Teenagers In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Achieving “The American Dream” is a great desire for all but rarely does it ever come true (website). Discrimination is a major theme in Of Mice and Men. Most of the characters are discriminated against for various reasons. Another major theme is male friendship. Friendships are symbiotic relationships, where people share their talents and qualities to help each other through life (website). An important additional theme is loneliness and companionship. Most of the characters are lonely for the reason of they are working on a ranch with no companionship. Steinbeck illustrates how the characters respond to discrimination, male friendship, as well as loneliness and companionship.

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.

Barbara Sher once said, “‘Isolation is a dream killer’” (qtd. in Wishcraft). In his novella, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck scrutinizes the effects that alienation can have on society. Many characters experience loneliness throughout the novel. He illustrates the results of individuals becoming isolated from their peers. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck portrays characters alienated from society in order to illustrate the harmful effects of loneliness caused by discrimination.

In a society of people all in the same situations how can someone feel so alone. When lives fall apart and people have nothing to hold on to people need each other most, yet are pushed so far from others. The novel Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck, follows the storyline of two men who are displaced farm workers during the Great Depression; they travel around and stick by each other’s sides no matter the circumstance. After many jobs they end up on a farm,the farm they hope will be their last stop. The time spent on the farm is filled with blooming friendships and careless quarrels, yet with an abundance of characters and entertainment- many people on the farm feel alone and out of place. Characters such as Crooks and Curley’s wife often come to mind when the subject of loneliness is brought up. Throughout the book using characters such as Crooks and Curley's wife, John Steinbeck demonstrates that humans are immensely impacted by separation from society and it will change the way that people will act and show themselves to others.

The long, hard war of human equality in society, has been a war since the beginning of civilization. The Great Depression, a tragic time in America’s history, reflects American determination, but also social inequality. In the fiction novella, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses symbolism and characterization to address ableism and sexism in society. Steinbeck addresses these flaws in society in an attempt to ultimately bring awareness these riffs before society falls.

Instead of having issues with their social status, these two men fell into the despair of loneliness and the need to be a part of something by losing something they cared about. George who is a ranch-hand, travels and works with a strong and mentally challenged man named Lennie. These men spent most of their lives together and have formed a strong bond even if it seems at times that George wants nothing to do with Lennie. “Guys like us are the loneliest guys in the world.” (Steinbeck, 11). Unlike most ranch-hand workers, George and Lennie had each other. It was not until a terrible event occurred ending in the death of Lennie that caused George to become a lonely ranch-hand and for him to want to belong somewhere. An old swamp man named Candy also works on the ranch. In his younger years he lost his hand while working. His companion was an old dog that had once been used as a sheep dog. They had a connection because to him, canines are truly a man’s best friend. “ A shot sounded from a distance- the men looked quickly at the old man… for a moment he continued looking at the ceiling… then rolled over and faced the wall.” (Steinbeck, 49). Another ranch-hand worker named Carlson was complaining about how the dog smelled and how the old thing had outlived its needed time. So he did a favor for Candy and shot the dog in the head then buried it. This loss

Explanation – George makes Lennie understand why the people that work on the ranches’ are so lonely, and don’t associate with others, which is because workers don’t have anyone there for them. Unlike other workers, George and Lennie have another way to keep their distance from the loneliness - because they have each

“Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place. . . . With us it ain’t like that” (Steinbeck, 15). As we follow Lennie and George on their journey towards what they consider to be the dream life, the audience comes to learn along with the characters that dreams are not all they’re cracked up to be and sometimes the most rewarding goal in life is one which has already been achieved. The two main characters in the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck are poor farm workers who hope to one day own their own farm and become self-sufficient. What they never realize is that the most important thing they can ever have is each other. Despite their periodic quarrels, Lennie

While reading and evaluating Of Mice and Men (1937) by the famed novelist John Steinbeck, the several relationships in the story reveal both true, authentic friendship, as well as the opposite, sad, desperate degrees of loneliness and plummeting isolation. Similar to the people that we come across in our lives, a handful of the characters in Of Mice and Men portray false faces of contentment, yet in actuality, they are alone and caught feeling stuck and empty on the inside. On the other hand, there are numerous representations of sincere friendships that seem as if they could last a lifetime. There are also episodes of different characters being vulnerable and straightforward with each other in a frantic attempt to have someone

In his novel Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses many characters to show his assertion that man is basically evil. When Curley’s wife confronts Lennie, Crooks, and Candy in Crook’s place, she notes that the others “left all the weak ones here” (77). The “weak” ones that Curley’s wife refer to all attack each other in a vicious circular firing squad. Crooks taunts Lennie about the possibility of George not returning, and takes “pleasure in his torture” as he “[presses] forward for some kind of private victory” (71). Curley’s wife calls Candy and Lennie “a dum-dum and a lousy ol’ sheep” (78) and threatens to get Crooks “strung up on a tree” (81). Meanwhile, all the other characters are the ones that make those Lennie, Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife feel “weak” because they are disabled mentally, disabled physically, black, and female, respectively. In this way, Steinbeck shows that all men are basically evil as they do not lend a hand to each other and instead simply attack and prey upon each other.

For my book report I read Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Of Mice and Men is a fiction book told in the third person. The story is set most likely in the early to mid 1900’s, and most of the story takes place on a ranch in California. The story’s language was out-of-date for our younger generation, and it helped determine the time period. This was an excellent story and in the following paragraphs I’ll talk about the protagonist and antagonist, extra characters, and a summary of the book.

John Steinbeck, an American novelist, is well-known for his familiar themes of depression and loneliness. He uses these themes throughout a majority of his novels. These themes come from his childhood and growing up during the stock market crash. A reader can see his depiction of his childhood era. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck shows the prominent themes of loneliness, the need for relationships, and the loss of dreams in the 1930s through the novels’ character.

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.

As the story nears the end the past catches up with the present and it goes on to describe George’s dedicated student lifestyle. He writes: “Every morning I get up and I wonder what I might learn that day. You just never know.” George also reflects on the attitude of people these days: “People worry too much. Life is good, just the way it is.”

‘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