A study of relationship and comparison of 'Giants'.
KELLY LAM
ENGLISH COURSE WORK:
A STUDY OF RELATIONSHIP AND COMPARISON
OF ' GIANTS '
The two characters that I will explore are 'Lennie Small' in the story 'Of Mice and Men', by John Steinbeck, and 'Lemuel Gulliver' in the story 'Gulliver's Travels' , by Jonathan Swift.
There are differences and similarities between the characters. A major similarity between these two characters is that they are both considered as 'giants'.
Lennie is physically strong and large in comparison to the other characters in the story.However, he is not actually a 'giant', unlike Gulliver, where the Lilliputians appear to be "only fifteen centimetres tall" to him.
Lennie is a 'gentle giant', who is not cruel, although he is extremely strong. He is portrayed as a strong person,and his mentality is like a child. He is trapped inside a 'giant's body', and unaware of his own strength.
Lennie lacks the ability to control is strength, which leads him to his tragic death. His brutal actions are never intentional, which is noticed by Slim: " I can see Lennie ain't a bit mean."
On the other hand, Gulliver understands his morals.He is educated and has become a doctor. In contrast to Lennie who is a labourer. Gulliver is able to control his strength, and is very careful when he is walking on the streets of Lilliput to not damage anything and not to step on the Lilliputians. He only uses his strength when nessessary.
The images of Lennie are created by the uses of animal imageries to describe him:
"snorting into the water like a horse" (page 3)
"...the way a bear drags his paws" (page 2)
"Strong as a bull" (page 23)
The imageries are used to portray Lennie as a wild animal.
The repetition " Strong as a bull" Lennie says indicates that his strength is signifitance in the story, as it leads to his tragedy.
George travels with Lennie and has taken up the responsibility of looking after Lennie. During the long time they have been together, George has not only become a friend to Lennie, but has become both a father and brother figure to him. George has a great effect on Lennie's life, as he literally controls him.
Another similarity is that both Lennie and Gulliver is dependent on people. Lennie depends on George for literally everthing, while Gulliver depends on the Lilliputians for food and drink.
In the beginning of the two stories, troubles are introduced. Lennie and George have been forced to run away form Weed ,the town that they were working, because of Lennie's actions. Lennie who likes petting soft things, innocently touches a girl's red dress and when she "squawked" Lennie got frighten and held tightly on to the dress, where George to"socked" him in order for Lennie to let go. This innocent incident results in a rape charge and a man hunt which drove Lennie and George out of Weed, making them homeless and jobless.
Gulliver also experiences troubles. ...
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In the beginning of the two stories, troubles are introduced. Lennie and George have been forced to run away form Weed ,the town that they were working, because of Lennie's actions. Lennie who likes petting soft things, innocently touches a girl's red dress and when she "squawked" Lennie got frighten and held tightly on to the dress, where George to"socked" him in order for Lennie to let go. This innocent incident results in a rape charge and a man hunt which drove Lennie and George out of Weed, making them homeless and jobless.
Gulliver also experiences troubles. While sailing he encountered a "violent storm", which broke the ship in half.When he reaches to land he is then held like a prisoner.Similarly, Lennie who is a prisoner of his own life as he is under the command of George, even when Curley beats him up he does not defend himself until George orders him to.
Lennie and George who are migrants workers are constantly travelling around America to find work during a harsh time, the Great Depression in the 1930's where there is a huge shortage in jobs, due to the collapse of the stock markets.Not only is it a difficult time but it is a lonely time as well, as millions of unemployed men have to leave their families and homes to look for work, in order to survive.
Gulliver also has to travel for money as his earning are not enough. However, the difference between these two travels are that Gulliver wants to travel as he enjoyes it, whereas Lennie and George are forced to travel. Also Gulliver is alone after the ship wreck and George and Lennie travel together.
During that time many families are broken up by the need to travel for work, true and lasting friendship were not common.This makes the friendship between George and Lennie even more special as it is so rare. We do not understand why George travels around with Lennie until he confides in Slim in the beginning of chapter three.George has made a promise to Lennie's Aunt Clara and so feels that he is responsible in taking care of him. It makes George seem ' God damn smart alongside of him." With Lennie, George gains more confidence. George reveals a lot about their relationship to Slim, and even told how he use to play jokes on Lennie and once Lennie even drowns because of him. Yet Lennie has always been loyal to George.
Like George, Gulliver also has loyal friends, who informs him of the danger that he is in and that Gulliver must escape. However, during the journey Gulliver is able to make new friends unlike Lennie. Gulliver is more sociable and can interact with other people.
In the beginning and end of the story, George and Lennie both remind themselves of their special friendship:
"I got you"... "An' I got you"
The true friendship from George is then shown at the end, where he shots Lennie to spare him more suffering. When George shot Lennie he makes sure that Lennie dies with dignity and with the least pain.
Despite the major theme of friendship, hatred and jealousy also appears in both novels.
In 'Gulliver's Travels', some of the King's officials becomes jealous of Gulliver and wants to have him killed. Lennie also wants to be hurt and killed by Curley, who seems to be jealous of Lennie's strength and size.
Steinbeck draws attention to the unusual friendship between George and Lennie mainly by the other comments given by the other characters.
Once they reached to the ranch the boss gets suspicious of George as he has never seen " one guy take so much trouble for another guy" (page 23). He suspects that George must be exploiting Lennie by taking his wages.Crooks who experiences racial prejudice is so envious of their friendship , that out of spite he tells Lennie the tales of George leaving him. which makes Lennie upset and angry.
Both of these characters share dreams, Lennie's and George's dream is to live off the " fatta the lan", where Lennie can tend the rabbits, which is the the other thing he cares about in life other than George. This dream is basically what everything in the story evolves around. Dreams are an important aspect as their lives were harsh, insecure and unrewarding and dreams seem to be the only thing that makes life worth living.
George tells this dream to Lennie, like a father telling his child a bed time story.
Lennie actually believes in this dream, but to George it's just a fairy story for Lennie to keep him happy. George is more realistic about life as he is "a smart little guy", he understands the harsh realities of life and finds it impossible to achieve their dreams.
George is often reluctant to tell Lennie the story, but ,when he starts it, he appears to enjoys it, as it gives him the chance to escape reality and to imagine to be in a place like that, than where he is now.
Lennie's constant pestering to George to tell the story is the thing that keeps this dream alive and something to look forward to and to strive for.
Gulliver also had a dream, he wanted to travel around the whole, so it could be considered as a dream. The difference between his dream and Lennie's, is that he had fulfilled his dream, where Lennie hadn't.
Gulliver and Lennie are both 'outsiders' in the stories. Gulliver is an 'outsider' because of his gigantic figure, which is not suitable for the little country of Lilliput.
Lennie is considered as an 'outsider', which is evident in chapter four, when nearly all the other men on the ranch went out to town leaving Lennie behind. However, he is not the only one, Candy, crooks and Curley's wife are also considered as 'outsiders'.
During this time when Steinbeck wrote this novel, there was social disintegration , a mass of unemployment and inequality between people. The employers would give low pay, insecure work and hazardous work conditions, which Steinbeck has presented in the novel.
It was normal for racial prejudice to occur in the 1930's in America, ethnic groups would face discrimination very often and were usually victims of violence. Crooks illustrates this in the story, as he is restricted from the bunkhouse, hardly ever participate in the other guys' social activities and get abuse from the boss.
Sexual discrimination still existed in the 1930's, very few women were economically independent. This is illustrated through Curley's wife,where her name is not even known , but is know as a property of Curley's.
This is how Steinbeck expresses the reality of social injustice in America during the 1930's.
Like Steinbeck, Swift also expresses the injustice in the government. He does this through saying that the King of Lilliput chooses his most important officials by playing a game, whoever jumps the highest without falling gets the best job. Also they had to believe in God to be the King's officials. Swift also express that there are many division in the society. During that time, society was divided according to people's status. There were higher class and lower class who were separated from each other, they would not associate with one another and their character of a person was judged by their status.
"...two political groups, the High - Heels and the Low - Heels."
"The two group hated each other, and a High- Heel will refuse to speak to a Low-
Heel."
This is how Swift presents this idea and feels that it is wrong.
Loneliness plays a major theme in the novel 'Of Mice and Men'. Loneliness for migrant workers is common in the ranch, which is another reason why Lennie and George travel together. They needed companionship to fight against insecurity and loneliness:
"Guys like us are, the loneliness guys in the world."
Steinbeck reinforces the theme of loneliness by George often playing the solo game card , solitaire(patience), foreshadowing how lonely he will be in the near future. Also the name of a near by town and Crooks' birth place is called 'Soledad', meaning 'lonely' in Spanish.
However, the lonely theme in 'Gulliver's Travels' is not the main theme. Even though there are many Lilliputians, there is a sense of loneliness in Gulliver as he feels that he is an 'outsider' and that he is far away from his world.
Lennie has a lack of understanding of morals. The is shown when he kills Curley's wife and is more corncern with what George will say and whether he will still be able to tend the rabbits than realising he has killed the woman.
In comparison, Gulliver knows his morals. This is evident when the king tells him to "steal all the ememy's ships", Gulliver refuses as he finds it wrong to take away the freedom of someone's else.
