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Portpectations Of Society In Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Decent Essays

In Of Mice and Men, the characters are used to demonstrate how society treats people. Steinbeck encapsulates the Great Depression and its effects on American Society, mirroring these realities in his novel to convey themes and messages to the reader. The views and expectations of society are revealed through the characters’ actions and dialogue, which reinforce Steinbeck’s themes that human existence is predatory, and dreams are for the weak. The relationship of George and Lennie is a thematic bond of brotherhood, for Steinbeck often explores independence and loneliness in society: “Guys like us that work on the ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place”. Thus, Steinbeck employs George and Lennie to demonstrate that, “Ever’body wants a little piece of lan’", most people dream of lives of significance, “but it’s jus’ in their head”: “With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us”. Steinbeck evolves George from idealist into realist to show that, “Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land”, because the limitations of society prevent these dreams from coming true. By the end of the novel, George and Lennie are left with no brotherhood, no dreams, and no future, which reinforces Steinbeck’s message to the reader: it is a cruel, unforgiving, lonely society where dreamers often meet with tragedy. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck portrays the era of the Great

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