Of Mice and Men
Characters have different ideas in 'Of Mice and Men' about:
* Freedom
* Responsibility
* Caring for others
* Work
Choose 2 characters and compare their views about each of these ideals. Which two characters do you have most sympathy with and why?
~~**~~
'Of Mice and Men' is a 1937 novel about the life and difficulties of travelling ranch workers. The two main characters in this novel are called George and Lenny, and they are both travelling ranch workers, finding work wherever they can so they may raise enough money to achieve their dream; a plot of land of their own. George is a described as a small but an intelligent man although his views on whether or not he's intelligence is much different than an average man, claiming that if he was indeed smart we would not be working for other people. Lenny on the other hand is described as the complete opposite of George with a huge body and exceptional strength to match, but with the mind of a child. His simple mind often causes him and George a lot of trouble, and George being the responsible one out of the two takes it upon himself to take care of Lenny and try his best to keep them about of trouble, and if failing that he's the one who would find the way out.
The novel start with Lenny and George running away from an angry mob after a misunderstanding concerning Lenny and a lady, who had a pretty dress that Lenny, in his innocence, wanted to touch. After the escape from angry people and search dogs they find work in Soledad, a farming ranch. There you are introduced to some of the other minor characters such as Slim and Crooks and also gives you a better understanding of George and Lenny, as well as their relationship.
Unfortunately all does not end well when Curly's wife, (Curly being the boss' son), is accidentally killed by Lenny who had just wanted to touch her neck. The whole novel reaches an emotional conclusion where George is more or less forced to shoot Lenny in the back of the head.
In this essay I will be comparing two different characters and their ideals about freedom, responsibility, caring for others and work. The characters will be chosen from John Steinbeck's 'Of Mice and Men'. The two characters I have chosen are George and Slim.
George is described as 'small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features, with small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony nose.' He is the main 'hero' of the story as it concentrates a lot on his experience and ideals.
He's fairly intelligent but denies ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
In this essay I will be comparing two different characters and their ideals about freedom, responsibility, caring for others and work. The characters will be chosen from John Steinbeck's 'Of Mice and Men'. The two characters I have chosen are George and Slim.
George is described as 'small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features, with small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony nose.' He is the main 'hero' of the story as it concentrates a lot on his experience and ideals.
He's fairly intelligent but denies this saying if he was indeed intelligent then he would not be working for other people and not himself. This statement gives us a quick insight into his idea of freedom and work. He sees himself as different from most workers, as he says to Lenny throughout the book 'with us it ain't like that. We got a future.' Although is freedom is obviously limited working for others he often tells Lenny (and later Candy) that one day they shall be working of 'the fatta the lan'', meaning to live of the land, farming their own crops and working for themselves and not no one else. Even though this dream is never reached, I believe George uses this dream to gain more freedom by telling himself that he will not always be working for other people.
As well as work Lenny is another factor that restricts his freedom. George is bound to Lenny, and is restricted by Lenny's actions. For example he is unable to leave Lenny alone for too long otherwise he'll get into trouble.
'If I was alone I could live easy. I could go and get a job an' work an' no trouble'
- Quote, George walking to Lenny, page 11.
-
Above is a quote from George; it gives us an idea of who he feels that Lenny restricts his freedom. Although this is an angry outburst from him and later we're under the impression that he doesn't really see Lenny as such a burden I suspect that this quote tells us quote a bit of George's feelings. After all I would also feel less free if I had to take care of a man like Lenny 24/7, as it is not much different from a parent and child. Many parents have a lack of freedom, due to the fact that they must not neglect the child.
Responsibility lies heavy of George's shoulders, as he has taken it upon h himself to take care of Lenny. If he were not responsible with his tasks then both Lenny and George would be in trouble. It is a lot to take on but apparently George does not seem to mind terribly as it has been his own choice to take on this amount of responsibility, making his idea on this factor very strong and serious.
It is obvious that George cares greatly for Lenny; a man with the mind of a child and that would not get very far without help. This is made obvious with small but significant jesters such as his patience he shares with Lenny as well as making sure Lenny is on the right track and generally watching out for his big friend.
'Lenny, you're gonna be sick like you were last night'
And
'I got both of them here. Think I'd let you carry your own work card?'
Above are two quotes giving us an idea of both the responsibility and care he shows for Lenny. I think that George is a generally kind man and would not hurt innocent people, although this is not to say he would not hurt someone who had hurt him or maybe someone less able to stand up for themselves, such as Lenny.
He takes his work very seriously and is responsible for which ranch they end up on. Even though he is not a extremely strong man like Lenny he is willing to do any job that will mount up the money to pay towards his dream. He is responsible and will not get into trouble in fear it would lose him his job, although Lenny's actions have already done that at least once. It is not only physical work he found himself with, but also mental work. He'll think things out and decide the best option. Lenny is a lot of work for one man to look after but he accepts this as well as his other jobs on the farm.
Slim is the jerkline skinner at the ranch, Slim is a seemingly ageless man who carries himself with great gravity. He highly skilled mule driver and the acknowledged "prince" of the ranch, Slim is the only character that seems to be at peace with himself. Giving himself a kind of freedom from the many worries with himself that other men at the ranch seemed bound to. Also he has gained freedom through the respect and power he carries around with him on the ranch. He also feels the freedom to talk to who he likes, providing them with the confidence to confide in him, as well as the freedom to oppose Curly.
The other characters often look to Slim for advice. For instance, only after Slim agrees that Candy should put his decrepit dog out of its misery, does the old man agree to let Carlson shoot it. This shows the caring side of Slim, the quiet, insightful man, Slim alone understands the nature of the bond between George and Lenny, and comforts George at the novel's tragic ending.
He shows responsibility for all the workers on the ranch, as the unofficial of the bunkhouse.
'His authority was so great that his word was taken on any subject, be it politics or love.'
The above quote states the authority of Slim, and as many should know with authority and power comes responsibility. Slim has earned the unsaid title or leader, a job he is well suited for, and takes seriously.
As the supervisor in charge of steering horse or mule carts Slim takes this work earnestly, as well as his unspoken job as leader and the general peacemaker. He takes it upon himself to appoint himself the job of taking care of the men, listening and helping them whenever they need it.
Both of these characters are in a sense lonely. George is lonely, even though he has Lenny he lacks the social life he has to sacrifice in order to look after Lenny, although while at Soledad's rancho he find a friend in Slim and maybe even Candy (although this could just be a partnership). Slim, like all the characters featured he too is alone despite being with lots of people, because of his clam aloofness that has been almost inflicted on him by treatment of others towards him.
It is not a hard choice for me to choose which character out of the pair I most have sympathy with as even though Slim is lonely and has probably seen some stories in his lifetime it was George who had to shoot his best friend and companion. Apparently George had two things going for him with he often mentioned. One of them being that he was not completely alone, having Lenny to look out and care for him and the second being his dream. Both died when he was forced to shoot Lenny to give his friend a good and clean death compared to the spiteful and withdrawn one he would un-doubly face should Curly be able to deal with him.
Of Mice and Men
By Holly Caddick 11KD
