Of Mice and Men
John Steinbeck
World Literature
Mrs. Finke
December 7, 2012
Of Mice and Men: A Classic for the Ages
Thesis: Despite some impurity Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck should be considered as a classic due to its honesty, truth, loveliness, justice and of good report.
I. Introduction
II. Impurity
A. Swearing
B. Violence
C. Economic poverty
D. Psychological corruption
III. Honesty
A. Steinbeck’s Life
1. Steinbeck’s thematic vision
2. Wrote about his experience
IV. Truth
A. Relationship between George and Lennie in their social economic environment
B. Compassion toward the victims
C. Friendship
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Their American dream had vanished with their psychological corruption issues. George, regrets shooting Lennie, and Lennie, is overcome by fear after killing Curley’s wife. Their story illustrates their lonely lives. “The alternative to the companionship that George and Lennie share is loneliness” (“Themes” 1).
Secondly, Of Mice and Men illustrates the honesty of living conditions within the American cultural society of his day. The honesty quality seen in Of Mice and Men goes back to Steinbeck himself. Three of Steinbeck’s novels were set in the Salina Valley. Steinbeck’s birthplace, and hometown, Salina Valley, California, is where this story is also set. He wrote this novel to express his personal perspective of life as he knew it in his era. As a very young man, he was a very hard worker and held a variety of jobs that led to his writing career (“John” 5).
Another example for honesty in the novel is Steinbeck’s thematic visions. Steinbeck’s novel illustrates his thematic visions. According to the journalists, “at the center of Steinbeck’s thematic vision is a dialect between contrasting ways of life: between innocence and experience, between primitivism and progress, and between self-interest and commitment to the human community” (“John” 1).
His life experiences shows honesty in the novel. His life’s experience, during the Great Depression, helped him to
John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men tells a story of two very different friends how both share the dream of one day buying their own farm. George and Lennie are both two workers that take temporary jobs at different ranches. That the new job that they get to meet Candy, the old “swamper” who cleans the bunkhouse; Slim, the “prince of the ranch”; Crooks, the African American stable hand. Then there is also Curley, the boss’s son and Curley’s wife, women that is desperate for the attention. Throughout the story, Steinbeck uses a lot of foreshadowing to prepare the reader what is about to occur. The plans of the characters going “askew,” the death of Curley’s wife, the loss of the farm dream, and the death of Lennie; are four clear examples of Steinbeck’s
Steinbeck was born in Salinas, the setting for a large portion of his novel Of Mice and Men. When he was a teenager, he spent the majority of
"Book Review: Of Mice & Men." A Novel Menagerie. Novel Menagerie, 2009. Web. 7 Nov 2011. <http://anovelmenagerie.com/2009/02/18/book-review-of-mice-and-men/>.
You can judge a society by its treatment of the old, the weak, the helpless and the needy. Through the narrative conventions of foreshadowing and characterisation, John Steinbeck, in his novel Of Mice And Men, published in 1937, is able to effectively reveal the imperfections of America’s capitalist
“He pulled the trigger. The crash of the shot rolled up the hills and rolled down again” (Pg. 106). “Of Mice and Men” is written by John Steinbeck and was published in 1937. The book was written during the Great Depression, which shows in the book the conflict for getting work. In the book the two main characters are Lennie Smalls and George Milton, and they are the best of friends. The only thing off is that Lennie is not all there, he is not normal. Some of the issues Lennie has is what leads them to leave to the farm. Lennie always seems to make things more difficult for George, but George still protects him and cares for him. In “Of Mice and Men” Steinbeck explains how he does not think the American Dream is achievable, that something
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
The Great Depression took place in the United States in the 1930s. Northern California, Salinas Valley was affected by the Great Depression. Many farmers lost their properties and were forced to find other work. Banks were forced to foreclose on mortgages’ and had to collect debts. Hundreds of thousands of farmers packed up their families and few belongings, and headed for California. The Great Depression left many people in poverty and caused them to face unpleasant events. This is how life was like for the characters in Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men. Mostly all the characters in this novel suffered from loneliness. Some of the men desired to come together in a way that would allow them to be like brothers to one
Regardless of how intensely the characters of this novel hope and dream, their plans do not find fulfillment. Due to the lack of fulfillment of their dream, the characters face loneliness setting each apart from the other. Unlike George and Lennie, the other character of Crooks has no one to support him and be there for him as Lennie and George have each other. In the story, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck contrasts the loneliness and isolation experienced by Crooks, whom life has made abandon his dream of equality, with the closeness of Lennie and George, establishing a false sense of hope for the achievement of their dream, making the ending tragic because they lose both the dream and their unique friendship no
One of the major themes of John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men is that having a dream creates hope, friendship, and determination, enabling one to strive onward in life with a sense of importance. Three major examples show this idea. The first example is Candy’s loss of his dog and his joining George and Lennie 's dream of owning land. A second example is Crook’s memory of his father’s
Compare the episodes in which Candy’s dog and Lennie die. How has Steinbeck made these events effective for the reader?
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.
John Steinbeck's agricultural upbringing in the California area vibrantly shines through in the settings and story lines of the majority of his works. Steinbeck's novel, Of Mice and Men, takes place in the Salinas Valley of California. The drama is centered around two itinerant farm workers, George Milton and Lennie Small, with a dream of someday owning a place of their own. Lennie Small is a simple-minded, slow moving, shapeless hulk with pale eyes whose enormous physical strength often causes him to get into trouble. George Milton on the other hand is small in stature, clever, dark of face and eyes, and acts as Lennie's guardian and calming force.
John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. was an American author wrote many novels including one of his most famous, Of Mice and Men. Of Mice and Men teaches many lessons about the nature of human existence. Each relationship grows throughout this short story and end with a dramatic experience. All of the characters, including Lennie, George, Crooks, and Curley’s wife, admit, at one time or another, to having a profound sense of isolation, seclusion and loneliness.
Motifs, which are repeated in the novel, are loneliness, friendship, strength and weakness. Men like George who migrate from farm to farm are often alone. As the story develops, Candy, Crooks, and Curley's wife all confess their deep loneliness. Each of these characters searches for a friend, someone to help them measure the world, as Crooks says. For George, the hope of such friendship dies with Lennie.
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.