The Weaknesses In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Lennie’s mental problems are what get him in trouble and force him to rely on George for the basic necessities of life. Crooks’ skin colour keeps him separated from the rest of society and causes him a great deal of anger. The feelings of loneliness that most of the characters feel makes them intrude onto other people’s relationships in an attempt to find some form of companionship. The hardest part about seeing the struggles that Steinbeck presents us with is that we see people struggle in the same way

“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.

Imagine if you had almost no money, only had 1 true friend, and one goal that you will do anything to achieve. That's the life of George and Lennie, two farm hands who are about to start working on a ranch in Salinas, California. It seemed like everything was going well for the two of them, or at least they thought it was. Steinbeck argues, throughout Of Mice and Men, that we as humans need to be able to comprehend the fact that the American dream is impossible, so when we fail at that, we won't fall as hard as we might if we had full faith in it, and he develops this stance using diction choices, imagery, and characterization.

Steinbeck describes Crooks as black and harsh. In this time period, being a different color than everyone else was not a benefit. The color of skin is a simple aspect enough. However, it separates him in ways beyond imaginable, making Crooks very lonely. Steinbeck made it seem so important that he was a different color, which sets the scene of the prejudice in the time of the dust bowl. The author first characterizes Crooks as black , by saying; "Crooks, the Negro stable buck, had his bunk in the harness room; a little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn" (33). The color of his

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.

In the third and fourth chapter of the book, Candy, George, and Lennie are the center of attention due to their friendships. The first lesson of friendship is demonstrated by George when he is again talking to Slim and shares, “When his Aunt Clara died, Lennie just come along with me out workin. Got kinda used to each other after a little while” (Steinbeck 40). George has known Lennie for a long time and has been trustworthy since he met him. The second lesson that shows friendship is when Candy is sad about his dog and sulks, “Had him since he was a pup. I herded sheep with him” (Steinbeck 44). Candy is mourning over the death of his long time friendship with his dog. His dog death's has given him loneliness because it was his only friend. The third lesson that shows friendship is when Lennie is talking to Crook and he answers, “Sure. Me an' him goes ever' place together” (Steinbeck 70). Lennie expresses that he doesn't want to be alone and cares about his friendship with George. This proves that the theme friendship is continuously expressed throughout the novel.

The book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck depicts the american dream by telling a story of two friends named Lennie and George who share a dream of having their own farm. Lennie is a more sensitive character who doesn’t have much of a brain and George is a very independent and strong character. In the text Steinbeck was successful at making Lennie sympathetic because he shows with different events in the book how Lennie reacts to them based on his character traits.

George and Lennie are the best of friends and help each other in any crisis but when fate takes a turn and causes Lennie to do a horrible deed, George has to make a difficult decision which could change their lives forever. In the classic novel, “Of Mice and Men”, John Steinbeck shows how life was in the 1930’s. In the novela, many of the characters are treated disrespectfully and face many difficult problems that people today would not even think of having today. There are three unfortunate characters, Crooks, Curley’s wife, and Lennie, who are treated differently because of either their race, gender, or just because they have a mental disability.

Crooks worked around the farm, and takes care of the horses. His skin color differentiated him from others, resulting in Crooks living alone in the barn. Later in the book Steinbeck shows the wall between the races when Lennie attempts to speak with Crooks. “…You go on get outta my room. I ain’t wanted in the bunk house, and you ain’t wanted in my room,” (Steinbeck, 68). By creating this conversation between Lennie and Crooks, Steinbeck reveals another large group of people treated unfairly, African Americans. Eventually, Candy and Curley’s wife enter the room leading into an argument. Finally, Crooks speaks up and says “You got no rights comin' in a colored man's room. You got no rights messing around in here at all. Now you jus' get out, an' get out quick. If you don't, I'm gonna ast the boss not to ever let you come in the barn no more,” (Steinbeck, 80). Irony pours out of this quote, for blacks were not respected by most white people and did not have the right to speak against them, yet Curley’s wife also is treated with disparity, like most women in the 1930s. All of the characters, now in Crooks room, coax Curley’s wife out. Confrontation with Curley and other characters was a catastrophe waiting to happen and most likely to of occurred if they had not made Curley’s wife leave. In fact, this conversation may have been a key factor

In the book Of Mice and Men there are three people I feel sorry for, and their names are George, Lennie, and Crooks. First, I feel sorry for George because of the fact that he always has to be around Lennie to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t do any stupid things. For example when George had to ask Lennie to stop drinking water from the river multiple times. (Steinbeck, 3).

The parallels between Lennie and George’s relationship and the relationship that their workmate, Candy had with his dog reaffirm the power dynamic between George and Lennie. In the novella, Candy must kill his dog because it is old and weak. Candy felt such extreme regret when it came time to kill his dog, that instead of doing

Man vs Man : It is Man vs Man when Curley tries to fight Lennie. Although Lennie didn’t want to fight, he was told to. “He slashed at Lennie with his left, and then smashed down his nose with a right.” (30)

If you have a dream, chances are it won't come true. You'll spend your whole life chasing this dream and you will never get there. In the book Of Mice and Men author John Steinbeck shows many characters and their dreams of a having different life. I think that throughout the whole book he tries to tie in the idea of the American dream and living a perfect life. A really good example would be George because he had a big dream of owning his own ranch someday.

Literary Elements in Of Mice and Men Of Mice and Men is a passionate story about a pair of best friends who go on journeys together and getting into trouble. In this book John Steinbeck, the author, put together a book with symbolism, point of view, and characterization which are three of the elements of literary. Symbolism is the use of ideas and giving them a symbolic meaning that are different from their literal state. Point of view describes the role the narrator plays in the story based on his or knowledge of what is happening.

In life, every human experiences misfortune. In this aspect, all of mankind is in the same boat. But some humans possess the willpower to tolerate the hardships that fate flings at them. They understand that life is not meant to be free, so they endure their hardships and do not complain about their struggles. Meanwhile, others flounder about in life, stumbling into ditches dug from their own stubbornness and blindly mourning for themselves whenever a complication arises. The difference between these two mindsets is what separates the successful from the miserable. The latter is exemplified in John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, in which numerous characters in the form of migrant workers have been struck with various forms of misfortune and are left to deal with the aftermath themselves. However, these crippled victims of disaster handle their misfortune in foolish manners. Because they end up as failures, they somberly view life through grayscale glasses, refusing to confront their challenges anymore and setting up barriers to separate themselves from society. Utilizing these characters along with implications of symbolism, Steinbeck demonstrates to the readers that it may seem that fate is the source of failure because of its unforgiving might, but in actuality, it is man’s inability to recognize and successfully compensate for his own faults that destroys his utmost potential.