"Guys like us are the loneliest guys in the world, They got no family, they don't belong no place". Discuss the theme of loneliness portrayed in "of Mice and Men"

"Guys like us are the loneliest guys in the world, They got no family, they don't belong no place" Discuss the theme of loneliness portrayed in "of Mice and Men" "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck is the story of two farm hands, Lennie and George working up a stake on a ranch so maybe they can buy a place of their own "An' live off the fatta the lan'." George is smart and small where as Lennie is a massively strong giant of a man yet as innocent and simple minded as a young child who relies on George as a protector and mentor. There is a theme of loneliness running through the book which comes from John Steinbecks own experiences of working the land. When George starts his story about what life will be like when they get a plot of land he starts it "guys like us." He's talking about Ranch hands and labourers like him and Lennie probably forced to search for jobs because of the economic recession at the time the book was set. The labourers were nearly always single men who have very unstable jobs and would have had to move on once the job was done (once the harvest was collected for example). Their hard itinerant lifestyle was very lonely as the men were separated from any friends they'd made as soon as their job was finished. So the ranch hands often blew all the money they'd just earned on whisky and prostitutes to drown their sorrows and forget their problems and as

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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"Guys like us, that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world" Discuss the significance of loneliness in Of Mice and Men.

"Guys like us, that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world" Discuss the significance of loneliness in Of Mice and Men. Loneliness plays an enormous part in Of Mice and Men as a large proportion of the characters are minorities or discriminated against, therefore they have to come to terms with loneliness on an every day basis. The loneliness is endemic of this culture as the line of work they are in often forces them into travelling alone as all of them are 'migrant workers'. It is difficult deal with and all humans want companions. George has a companion in Lennie and although Lennie is not intelligent he is loving and protective. This prompts questions at the Ranch that they go to as the people here are not familiar with this kind of friendship, when they are interviewed by the Boss at the new ranch the boss is suspicious of George. He thinks that George is stealing Lennie's pay but then when George tells him that that is not true he retorts, ' Well, I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy'. Companionship is a foreign aspect of life for him and he cannot understand it. Another character who remarks on this friendship is Slim who has a different opinion to the boss saying that he cannot understand why there aren't more friendships in this world and then he puts it down to 'the whole damn world being scared of each other' There are those who

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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"Hopes and Dreams Help People to Survive, Even if they can Never Become Real"How is this true for George and Lennie/ the characters in 'Of Mice and Men'?

Caroline Seely 11H "Hopes and Dreams Help People to Survive, Even if they can Never Become Real" How is this true for George and Lennie/ the characters in 'Of Mice and Men'? An important theme in 'Of Mice and Men' is that of hopes and dreams. The main dream is that of George and Lennie to own a smallholding and work self-sufficiently. Indeed the story both begins and ends with George narrating the dream to Lennie. As well as George and Lennie other characters such as Candy, Crooks, Curley and Curley's wife have dreams also. All of these hopes and dreams affect the way the characters behave throughout the novel. The book is set during the American depression of the 1930s after the Wall Street Crash of 1929. During this period many Americans struggled to make ends meet. Many left their old lives in the cities of the East, such as Boston or New York, and travelled West to forge new lives for themselves based on agriculture, " An' live off the fatta the lan'." This became the 'American Dream,' this is the dream of George and Lennie. For George the dream serves two main roles. The first is that it makes him strive towards something, giving him ambition and a fantasy of betterment. This makes him a better person because he is careful with his money, doesn't go out drinking or to the brothel, but instead is careful of his responsibilities, "Me an' Lennie's rollin' up a stake, I

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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"How far was Lloyd Georges fall from grace in 1922 the result of his own mistakes after 1918, rather than Conservative disillusionment with him?"

"How far was Lloyd Georges fall from grace in 1922 the result of his own mistakes after 1918, rather than Conservative disillusionment with him?" A general election held in 1918 gave Lloyd George and the Conservative coalition a very comfortable majority in parliament, but it also left Lloyd George in an untenable position. The coalition consisted overwhelmingly of Conservatives, meaning that Lloyd George's hold on power was extremely weak. He could not do many of the things he would have liked to do in a purely Liberal government, simply because he did not have the support of the Conservatives. After the war, Lloyd George faced some very serious domestic problems. Firstly was the issue of the German reparations and punishments. There was a strong feeling in Britain that Germany was fully responsible for the war, and therefore should be punished severely. Lloyd George did not subscribe to this opinion. He felt that Germany should be punished, but not to the extent that it ceased to exist. He came to the conclusion that if Germany was effectively destroyed by war payments, it would leave a large power vacuum in the centre of Europe. Lloyd George was worried that this gap would be filled by the Communist ideals of the Bolsheviks. Along with this, the post-war depression that was consuming Britain resulted in a loss of popularity for Lloyd George. The new markets Britain were

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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"In the Dream of the Man that was Dreaming, the Dreamt Man Woke".

Pat Gorres "In the Dream of the Man that was Dreaming, the Dreamt Man Woke" By traditional definition, perception is anything that can be known through the five senses. However, this quote adds another dimension to the idea about perception. It implies that perception is not dictated by the five senses, but by the brain. If a man perceives something, he has either seen it, heard it, felt it, smelt it, tasted it, or any combination of those. A man knows that a car has crashed because he saw the collision and heard the loud noise. He knows that he likes steak through enjoying its pleasant smell and satisfying taste. In addition, he knows that fire is hot because the nervous system allows him to feel its warmth. However, one usually forgets that it is impossible to use these senses without the brain, which controls each of these perceptions. The quote serves as a supporting reminder of this idea. Arguably, the dreaming man is able to perceive a dreamt man waking up. Yet, he does not necessarily see the man with his own eyes, because his eyelids are shut. He does not hear the dreamt man with his ears; he does not feel the man with his hands, and he certainly doesn't taste or smell the man. So how is he able to perceive him? He is able to perceive him because his brain still functions, creating the image of the dreamt man waking. Now, the reason why the brain creates the

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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"It is hard for the reader to feel any sympathy for Curley's Wife as she is responsible for her own death" - Of Mice and Men.

"It is hard for the reader to feel any sympathy for Curley's Wife as she is responsible for her own death." > The language used to describe her; > Her relationship with her husband; > Her interaction with the other men on the ranch; > The events leading up to her death; > Anything else you may consider important. Through reading of the text of "Of Mice and Men", the reader finds it difficult to feel any sympathy for Curley's Wife, for she could be accused of being responsible for her own death. However, with close analysis of the language used to describe her, what the other characters say about her, her relationship with her husband, her interaction with the other men on the ranch, and the events leading up to her death, the reader may discover that other characters could be held partially accountable for her death. The reader can then form a balanced opinion of Curley's Wife's death and decide for him or herself just how much to blame she is for her death. Curley's Wife is the only female figure on the ranch. The itinerant workers on the ranch all avoid her and do not speak to her as they fear the will get into trouble with Curley. She is also referred to solely as "Curley's Wife" throughout the text. This may have been the cause for her to seek refuge talking to Lennie, as she would have been extremely lonely which makes the reader feel sympathy towards her. She

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Choose two characters from the novel 'Of Mice and Men' who illustrate what life was like in America in the 1930's

Choose two characters from the novel 'Of Mice and Men' who illustrate what life was like in America in the 1930's Laura Pottle. st draft America in the 1930's was a class-based society where women had no choice. The Wall Street Crash in 1929 meant the 'Great Depression' was occurring, people living in poverty because of this but most would travel round to find work. Racism was still a critical problem in this time so this was affecting many lives, only white people could get a decent job, if a black person could it would be living in the same conditions as slaves, even though slavery was abolished in 1865- over 60 years before. Crooks is the stable buck and is black, he is a clever but lonely man who just wants some companionship. Curley's wife is seen as a 'tart', we see that she is also lonely and very misunderstood. In the novel, even though Steinbeck had made the characters an isolated group, they all represent different sides of the society, this allows him to criticise what he sees as problems. Slavery started in America in the 15th century, thousands of slaves arrived looking for a better way of life than what they had left, but infact their 'new lives' were worse. Slavery meant big business in America. In the north most Negroes were free but in the south it was the way of life. Slaves were employed as either field workers; they worked long hours, lived in huts

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Of Mice And Men Is A Novel About Dreams And Hopes In Difficult circumstances: Dreams And Hopes That Were Bound To Be Frustrated. Explore This Theme

Of Mice And Men Is A Novel About Dreams And Hopes In Difficult circumstances: Dreams And Hopes That Were Bound To Be Frustrated. Explore This Theme Steinbeck's novel "Of Mice and Men" is set in California in the 1930's. At this time in America it was the Great Depression. Many people had lost everything and poverty was high. Therefore, many men worked as itinerant workers. George and Lennie, the two main characters, were itinerant workers. It was there dream to own a small piece of land and settle down, this is known as the American dream. Crooks says all workers on the ranch have the same dream, " Seems like ever' guy got land in his head" They are all craving for something - in the case of George and Lennie, that something is land. They are not the first travelling ranch hands to conjure up images of their own land, or of being their own bosses. This dream is similar to the "Great American Dream", that you can achieve anything if you have the mind and desire to do it. Dreams are simple things in some ways, yet amazingly complex in others. Although we are not told this part of the story, imagine when George and Lennie first came up with their very own dream, and in fact it was "The Great American Dream". George was probably rambling on, as people seem to do around Lennie (take, for example, Crooks when Lennie goes into his room at night). What was just a simple thing to

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How does Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman reflect society at the time?

How does Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman reflect society at the time? Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller deals with one mans struggle in achieving success and how outside influences such as money, family and even society influence an individual. Willy Loman's tragic character has a lot of depth to it, and to therefore understand such depth we must look in to the society that is around him and indeed the playwright Arthur Miller. Willy Loman is set apart from the rest of society as he relies upon a different set of values and motivations everyone else rests on. From the time, that Death of a Salesman was written there were many accounts on how America was going through a post war social and economic upheaval. It was not only Arthur Miller but also Tennessee Williams who began creating a series of protest plays whilst working with radical theatre companies. The history that had gone before them formed many of the major themes that defined their characters along with the explanation of the social pressure that is exerted on them. Dignity loss and self-assurance that Miller saw as one legacy of the social crash that without a doubt left a mark on Miller, which can be seen in his creation of the character Willy Loman. This included the sense that promises made by a society that seemed so secure were betrayed. The barrier that prevented the world from becoming chaotic became

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Why is the title 'The best made plans of mice and men often go wrong' appropriate?

Tom Lowe Why is the title 'The best made plans of mice and men often go wrong' appropriate? This title is very appropriate for many reasons, mainly because every plan, however big or small, made by George and Lennie, seems to go wrong for them. The main plan between George and Lennie is that they will buy their own farm and have a selection of animals for Lennie to tend to. This plan goes wrong when Lennie inadvertently kills Curley's wife. Lennie says 'I done another bad thing George', showing that Lennie has again done something that has messed up their current plans, it also shows that he has done something in the past to mess up their previous plans. Before Lennie kills Curleys wife George says, 'I'm scared. You gonna have trouble with that Curley guy'. This shows again that Lennie has done something in his past, that he may do again, and this makes George worried that it will mess up their plans to get a farm. When Lennie captures a mouse he accidentally kills it, George then says to him 'You ain't to be trusted with no live mice'. This again shows that George is very nervous that Lennie will do something wrong, and mess thing up for them. Lennie also kills the puppy, which is given to him by Slim, and this messes up Lennies plan to keep a puppy to tend to. When Lennie kills Curleys wife, Candy and George begin to speak, and Candy says 'You an me can still get

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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