The Vulnerability of Innocent Characters in Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men

Curleys wife -Curley 's wife 's loneliness has altered her demeanor towards others tremendously, making her overtly insecure and excessively flirtatious. Curley 's wife has become virtually another person because of loneliness. The men on the ranch avoid her because of flirtatious personality to keep out of trouble. No one understands her situation and how loneliness affects her. Her insecurity is evident by the way she dresses and utilizes her make-up. She uses her appearance to receive attention like when "[Curley 's Wife] was standing there looking in. She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters,

Another one of Lennie's character traits is that he is reliant. Lennie demonstrates this trait various times in the book because he relies too much on George. One of the times when Lennie is reliant is when he relies on George to tell him what to say. George tells Lennie what to say because they think if their employer knows about what Lennie did in the other town he might not want them around. In this case Lennie relies on George to tell him what to say because George and Lennie want the job, so in case Lennie messes up George can cover for him. Lennie is also reliant when he and George are by the Salinas River and they are camping out. “Lennie just stood there while George gathered the food and fire wood” (page 12). This is important because Lennie relies on George to provide food and warmth. A final example of why Lennie is reliant is when George tells Lennie that he can’t ever talk or make any contact with Curley’s wife. “She said

The characters’ fates in the novel develop individually through separate journeys all controlled by power. The scene depicting Carlson influencing Candy to let him kill his dog represents the idea of power, and the concept of the characters’ journeys with power. Candy is an old man, and because of this, he does not have a powerful position in the social structure on the ranch. Carlson and Slim have power over him because of their younger age and physical abilities. Slim agreed with Carlson’s idea and had the last word on the matter when the book states, “Slim’s opinions were law” (45). Candy knows that he does not have any power over the situations or even himself as he becomes obsolete on the ranch. The dog symbolises Candy and represents the end of Candy’s life journey and the loss of power and worth due to old age when Slim states, “I wisht somebody’ed shoot me if I got old and’ a cripple” (45). The idea that Candy has no power over himself because of his social status and

One may be accused of doing things when they didn’t know better. Lennie was accused of doing bad things when he didn’t know that he wasn’t supposed to. Lennies innocence can be proven through when he touches the girl’s dress, his accidental killing of animals, and his accidental killing of Curley’s wife.

At first, people see Lennie as a very strong and dumb character. But, Lennie is only child-minded and he doesn’t understand how strong he really is. For example, when George introduces Lennie, he says, “We kinda look after eachother. [...] He ain’t bright. Hell of a good worker, though. Hell of a nice fella, but he ain't bright,” (34). This quote shows that, many people, meeting Lennie at first, think that he is strong but not that smart. Ironically, despite him being a big guy, he can’t grasp on how strong he is. It shows that people think this way about Lennie when they meet him, but, unless they know him, he’s not that dumb. Just childish. Another example, is when Lennie breaks Curley’s hand, “But Lennie watched in terror the flopping little man whom he held. [...] George slapped him

George also warns Lennie to not be near Curley’s wife, as he senses trouble between the two. Nevertheless, at the conclusion of the book, Lennie accidentally kills Curley’s wife after trying to calm her down (as she was screaming for help because Small would not let go of her soft hair). Overall, Lennie’s outstanding physical strength combined with his lack of intelligence and moral sense makes him dangerous without George monitoring him constantly.

his innocence. Even though Lennie is an adult, his mental capacity only allows him to act as a

In the novel Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck develops the theme power is derived from the exploitation of social standings through the characters Lennie, Crooks, the migrant workers, Curley’s wife, and Candy. The characters Lennie and Crooks show that mental illness and race exploitation. Lennie

Lennie posed a big threat to everyone’s safety because he could not control himself or his strength. Lennie couldn’t understand how to let go or be gentle, he didn’t know his own strength. He had killed mice, crushed Curley’s hand, killed a puppy, then finally killed Curley’s wife. All of these things Lennie

Curley constantly assaults Lennie (Who has never done anything to hurt anyone), and eventually tries to fight him. Everything about Curley is cruel, it’s even in his name. Even complete strangers are his enemies, since he sees them as a threat. Lennie killed a innocent women, and Curley is even more cruel.

“I hear the approaching thunder that, one day, will destroy us too. I feel the suffering of millions. And yet, when I look up at the sky, I somehow feel that everything will change for the better, that this cruelty too shall end, that peace and tranquility will return once more.” - Anne Frank. This quote shows that even in the darkest of times, cruelty will eventually go away. The book mice and men describes the story about how George and Lennie look to find jobs after having Lennie accidentally break the law. Lennie then does another bad thing and gets in trouble with their bosses son. The theme of mice and men explains how cruelty and death differ from another. It can be merciful for the person and for other people to have death than to live.

Lennie and Curley's wife differences show from some actions and who they are. Lennie is a large man who is a childlike migrant worker. Because of his mild mental disability, Lennie completely depends upon George. Curley's wife is the only girl in the ranch. She knows her beauty is her power, so she uses it to flirt with me who work in the ranch to make her husband jealous. She is utterly alone on the ranch, and her husband friends won't talk to her

Of Mice and Men is an intriguing book that portrays the hardships and daily life of the working class during the Great Depression. The personalities of the characters and the setting both contribute to the book's overall moral and meaning. Symbols are utilized in this book to present a larger and deeper idea. Steinbeck uses symbols numerous times to represent the importance of companionship, or lack there of it, during hard times.

Candy has only one hand and is very frail in his old age. Similar to Crooks and Curley’s wife, Candy has qualities that makes him an outcast in society. He works alone for most of the day, with his only friend being his old dog. Candy’s dog is eventually shot by a man on the ranch named Carlson due to the dog’s stench and old stature. Candy becomes plaintive as a result, because the only companion he had was now killed and more loneliness enveloped him.

Of Mice and Men is an amazing story by John Steinbeck that has touched the lives of millions of readers globally since its release in 1937. Its gripping storyline takes their critics in the mindset of characters from an older time. Things they did back then might be seen as strange or even obscene today. But, we cannot put it towards our world’s standards of what is right or wrong because we know that is how the world worked back then, and we can never change it, nor should we forget it either. Just because this story was published eighty years ago, does not mean it does not still offer anything of value for our generations.