The Major Themes in "Of Mice and Men".

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Conflicts 

Man Vs Society

Lennie had a problem with self control. He couldn't control his actions 
and his fetish with soft things got him into serious trouble. When George and Lennie were in Weed ,Lennie was accused of rape.Lennie,because of his love of touching sof things,did not let go of a girl's dress.Lennie and George were chased out of Weed. George had to 
constantly get him out of trouble. They had to travel from town 
to town because of Lennie's compulsive behavior (41) Lennie also got in trouble with Curley's wife. He was touching her hair 
and she told him to stop because she was getting mad, and he got really 
nervous. He accidentally broke her neck and killed her because he didn't know 
his own strength (91) (Physical conflict). When Curley and the other ranch hands found Curley's wife 
dead, they soon came to the conclusion that Lennie was at fault. They set out 
to kill him. This put George in a bad situation 
because he had to make the most important decision in his life (104) (Moral Conflict ).

Man Vs Himself 
George was responsible for Lennie's well being and was supposed to look out for 
him. George could easily get Lennie out of trouble by 
getting him away from the problem.After Lennie killed Curley's wife, George realized he couldn't get Lennie 
out of this (91) .They would never have their own farm which was their dream. 
Lennie would never be safe because he couldn't control himself and would 
constantly get them into trouble. George had to decide whether to kill Lennie 
before Curley did, or to let him run away. If he let him run away and hide, 
then he would just keep experiencing hardship after hardship(104). His mental 
disability which produced uncontrollable behavior would always be a hindering 
factor. 
George didn't want to see Lennie get killed by Curley and decided he had to do 
it himself. This internal conflict ripped George up inside, debating the 
"right" thing to do. He always wanted the best for him and this was the last 
resort, he had to put Lennie out of his own misery. In the end George realized their dream would never be a 
reality and Lennie would always be a burden, a thorn in his side. There was 
nothing more he could do but to let him go in the only way he knew how. 
Lennie could be at peace now without the danger and the ignorance of a society 

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that would never accept someone different from themselves.

Man Vs Man 

Curley causes many disputes between the men compensating for his own lack of self image.Curley picks on men that are bigger in size than him.Curley picks on Lennie to prove that he is strong and can hurt a big man like Lennie (64).

2.

American Dream :The most prominent theme in this book is the American Dream.George wants his own place,to be his own place;Lennie wants a place to be happy (11),Candy wants to live a life out,Curley's wife wants to make something of ...

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