What does Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men tell us about life
in America in the 1930s?
'Of Mice and Men' is a novel set on a ranch in the Salinas Valley in California during the Great Depression of the 1930s. George is 'small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features.' Lennie is 'his opposite, a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide sloping shoulders.' They have just come from the town of Weed in Northern California where Lennie had got himself into some sort of trouble, forcing them to flee south. There they are now looking for new work on a ranch. As the two talk it becomes clear that Lennie is mentally handicapped: he cannot quite remember what had happened in Weed; he speaks with a child's vocabulary; him bursting into tears when George makes him give up the dead mouse is a good example of this. In the story Steinbeck shows how life was in the 1930s though out the whole novel.
There are many instances of foreshadowing in Steinbeck's 'Of mice and Men'. While they may not be noticed at first, they stick out like a sore thumb in the end. In the beginning, it is apparent to the readers, that the dead mouse in Lennie's pocket is not just a trivial incident. The fact that anyone would keep a mouse stone dead in their pocket is chilling enough as it is. What also brings even more unease is that Lennie had not even intended to kill the small mouse, thus showing what would be possible in the future, but with much greater consequences. 'Lennie sat in the hay and looked at a little dead puppy that lay in front of him.' In the middle of the book, Lennie had just been petting a puppy he had acquired from Slim, but out of over enthused efforts he accidentally killed it. This is yet another instance that shows Lennie does not know his own strength, and that he could accidentally kill again. He also has an attraction to soft and fuzzy things, in which he finds comfort.
in America in the 1930s?
'Of Mice and Men' is a novel set on a ranch in the Salinas Valley in California during the Great Depression of the 1930s. George is 'small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features.' Lennie is 'his opposite, a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide sloping shoulders.' They have just come from the town of Weed in Northern California where Lennie had got himself into some sort of trouble, forcing them to flee south. There they are now looking for new work on a ranch. As the two talk it becomes clear that Lennie is mentally handicapped: he cannot quite remember what had happened in Weed; he speaks with a child's vocabulary; him bursting into tears when George makes him give up the dead mouse is a good example of this. In the story Steinbeck shows how life was in the 1930s though out the whole novel.
There are many instances of foreshadowing in Steinbeck's 'Of mice and Men'. While they may not be noticed at first, they stick out like a sore thumb in the end. In the beginning, it is apparent to the readers, that the dead mouse in Lennie's pocket is not just a trivial incident. The fact that anyone would keep a mouse stone dead in their pocket is chilling enough as it is. What also brings even more unease is that Lennie had not even intended to kill the small mouse, thus showing what would be possible in the future, but with much greater consequences. 'Lennie sat in the hay and looked at a little dead puppy that lay in front of him.' In the middle of the book, Lennie had just been petting a puppy he had acquired from Slim, but out of over enthused efforts he accidentally killed it. This is yet another instance that shows Lennie does not know his own strength, and that he could accidentally kill again. He also has an attraction to soft and fuzzy things, in which he finds comfort.
