even more than the rest of the workers, and heightened due the time when this novel was produced. During the 1930s, America was in the height of segregation and prejudice attitudes. This resulted in a patriarchal society where women and ethnical groups only has limited opportunities. Particularly, women where viewed by many to either be a housewife or, the polar opposite, a sexual object. In this book Curley's wife was presented as a seductive wife trophy, relevant to how women were treated then. With reference to how Steinbeck presents Crooks and Curley's wife, I will further show how far I agree that they face the most discrimination the novella and conclude which character I believe faces
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.
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.
‘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
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.