Of Mice and Men Essay
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,
Of Mice And Men
Of Mice And Men John Steinbeck uses animal imagery to express and introduce characters, events and themes in 'Of Mice and Men.' Steinbeck also uses nature, to convey events and settings in a subtle way. In section one of 'Of mice and Men' Steinbeck uses various colours to help the reader visualise the clearing as a tranquil and peaceful place. By describing the Salinas River as 'deep and green' the reader instantly envisages the water to be refreshing, mysterious and untouched. In addition, Steinbeck suggests that the clearing is full of sunlight: 'The water is warm too, for it slipped twinkling over the yellow sands.' Yellow, in this context, is calming because the words 'warm' and 'twinkling' are used before it. Steinbeck also uses alliteration to create a calm and peaceful atmosphere: 'south of Soledad, the Salinas River.' The repetition on the soft's' sound is calming and subtle. Steinbeck repeats this technique: 'the water is warm too.' As with the's' sound, the soft 'w' is calming. In this setting of absolute calm and serenity, Lennie and George are introduced. Steinbeck uses extensive animal imagery to describe Lennie: 'dragging his feet in the way a bear drags his paws.' This gives the impression that Lennie is large and cumbersome. However, the main reason that Steinbeck uses this form of imagery in describing Lennie is to portray him as amoral and therefore
OF MICE AND MEN
Alex Mayne-Nicholls How effectively has Steinbeck created tension during the incident with Candy's dog? The killing of Candy's dog in Steinbeck's novel "Of mice and men" is a very important incident. The author makes this scene very tense using different techniques. Everything starts because Slim considers the dog is useless and has a bad smell. "He ain't no good" (p70). And as he just got five puppies he believes Candy could make good use of one of those. Candy, very nervous and doubtful, finally accepts that killing his dog, which has been with him for a very long time, will be the best to do. Even though he knows that he will miss him. Carlson, described as "thick bodied" (p70), goes out of the ranch and kills the dog. These moments in the ranch are of absolute silence, and nobody is able to break this silence. "Silence fell" (p75). Time seems to pass very slowly; every sound scares everyone, until we can finally hear a shot from outside. The poor old dog was killed, we knew he should die, but didn't want it to happen. After this death, everything came back to normality in the ranch, or the men were at least talking to each other again. In these pages, Steinbeck uses different techniques to achieve tension and time passing slowly. Time passing slowly can be shown when he starts sentences with a conjunction. "And slim ..." (p74). "And the silence ... " (p75). This
The Outsider (Of Mice and Men)
The Outsider Of Mice and Men is a classic novel written by one of the world's most illustrious writers, John Steinbeck. John Steinbeck wrote a naturalistic novel which dealt with many powerful and universal themes including the value of dreams and goals, friendship and also "outsiders", which means individuals who do not fit into the mainstream of society. The novel also illustrates the significance of moral responsibility, the veracity of social injustice and also solitude. His novel "Of Mice and Men" is a story taking place around the 1930s during the Great Depression in California where the New York Wall Street stock market collapsed, and the rate of unemployment was very high. The great depression affected everyone, including both the rich and poor, industrial workers, farmers and so on. This novel however, portrays the life of two farmers, George Milton and Lennie Small. The themes of the novel are important because they depict human life in a remarkable and comprehensible way relating to the dreams and constant struggles faced in life. All the characters played in the novel "Of Mice and Men" are lonesome, living an empty life everyday consisting of mainly hard labor. The characters all live a very disheartening life, with the lack of happiness, love and affection in their lives. This can be seen also when George mentions that 'ranch workers are the loneliest people
What is the significance of loneliness in Of Mice and Men?
What is the significance of loneliness in 'Of Mice and Men'? You should refer in detail to characters, setting and language 'Of Mice and Men' was written by John Steinbeck. It is based in the USA in the time period of the nineteen thirties. This was the time of The Great Depression when millions of people were left jobless and many had lost their life savings in the Wall Street crash of 1929. Therefore, for these reasons, many people were forced out of their homes. In the opening line of the novel, Steinbeck mentions the town of Soledad, which means loneliness in Spanish, as the setting for the story that is to follow. This shows the reader that loneliness is an important theme in the novel. We learn that George and Lennie are itinerant workers because they mention 'goin' to Murray and Ready's'; these were a chain of employment agencies set up by the US government, to help people in their situation during the economic depression which followed the financial crash. George and Lennie are given a job on a ranch and bus tickets for travelling. As with other itinerant workers who had to travel from one short-term job to another, they do not have a permanent home. This situation highlights the theme of loneliness because they do not live in a settled community and so have to travel to new places to look for work. Before they reach the ranch, George and Lennie sleep outside in
Themes Surrounding The Title Of "Of Mice And Men"
Of Mice And Men Title: In this presentation I will talk about the title "Of Mice And Men", and the significance of various themes incorporated into the story in relation to how they associate to the title, such as the subject of Lennie's treatment of the mouse in the beginning, and how the animalistic deaths that transpire throughout the novel could be seen as an admonition to later events, in which Lennie is killed by George and conclude by answering if the title is effective in indicating the themes that are prominent in the novel. The title of the novel "Of Mice and Men" is an intertextual reference as it is a quotation from a poem written by Robert Burns, in which he speaks of a homeless mouse which is in fear following the destruction of its house. A quotation from the poem, "The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft agley" means that everything, no matter how well deliberated or considered, is questionable to failure. Steinbeck took the title of the novel from this quote, as the two pieces of text are easily comparable in their matters, as in the novel, Lennie and George's plan to find a little place, how they wanted their dream, and yet it never materialized. On Page 7, George makes the discovery that Lennie is carrying a dead mouse in his pocket. Lennie wanted to keep the mouse because he loves to pet small, soft things. Sadly, such is his brute strength,
Crooks' Importance In Of Mice And Men
Crooks' importance in "Of Mice and Men" In "Of Mice and Men" Crooks is a black stable back segregated from the rest of the men on the ranch because of the fact that he is black. Crooks' name suggests that there is something physically wrong with him. His physical disability is one of the many ways that he suffers on the ranch. We see Crooks mostly in chapter four. He is not shown much in the first three paragraphs and this indicates his position in society as very low because he is not noticed, and therefore is not important. At the begin of chapter four we see Crooks in a room of his own from this we see he is separated from all the other men. His room is simple and small to suit his needs: "Crooks' bunk was a long box filled with hay" The fact that his room is so basic shows that he is lower than rest of the men on the ranch. Although that he is seen as less of a person, he looks after his room which shows he is "a proud, aloof man." Although he is separated from the other men, he still has many personal possessions. Like the other men on the ranch his possessions say a lot about him. In his room he has "rubber boots", "a big alarm clock", and "a shot gun" which shows that although he is a cripple he is very active and practical. He also has many tools; here John Steinback is trying to show that although he is black he is very skilled and capable with his hands. This
Of Mice and Men - Crooks Monologue
Of Mice and Men Character: Crooks Loneliness is a disease. It eats away at people slowly, gradually tearing them limb from limb. It is a virus that send some people insane, some turn senile, I am lonely no friends, no one to talk to either. Crazy old world these days isn't it when even a black Negro cannot have his own privacy in his own room well that's what I like to call it my room. Maybe it happened to be a good thing that day the fact my privacy was over ruled by a white, strong, tall disheartened lost and confused male or maybe it was just pure ignorance. Either way I got to talk to someone well when I say talk to I may as well have been talking to myself but nevermind he was human!!. His name was Lennie he was a crazy bastard always talking about George this great magnificent person who Lennie thought was God was going to let him tend the rabbits on the land they planned to buy when I say planned I mean dreamed. Everyone had this dream work a month or to get the money and buy land but that's all it was a dream. George had got this idea into Lennies head and that's all he would talk about until you started to talk about George. This is when I realised that George was really special to Lennie even more special than them damn rabbits. I sat there trying to torment this vulnerable fellow just for my self enjoyment really and I hit a nerve
How does Steinbeck present the character of Crooks in the novel 'Of Mice and Men'?
How does Steinbeck present the character of Crooks in the novel 'Of Mice and Men'? Within the time period of the 1930's, many non-white people kept themselves isolated from others and stayed out of trouble, to avoid the risk of being lynched. Segregation, isolation and racism was a normal lifestyle led by those who were black; one of the characters that embodies this theme in the novel is the character of Crooks. Other themes of the novel are the American Dream; which is never achieved by any of the characters, this suggests that Steinbeck believed that the dream was unbelievable. This is the same belief which Crooks has. Friendship is another important theme, as the reader sees the desperation Crooks has for friendship and the affect of loneliness has had on him. Steinbeck set the novel in Soledad, California, 1930's during the Great Depression. This is an ironic setting because the term 'Soledad' means isolation and loneliness in Spanish, reflecting the life led by Crooks. Also the reader follows the protagonists Lennie and George as they struggle financially. In addition unemployment rates were high and pension rates decreased; making life hard especially for the middle class. Many men left their families and travelled across the country to find work and support their families. But life was harder for black men as they were seen as savage animals and were not wanted;
Relationship between George and Lennie in Of Mice of Men
Discuss the Relationship between George and Lennie in the book "Mice of Men" The novel, "Of Mice of Men" portrays the deep relationship of George and Lennie. As the book progresses, the reader plunges deeper into their relationship. The curiosity of George and Lennie friendship is intriguing for the reader and is very thought-provoking for the reader as it very complex and full of twists and turns. Undoubtedly, George has come to like Lennie and feels a sense of duty and responsibility towards him. Lennie needs George, but it is equally true that George needs Lennie as well. George was also a harsh, mean and derogatory to Lennie, however, it is also very evident that George never left Lennie despite his life would have mean much easier without him. Lennie is George's hardship, but George loves him regardless. Since the death of Lennie's Aunt Clara, George took it upon himself to take responsibility of him and his special needs by finding him jobs, feeding him, and making sure he is safe. Their mutual dependence on one another is what keeps George and Lennie together. Lennie stays with George because he has no other option. His only family, his aunt, has passed away, and he has the mind of a very young child. He would not be able to survive on his own: it is because of George that he is able to find work, and it is George who ultimately cares for him. George stays with
