Curley following one of his jealous suspicions searches for Slim and his wife and heads to the barn. Candy overhears George and Lennie talking about their dream and offers his savings if they allow him to live with them. When Slim returns to the bunkhouse he criticizes Curley for his suspicions. Out of anger Curley starts a fight with Lennie, who simply crushes his hand. Slim warns Curley not to tell anyone about this incident.
The next day most of the workers have left the farm and Lennie visits the black stable-guy in his accommodation and Candy joins in. As they sit there Curley’s wife enters and flirts with them. The following day Lennie accidentally kills his puppy and when Curley’s wife finds him in the barn she calms him down. When Lennie tells her that he loves petting soft things she offers him to touch her hair. As he grabs too tightly, she starts screaming and in his attempt to silence her, Lennie breaks her neck.
Lennie flees to a place next to Salinas River, which George had previously chosen as a meeting point in case Lennie would get in trouble. The men at the farm meanwhile discover the scenery and plan to set out and lynch Lennie. George, knowing where Lennie is, joins him. Lennie is very surprised that George is not mad at him and instead George tells him how wonderful it will be when they get their own farm with rabbits Lennie can stroke. As the sound of the others searching for Lennie grows louder George shoots Lennie in the back of the head. When the other men arrive George deceives them and makes them believe that he took the gun of Lennie and then shot him with it. Slim is the only one to understand that George killed his companion out of mercy and leads him away from the other men.
C. Character Descriptions
George
George Milton, together with Lennie is one of the protagonists of the novel. He is not as tall as Lennie and is described to be dark of face and eyes. Sometimes he is a little short-tempered but very committed to protect his companion Lennie. He also seems rather intelligent and somewhat an idealist. He believes in their dream which tells Lennie over and over again. His friendship and commitment to Lennie makes him different from the others. It makes him follow a dream which the others do not have. Therefore one might say he is as dependant on Lennie as Lennie is on him. By the end of the novel he looses his idealistic views and by shooting Lennie not only spares Lennie from lynch mob lead by Curley but also discards his own dream.
Lennie
Lennie smalls is the second protagonist of the novel but due to his simplistic, mildly disabled mind he undergoes no change or development in the novel. He stays the same huge man that loves petting soft things and is completely dependant of George. The simplicity of his character is very important for the novel. Lennie although very strong is lost and defenseless without George. The dream of their future farm is his drive or motive and in his enthusiasm he convinces the characters around him that such a dream is possible to achieve. His complete innocence makes him very sympathetic and it leads him directly to his own destruction.
Slim
Slim is the most popular worker on the farm and has the most influence amongst them. His character is very similar to George’s. He is often called on for advice. He, as the only one understands the bond that exists between George and Lennie and assures George in the righteousness of his decision to kill Lenny.
Candy
Candy is an old handy man, who has lost one hand as a result of an accident at work. He holds on to his dog but it gets killed at last, a symbol for what awaits anyone who outlives his usefulness. Left alone he fears exactly this, being fired because he has become useless. Therefore he offers George and Lennie his savings in order to join them in their dream. Showing how much he needs to believe in something better and nicer than the world he is living in.
Crooks
Crooks is a black stable-hand who is excluded because of his skin color. He of course is very lonely and all he does is read books alone in his bunk house. Through his loneliness he has already started becoming aggressive and bitter; however he asks Lennie whether he can join them in their dream of their own farm.
Curley
Curley is the son of the boss. He is rather small and is rumored to be a champion prize-fighter. He uses his position as the boss’s son to bully people and hereby exhibits a very mean-spirited and aggressive character. In addition he has just recently married and follows jealous suspicions he has of his wife and other men on the farm.
Curley’s wife
Curley’s wife was not given a name because women in general are treated with contempt in this novel. She is married to Curley but is not very happy with him. Therefore she starts flirting with the men on the farm. She is isolated from the others because they see trouble in her as George mentions when Lennie says he thought she was “purty” that he should stay away from her and Curley. Overall she is very dissatisfied with her life and she thinks she should have followed her dream of becoming a movie star.
D. Essays
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How significant is the theme of loneliness in Of Mice and Men?
Loneliness is a state of detachment, separation, and isolation and a feeling of being friendless and forlorn. The book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck picks up this feeling as one of it’s main themes. Several characters from the novel either isolate themselves or are being isolated. The main characters George and Lennie on the other hand have a strong relationship and many others envy them for this but even those two find themselves confronted with loneliness in some way.
The two protagonists George and Lennie have a special kind of relationship and this makes them stand out from the others. Many of the other characters are very lonely and even Slim, the most popular worker on the farm, how special and rare George and Lennie’s relationship is. By sharing a dream together they relieve themselves of their loneliness. Both are in some way dependant on each other and that is exactly what many others search for. Crooks comments on his own loneliness by saying that “a guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody”. Candy and Crooks are two characters, who are excluded because of physical features and they both admire George and Lennie’s friendship.
Candy is an old man who lost a hand during his work on the farm. He feels he is excluded from the others and very much holds on too his old dog. After this dog is shot he looses an important part of his life. One could draw some kind of comparison between the relationship of Candy and his dog and George and Lennie. Both of these two have a similar kind of dependency on each other and without each other they no longer have someone or something to look out for. So after Candy has lost his dog he offers George and Lennie his money in order for them to allow him to join them in their dream. This shows how little all of his savings mean to him if he can have just someone around him. Not only Candy though shows his loneliness and has suffered from it.
Crooks, the black stable-buck, shares a similar fate to the old Candy. At the time the novel takes place black people were looked down upon and excluded. Crooks clearly suffers under this and although he initially displays aggressiveness, the reader can still sympathize with him because it is rather clear that this origins from his isolation and loneliness. When Lennie enters his bunk house he at first tries to throw him out but then decides to tease Lennie by asking him what would happen when George wouldn’t return. This displays Crook’s curiosity for the type of bond that exists between George and Lennie. Even though he does not believe George’s and Lennie’s dream will ever come true and even though he at first seems rather rejective towards the other characters he decides to ask whether he can join them. Demonstrating his strong longing for companionship. One more character though experiences loneliness even though it is not for the same reasons as for Crooks and Candy.
Curley’s wife is excluded for different than Candy and Crooks but experiences the same kind of injustice. As she mentions, she is not very happy with her husband Curley. Therefore she flirts with the other men one the ranch but they try to keep away from her. They are afraid of getting in trouble with Curley and therefore she very much is isolated from everyone on the ranch. In Lennie she finds someone she can tell her feelings to because he cannot care any less about it and does not understand the reasons for her being isolated. This is her downfall but in someway frees both of them from their curse. Curley’s wife dies even though she is married in loneliness.
Lennie would without George have no chance in the hard life of that time. In George Lennie not only found a protector but also someone to relieve him from his doom of being lonely. The other men left on the farm are all in some way lonely. Even though they keep contact they do not have anyone to look after or to take care of. Exactly that is where George and Lennie differentiate themselves from the others.
All characters in the novel, besides George and Lennie, are in some way lonely, whether it is because some physical feature, their age, their sex or simply because of the circumstances of the time. They all had lost their goals on the way and therefore the connection to the people around them. George and Lennie on the other hand have a bond that connects them on two levels first of all the dependency on each other and second of all their shared dream.
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To what extent is it correct that The Great Gatsby, Death of a Salesman and Of Mice and Men explore important, but different aspects of ‘The American Dream’?
The American Dream was an idea that was already written down in the American constitution by Jefferson and it stated that anyone, no matter of their social, racial or ethical heritage could reach self-fulfillment on the base on their own hard. The three novels or plays The Great Gatsby, Death of a Salesman and Of Mice and Men all comment on this in their own way whether it is interpreted as a critical or positive statement towards the American Dream. They touch different all very important aspects of this idea and deepen upon it.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck touches on the importance of having a dream and even though it might not be fulfilled its significance in giving motivation in life. The novel plays in the USA of the 1930’s and describes the friendship between two very different characters. They go around the country earning money on different farms, working towards the shared dream of owning their own farm. These two characters differentiate themselves from the other characters in the novel through their dream. Although they never fulfill their dream and it seems rather unrealistic from the beginning, other characters try to join them in this dream just to have something to work towards to. This displays how much people need to believe in something and work towards a goal just to stay motivated in life. This has a very positive message; it says that even though the American Dream might just stay a dream for most people it is very important especially for less favored people to believe in it.
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller looks at a very different aspect of the American Dream. Willy Loman a hard working salesman has a very materialistic view of the American Dream. He wants to provide his family with money and well advertised machines, which for him stand for success. The problem behind this is that he does not see anything but the materialistic things in life. The society of the time and his ideals have given him a very depicted view of what he must reach and this is exactly what he breaks upon. Instead of seeing what he has in his family, he sees what he couldn’t reach. When he realizes that he is a failure in terms of his own definition of success he thinks that in his death he can give his family more than he could during his lifetime – the life insurance money. A perverted version of the American Dream is displayed in this novel touching on the roots of the American Dream itself.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald once again criticizes the idea behind the American Dream. The American Dream says that anyone no matter what background they can come from can have success. Gatsby comes from a rather poor background and makes a fortune. This still does not enable him to reach what he is actually longing for, his love Daisy. He has no reputation and does not belong to the American aristocracy and exactly that is what keeps him from fulfilling his dream. At last he dies in protecting Daisy. This seems extremely unfair and is clearly a criticism on this aspect of the American Dream.
All of these three different books have given different views on the American Dream and spotlighted on different aspects of it. Every single one of these aspects is as important as the other ones no matter whether they are critical or have a positive message towards the American Dream. Some of these seem to overlap and contradict but overall it becomes very clear when looking at all three pieces of writing what the flaws of the American Dream are and what is so special about it.