Of Mice and Men Tone Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, is a novel of several moods, however, the dominant tone of this novel is that of heartrending. This mood is developed through the unconquered dreams of the main characters. There are also other moods evoked through the actions of the characters: reflecting sorrow, shame, and brutality. The novel ends on a tragic note, consequently, the concluding mood is undeniably one of depression and frustration. Following, are two paragraphs that will confirm why this novel is heartrending. One of the most excruciating passages occurs on page 63, when Curley's intimidating behavior provoked Lennie to commit an act that he was so desperately trying to avoid, "Blood welled from his nose. 'George,' he cried. 'Make um' leave me alone, George.' He backed until he was against the wall, and Curley followed, slugging him in the face. Lennie's hands remained at his sides; he was too frightened to defend himself." In that passage, it states that "he was too frightened to defend himself," the word "frightened" really disturbed me and played a immense part on why this passage made me experience a depressing feeling. I myself began to become apprehensive; terrified that George will physically and emotionally hurt Lennie, leaving him in an intense condition. By definition, frightened means "to fill with fear," and Lennie, a huge, brawny man, is frightened of someone half his size. This event fits the description of a German Shepard fearing a Yorkshire Terrier; Lennie, a vast man with an enormous strength, being the German Shepard, and Curley, diminutive and provocative, being the Yorkshire Terrier. He would be lost without George, who is also half of Lennie's size, guiding him or telling him what to do. The term "blood" from the passage "Blood welled from his nose," resembles pain, and a sensation of severe physical discomfort, and that is exactly what Lennie was going through at that particular moment. Lennie was in a situation than he could not get out of himself, he could never comprehend or anticipate the consequences of his actions without the help of George. Another passage that clarifies that the tone of this novel is misery is the clause subsequent to George shooting and killing Lennie, "George shivered and looked at the gun, and then he threw it in front of him, back up on the bank, near the pile of old ashes." The term "shiver" in the passage sets the mood of depression and trepidation. You can shiver for many reasons; if you are cold, scared, excited, or nervous. However, the reason why George was shivering was a combination of terror and misery, for he had just taken the life of his best friend, the one whom he shared the same dream with, and the one who fully trusted and abided him. The term "gun" does not only resemble the weapon that George used to kill him, it resembles death, loss, murder, and decease. Thinking of any of those words makes me tremble with melancholy and terror. ConflictDifferent conflicts or events can bring out certain characteristics
in people. The novel Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck has numerous conflicts that bring out the protagonist's innermost characteristic, kindheartedness. George brings out this characteristic through the conflicts between Lennie and himself. Judging him from most of his words, he does not seem like a caring person, however, it is through his actions that verify that he is. One example of this man versus himself conflict is when George has to kill Lennie. However, the main conflict of this novel is man versus man, which basically goes on throughout the entire novel, while George watches after Lennie; ...
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in people. The novel Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck has numerous conflicts that bring out the protagonist's innermost characteristic, kindheartedness. George brings out this characteristic through the conflicts between Lennie and himself. Judging him from most of his words, he does not seem like a caring person, however, it is through his actions that verify that he is. One example of this man versus himself conflict is when George has to kill Lennie. However, the main conflict of this novel is man versus man, which basically goes on throughout the entire novel, while George watches after Lennie; The majority of George's time is devoted to looking after Lennie, whose faults prevent George from working toward his dream, or even living the life of a typical rancher. Based George's selflessness, and devotion to Lennie, George Milton is an extremely compassionate person. Throughout the book, George has explicitly whined that Lennie is a real pain. He dreams of what he could do if not caring for his mentally handicapped friend, and pictures himself not burdened by Lennie."' You get in trouble. You do bad things and I got to get you out.' His voice rose nearly to a shout. 'You crazy son-of-a-bitch. You keep me in hot water all of the time.'" Through this passage, you can clearly see George's feelings towards Lennie; he gets sick of having to deal with a man with the mentality of a child. However, in the innermost part, he really cares for him because he never truly leaves him, he watches out for him and guides him through life. Imagine if you had just gotten the part of a play that you have been waiting all of your life to get, you feel as if your dreams had just started to take its roots; when suddenly, your friend messes up his role and is fired, and as a result, you to have to leave too, so he won't be alone, well, that is the case with Lennie and George. You have to be as incredibly strong minded and kindhearted as George in order to take care of not only yourself, but also a man with the mentality of a child as well. Consequently, most people go crazy having to repeat themselves more than three times, as for George whom had to repeat himself constantly, and at times, that still did not cut it. This brings me to the next major conflict of the novel, man versus himself. At the end of this novel, when George comes across another crisis that Lennie has caused and, he finds himself stuck, because, for the first time, he can't get Lennie out of the awful situation that he has got himself into, leaving him no other choice but to kill his dearest companion. "George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie's head. The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied." Through this passage, you can see that George was struggling, not wanting to kill Lennie, however, he unfortunately had to kill him for everyone's benefit, including his own. This situation resembles cheating on a test; you do not want to cheat, but you would be in trouble by your parents if you do not pass. George had to protect Lennie one last time; as much as it would hurt, George knew that if he did not kill Lennie himself, Curley and the rest of the workers at the ranch would have found Lennie and given him a more painful and severe death George gave him. Based on George committing an act that will haunt him for the rest of his life, just to give his dearest companion Lennie a more serene death than a brutal one proves that, at heart, George is an extremely empathetic person. Points of view The novel Of Mice and Men is told in an omniscient style. "But George sat stiffly on the bank and looked at his right hand that had thrown the gun away. The group burst into the clearing, and Curley was ahead. He saw Lennie lying on the sand. 'Got him, by God.' He went over and looked down at Lennie, and then he looked back at George. 'Right in the back of the head,' he said softly." Action and plot Someplace beside the Salinas River in western California, two men, George Milton and Lennie Small, are finding their way through the forest to a ranch where they anticipate finding work. George, small and keen, with sharp features, goes in front, while Lennie, a huge shapeless man with a meager mind, but a vast strength, follows him. They are on the hunt for a new job since Lennie, the man with the mentality of a child, has been accused of assaulting a girl, causing them to lose their previous job. Although the story has not really begun, you can already tell that George is like a guardian for Lennie because although only Lennie was accused of rape, George still runs away with him, risking his life too, to the chance of being caught. Lennie loves soft, fuzzy things, and because he unintentionally kills small animals due to the pressure of his huge hands while petting them, George will not allow him to have a pet animal. In mind, Lennie is a very gentle person, however, since he is mentally challenged, he continuously ends up hurting every one around him by not knowing how to express his love and kindness. At times, George feels tempted to go away on his own and leave Lennie, but their lifelong friendship and the devotion of Lennie always reinforced George in his task of acting as Lennie's guardian. Along their way to the ranch, George tells Lennie that if he is ever in any kind of trouble, to go to "the brush by the river" and wait there until he comes, although it is very common for Lennie to get himself into trouble, his response was "Sure George, I'll remember. But I ain't gonna get into no trouble." George then reminds him, when they get to the ranch, not to say a word and let him do all of the talking. Lennie is like a child who, too, constantly has to be reminded about things. Most children are told to wash their hands before they eat, or after they touch something dirty, yet, they have to be reminded every time they are to eat or touch anything that is not clean. When they reached their destination, Lennie, as told, remained quiet, leaving George to do all the talking. While at the ranch, George meets the farmer's son Curley, and he immediately senses trouble. Curley had a reputation of getting into fights with big men and beat them at boxing, just to make up for his small stature. Consequently, George tries to keep Lennie out of Curley's way to avoid trouble. However, after Curley found his spouse "making eyes" at the men, Curley's rage directed against Lennie, "'Come on ya big bastard. Get up on your feet.'" Moreover, with that, Curley attacked Lennie, cutting his eye, and making his face covered with blood. Lennie is then forced by George and Slim to defend himself, "'Get 'im Lennie!'" With that, Lennie immediately grabs Curley's fist, leaving him flopping like a fish on a line, and eventually broke his hand. However, Lennie was not finished with him; it was not until George and Slim pulled him away from Curley that made him stop. He then realized how much harm he had done, his reaction to George was "'You tol' me to George. I didn't wanta hurt him.'" Lennie did not notice what harm he had done, until all of the damage was done. Luckily, for George and Lennie, out of shame and embarrassment, Curley tells everybody that he hurt his hand in a machine. While Lennie is in the shed, still figuring out what exactly he has done, Curley's wife joins him. After continually refusing to speak with her, he finally gives in. After chatting for sometime, She induces him to stroke her soft curls. Lennie is thrilled by the softness and his strokes become more intense every time, consequently, Curley's wife becomes scared and begins to scream for help, "'Let go' she cried, 'You let go!'" Alarmed, Lennie begins to weep with fright, terrified of what George and the others will say, he tries to stop her blaring and shakes her head, unintentionally breaking her neck. When slowly realizing that she is dead, he panics and deceitfully leaves the ranch, and escapes to the bushes where George had told him to hide in case anything went wrong. When Candy and George walk in on Curley's wife deceased body, they begin to panic and try to find a way out. After only minutes of thinking strategies, George decided to tell the others; it is the only rational thing to do. After telling the others, they all anxiously go on the search for him, however, George knows where to find him, getting to him first. George headed to spot he told Lennie about, and surely, he was there. When Lennie saw him, his face lit up and although he was expecting hell, he was glad to see George. When I do something wrong, or something that my mother wound not like or approve of, although I know she would give me hell, I would still want to see her, as Lennie did with George; he knew he would get hell from him, but he needed him. They sat down together and George began to tell Lennie the story of how someday they are going to get a little house and a couple of acres for animals, have a garden with rabbits, and how they were going to "'live off the fatta lan'.'" He then recaps Lennie of the fact that they were at an advantage of normal people because of their companionship and that the majority of men do not have what they have, each other. With that, George then told Lennie to look down across the river, because then he can almost see the place. With that, George took out his gun and shot Lennie in the back of his head. It was the only way; if he left him there, Curley or the other ranchers would have killed him in a more painful way, or if he were lucky and escaped from them, he would unquestionably be sent to prison for murder. Although Lennie does not know it, George gave him more of a serene way out.ThemesThrough the novel Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, I have acquired many valuable lessons about life. This novel has numerous themes: the beauty of a dream, friendship, and loneliness, and about people feeding on to a weaker target. However, the foremost theme of this novel is that a dream, no matter how impossible it is to obtain, can build a friendship and grant significance to life. George and Lennie dreamed of owning a little farm of ten acres, with a windmill, a little shack, a garden, and animals. Their dream keeps them going and lightens the load of their work. It also solidifies their friendship. Former singer Aaliyah, admitted on having to go through some horrible, tiring, and pointless things, however, while doing those things, she constantly reminded herself about her fans, and that made whatever she was doing, easier and worthwhile. A lawyer who is working really hard and putting all off his time into case, will tend to get extremely stressed out at times, however, when he reminds himself of the big paycheck he will get at the end of the case, his work doesn't seem so stressful to him any longer. Another piece of information that I gain knowledge of from this novel is an essential lesson about the nature of human existence. Nearly all of the characters, including George, Lennie, Candy, Crooks, and Curley's wife, admit, at one time or another, to having a intense sense of loneliness and isolation. Each character desires the comfort of an acquaintance, yet, they will settle for the compassionate ear of an outsider. Curley's wife admits to Candy, Crooks, and Lennie that she is unhappily married, "'Sure I got a husban'. You all seen him. swell guy ain't he? Spends all his time sayin' what he's gonna do to guys he don't like, and he don't like nobody.'" Moreover, Crooks tells Lennie that life is no good without a companion to turn to in times of confusion and need. The characters are left helpless by their isolation, and yet, even at their weakest, they seek to obliterate those who are even weaker than they. This brings me to the next theme of this novel, people feeding onto a weaker target. No matter how sad or pathetic someone was, once they found someone weaker than they, instead of comforting them, they put all of their fury and grief into that person, making them feel worse than they already do. The most prevailing example of this brutal tendency is when Crooks criticizes Lennie's dream of the farm and his dependence on George, "'They come, an' they quit an' go on; an'' every damn one of em's got a little piece of land in his head. An' never a God damn one of 'em ever gets it.'" Having just admitted his own vulnerabilities, that he is a black man with a crooked back who longs for companionship, he still tries to point out Lennie's own weaknesses.
