The Novel Of Mice And Men By John Steinbeck

“ This is just a nigger talkin’, an’ a busted-back nigger. So it don’t mean nothing,see?” (p.71)

”Wha’s the matter with me?’ she cried. ‘Ain’t I got a right to talk to nobody? Whatta they think I am, anyways?” (Steinbeck 87) In the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Curley’s wife is discriminated against because she is a woman living in the 1930s when few females could live economically independent of men. By choosing not to name her, Steinbeck reinforces her insignificance on the ranch and her dependence on Curley. While a misfortunate victim of isolation, Curley’s wife exerts unexpected power attempting to mask her pain.

Some characters in this novel are alienated by mainstream society because they do not fit society’s ideal image of a person. And they are all not accepted as human beings. Throughout John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, the social injustice of how people were treated during the Great Depression is explored through the characters Crooks, Curley’s wife, and Lennie, to show that society actually needs to become stronger than it really is.

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.

Besides the American Dream, the theme of death plays a major role and is recurring in both texts. From the novel ‘Of mice and men’, both Lennie and Curley’s Wife die. From this we can deduce that they both got killed due to their differences and society looking at them in a different way. Both texts also foreshadow the future deaths from the beginning to the end of the texts, there is hints everywhere. The moment that Curley’s Wife was introduced, an ill feeling overcame the atmosphere indicating that Lennie will be getting into a mess with her. At the beginning, George clearly states that Lennie always gets George into trouble. Steinbeck states ‘You do bad things and I got to get you out’. Previously, before George and Lennie arrived at the ranch, Lennie got into trouble by supposedly attacking the only woman in Weed. This also suggests that there will be trouble between Curley’s Wife, who is the only woman on the ranch and Lennie. Connecting ends with ends, this shows that the only two women are insecure. Later on, there was an intimation that she is going to be killed by Lennie as Lennie kills the soft things he likes to ‘pet’ such as the puppy and the mouse. In the novel Curley’s Wife lets him touch her dress, which is soft therefore leading to an inevitable death.

The unemployment rate for African Americans during the Great Depression reached upward of 50 percent at its peak. The commonly seen statistic of a 25 percent unemployment rate is primarily only applicable to white males at the time. The Great Depression stressed many societal structures that oppressed peoples based on race, gender ability to work, and socioeconomic standing. Despite the fact that over three quarters of a century has passed since the end of the Great Depression, many of these inequalities still remain (although to a lesser extent). A large number of Discussion about the social problems in the 1930s may still be applicable to today 's society. In his novel Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck outlines many corrupt societal structures intended to exploit and demean individuals based on their perceived value: the inherent exploitative nature of the American Dream, the hierarchy of power in America based on an individual 's ability to work, and the way in which oppressive systems are maintained through a mis-projection of anger of the oppressed.

“Listen to me, you crazy bastard,” “Don 't you even take a look at the bitch. In this quote, it shines light on how people treat each other during the book and how they act when they are near each other. Instead of saying nice words, they bring people down in Mice and Men. Individuals in the story use mean phrases and words to use against people that are not the same as them or that doesn’t look like them. Why does the author use derogatory terms in his book Mice and Men, what message was he trying to send to his readers? “In John Steinbeck 's novel Of Mice and Men, the author illustrates that people discriminate against one another because they want to feel better about themselves and to gain self-pride.

In a discussion John Steinbeck said, "I worked in the same country that the story is laid in. The characters are composites to a certain extent. Lennie was a real person. He's in an insane asylum in California right now. I worked alongside him for many weeks . . .” (Parini 27)

Lennie and George’s dream is to own a piece of land to work and live where they can have cows, pigs, chicken a vegetable patch with alfalfa and rabbits. “O.K Someday – we’re going

Death is inevitable to every person. However, death arrives to people at different stages of their lives. People may bring death upon themselves because of their actions, or an animal may be killed of its uselessness. In S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders, there are three major deaths occurring in the novel: Bob, Johnny, and Dally. Similarly, in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, there are also three major deaths of Candy’s dog, Curley’s wife, and Lennie. The Outsiders is a story depicting the life of Ponyboy Curtis, who is struggling to find his place in the world while battling the rival gang, the Socs. Of Mice and Men is a story of two migrant workers, George and Lennie, who are bound together and share the dream of one day owning their own

In the novella, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck discusses the idea of loneliness and how people who work at the ranch have no family and no future in lives. He indicates that all people at the ranch are lonely, but he specifically uses a few characters to highlight their state of being lonely and more miserable than the others. He emphasizes the loneliness of ranch life during the Great Depression, and shows how people are willing to try and find friendship in order to escape from the state of loneliness. Steinbeck uses loneliness as the principal theme and issue among Candy, Curley’s wife, and Crooks to show their desire in pursuing companionship, attention and success.

Chapter 3: “George half-closed his eyes.”I gotta think about that. We was always gonna do it by ourselves." Candy interrupted him, "I 'd make a will an ' leave my share to you guys in case I kick off, 'cause I ain 't got no relatives or nothing"”

In the book, Of mice and men by John Steinbeck. Two itinerant workers, Lenny and George seek work during a tough time of the depression. An unlikely pair cling to each other in the face of loneliness and Isolation. Lenny is a large, lumbering worker with a mild mental disability which often puts him in bad situations. George who is a small quick witted man gets Lenny out of any predicament. Even though Lenny drags George into a lot his messes they both are needed to complete each other. Along the way of their adventure together they discover other workers who are facing the same challenges presented to both of them. Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife are the characters presented with the strongest feelings of isolation and loneliness.

Loneliness is an emotion of isolation and no hope or dreams in life, which is what John Steinbeck achieves by portraying this through the characters in his novella Of Mice and Men. The main characters are affected by loneliness in their own different way throughout the novella. rf

Do opposites really attract? Can two people, with no similarities, share a close bond? It proves to be so in the novel Of Mice and Men , written by John Steinbeck. A novel which tells the story of two men, George and Lennie, and their journey of a new job working on a ranch. A novel with a different but interesting style of writing. A novel where John Steinbeck utilizes how powerful George is over Lennie, to signify how people believe they are dominant over others, because of their greater intelligence, social standards, or wealth.