“It was a long walk; thick clouds made the atmosphere dark, though it was as yet only early afternoon; and the wind howled dismally over the slopes of the heath…etc.”. This is just one way of how the author gets across messages that lie between the lines.
In ‘Of Mice and Men’ however, the language is written in colloquial American slang, dropping the letters in certain words (e.g. “Well, s’pose, jus’ s’pose he don’t come back.). In both texts though, the author uses words that are more commonly found among the high societies. This was a common feature of most books written around these as times authors were trying to show that he
or she were educated and that they came from a high respected society where they talked not like the common folk, but like different people of a better standard of living and education. They were basically just showing off.
On the subject of dreams, the stories differ. Although they both contain dreams, the dreams mean very different things.
In “Of Mice and Men”, the dream belongs to Lennie and George. The dream that they have is living in their version of paradise. Their dream displays the perfect life and the way that they would like to live.
In “The Withered Arm” however, the hateful dream of Rhoda Brook becomes reality. The reality is a display of Rhodas hatred for Gertrude Lodge, the farmers new wife. This dream is fuelled by the jealousy of Rhoda that she is not with Farmer Lodge. We are told that Farmer Lodge is the boys father and that Rhoda is his mother, however now they are no longer together. This is the source of Rhodas jealousy.
Also in both stories, the theme of loneliness is very prominent. In “The Withered Arm”, the theme of loneliness is centred around Rhoda Brook, the boy and Gertrude Lodge.
Rhodas loneliness is mostly based on the fact that she is not socially accepted. We see this in the first scene when she is at work and she is not involved in the conversation taking place between the other ‘milchers’ (one who milks). The author gives us the message that she is unwanted and for a reason that we do not yet know. Later though, as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that Rhoda Brooks son, is also the son of Farmer Lodge. The relationship between Rhoda and the farmer is over and long gone, but their son is still very much around.
The situation surrounding Rhoda and Farmer Lodges son is the key theme of loneliness. Throughout the story, we never actually find out the boys name. This is another of the authors of getting a message across without printing it in plain English. Someone who does not have a name stands out among others and is different. Towards the end of the story, the boy, who remains nameless throughout, dies.
Gertrude Lodges loneliness is something that most people experience when they move to a new place – she does not know anyone. This is how her loneliness begins but as the story moves on, the loneliness that she feels is increased when the only person that she knows very well (her husband) loses interest in her because of her withered arm which he considers to be ugly and off-putting. From this point on, she is cast aside and is an individual.
In “Of Mice and Men”, the theme of loneliness is also displayed in three main characters, Lennie, George and Curleys wife.
Lennie has only one friend in the world, George. Lennie depends on George and couldn’t cope in the world without him. Although this not a direct form of loneliness, the way that is displayed shows Lennie as single character in a world of his own. It does not help that Lennie is not very bright. His simplicity often causes him to get into trouble (e.g. the girl in the red dress, the fight with Curley).
George is also lonely but for the same reason as Gertrude Lodge in “The Withered Arm”, he doesn’t know anybody.
Once again, as with the boy in ”The Withered Arm”, there is a character with no name. In this story, it is the wife of Curley (the son of the owner of the ranch). She also remains nameless and ends up dead at the end.
The times that the stories are set are not clearly set out in the texts. Both stories give either major events which have happened around that time or give details about when something happened and how long ago.
For instance, in “The Withered Arm”, Gertrude is told:
“The last I sent was in ’13 – near twelve years ago.”
If the year 1813 was twelve years ago, then the current year must be 1825. The story is set in Wessex, the collective term for most of the southern counties including Hampshire, Wiltshire and Thomas Hardys home county and the setting for most of his work, Dorset.
In “Of Mice and Men”, there is no indication about when it is set, but we can say that it is set after the Wall Street Crash, during the ‘Great Depression’. This was the time when everyone was in poverty, had no money and only the well off did not suffer. In the story, Lenny and George are not well off and that is what they work on the ranch.
In conclusion, there are a lot of similarities between the themes in the book, and there are many differences.
To anyone who reads the two texts, the most obvious difference is the use of language. In “Of Mice and Men”, John Steinbeck has used language that is written to be read as the character would speak – as I read it, the accent kind of came along without trying to develop it. In “The Withered Arm” by Thomas Hardy however, the text is written very differently. It leaves it to you to decide how people would say their lines and speeches and they are all printed in “proper” English.
