Of Mice and Men Argumentative Essay

John Steinback’s Of Mice and Men is a book that describes the chase of the American Dream. Although achieving the American Dream is a great desire for all, seldom does it actually come true. George and Lennie, the two main characters in the book, have a goal of pursuing their version of the American Dream, as do many other characters. However, due to relationships and other conflicts, that dream is not achieved.

According to www.dualdiagnosis.org, in the 1930’s, “Techniques that were used on the mentally ill included insulin-induced comas, lobotomies, malarial infections, and electroshock therapy.” The novel, Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, describes the story of two migrant workers named George and Lennie, and their adventure during the Great Depression. Lennie is a man who is challenged with mental retardation. During the Great Depression, this was not an acceptable thing in society, so George acts as his caretaker and has to cover for Lennie. Eventually, George and Lennie find themselves working on a ranch where they meet new people and find themselves in trouble. I think that George did the right thing by killing Lennie. If George would not have killed him, Lennie would have been taken to the mental hospital and treated badly, if Lennie was killed by anyone else, George would have had regrets, and Lennie was at risk of getting himself and George into more trouble.

‘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.

Although Of Mice and Men definitely teaches young students about how the setting was set up back then, the themes of abuse and death included could be found highly inappropriate or offensive to young students today. These themes arise from the multiple abusive and gory deaths of characters throughout the novel. For example, the novel included a reoccurring scene of murder of innocent animals by Lennie including mice and puppies. Some readers are not able to handle such grimness, therefore finding it repugnant or simply unacceptable. Readers with their own pets may also feel a terrible sense of guilt and repulsiveness by simply reading the novel. Another example is portrayed when Lennie violently kills Curley’s wife by shaking her to death.

In the novel, Of Mice and Men, the reader will be able to learn the history of the United States through the writing style of the author, John Steinbeck.

The Story Of Mice and Men is about two buddies that go on to find work or any kind of income. The only problem is that lennie, one of the main characters, has a mental disability. Thankfully George, the other main character also lennie’s best friend, is around to help lennie. In the story more characters come into play including a nice old man named candy who has been working on the farm for many years. Like George candy has to take care of his old dog that he raised from a pup. Unfortunately one of Candy’s so called buddies took the dog out and shot him for the dogs own good. In the end George also loses his closest pal. Through the story George and candy have some similarities and

Conflict is a struggle between opposing forces. There can be multiple conflicts in a story. This is the case in Of Mice and Men. In chapters three and four, there are man vs. man, man vs. self, and man vs. society conflicts. As George and Lennie interact with the workers on the ranch, sometimes conflicts arise between them.

While mercy and murder do have some similarities there is one huge difference, mercy killing has consent, murder does not. Sometimes it is as clear as day if it is murder or mercy. One of these times was when a twenty nine year old “Brittany Maynard fulfilled her final wish… purposely ending her own life on her own schedule…” (Briggs). This is very different from what happens in Of Mice and Men By: John Steinbeck where George kills Lennie without his consent. In Of Mice and Men George and Lennie are best friends that go on the road with each other looking for jobs. They end up working at a ranch and made some friends and some enemies. Throughout this story it is shown that Lennie is mentally disabled and is obsessed with petting soft objects,

John Steinbeck has written 27 books and I have only read one, Of Mice and Men. It is a good book with a great hook and ends with an unexpected bang. In of Mice and Men the main characters have different levels of struggles. One way more than the other but everyone has to do things and deal with things that they don’t want to do. One of those things is to deal with discrimination. Discrimination shapes a way a person acts around other people.

Of Mice And Men The novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ reveal life in the 1930’s. A time very diverse to ours. Steinback, the author of this novel wrote about various issues such as lifestyle of the travelling ranchmen, loneliness, friendship, the American dream, racism and sexism. The book is about two migrant labourers, George Milton and Lennie Small in California.

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.

“The greatest writers and the best readers know that literature is not always mere sugar candy;it can sometimes be a strong medicine:sour perhaps-at least to the untrained taste - but necessary for continued health” (1). A statement written by Professor Thomas Scarseth shows how without value in books, a reading life would never reach its intended purpose. By learning to apply knowledge that books provide through characters, we can improve ourselves as individuals. This particular book, Of Mice and Men, has values such as linguistics, sociological value, and historical value. Linguistics are shown through Steinbeck’s use of poetic devices such as imagery and repetition. Sociological value is given through the perspective of Crooks, who shows the struggle of achieving the great American Dream of having a place to call your own. Finally, historical value is provided through racism and how it affected Crooks, or any other black man at the time.

The story Of Mice and Men took place during the 1930’s. That time period was very different from today. Race and gender were very important characteristics that determined whether a person had the opportunity to make money. The 1930’s were also a time where people started questioning life and the American culture. Many people like John Steinbeck thought that life was very unfair and questioned whether if life was even worth living. In Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck demonstrates that mans dream is destined to be destroyed by a cruel reality.

     Of Mice and Men was written during a period of racism. In the 1960's it was important for everyone to get along with eachother because not everyone was equal. George and Lennie showed a great part in friendship throught the whole book. At the ranch in Selinas mostly everyone showed friendship in some way. Friendship was a great factor when the book was published because of all the racism going on at the time.

Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men is a perfect illustration of modernist literature from the 1930’s