Of Mice And Men Character Study – George
Of Mice And Men Character Study - George George is a central character in the story. I really like George as a character because he is believable. Lennie is a nice character but I prefer George because I can relate him to real life. When we first meet George John Steinbeck describes him as, "small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features. Every part of him was defined: small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony nose." I think John Steinbeck uses his looks to help portray his character. We learn later that he is strong-minded because he perseveres with things like when he takes the mouse from Lennie and when raising the money for the little house with some land. This characteristic is made clearer by Steinbeck's initial description of George having strong features. George is also a leader. Lennie completely relies upon George and even when he is in trouble or away from George his thoughts return to him. This is shown clearly when he is in Crook's room and he says, "but it ain't no lie. Ever' word's the truth, an' you can ast George." It is also clear at the end when Lennie has run into the bush and all that he is worried about is what George will think. As the story goes on we find that Candy also starts to rely on George. When he finds that Curley's wife has been killed he goes straight to George for assistance and when he
Is Curleys wife a tragic figure?
Is Curley's wife a tragic figure? Throughout the book 'Of Mice and Men', Steinbeck portrays the character of Curley's wife as unfortunate and a bit of an outcast. 'Well you keep away from her, cause she's a rattrap if ever I seen one'. But to what extent can she be regarded as a tragic character? The first time we hear about Curley's wife, she is described as a 'tart' by another farm worker. This is because she is lonely so she hangs around the other farm workers wearing 'red mules' with 'red ostrich feathers' and 'red finger nails'. Steinbeck uses the colour red to show she is dressing like a 'tart' because the colour red at the time was associated with prostitutes. 'I ain't never seen nobody like her'. The ranch hands, however, want nothing to do with her, so they ignore her, and so she becomes an outcast. 'Curley's wife can sure move quiet. I guess she's had a lot of practice, though'. The reason they do not want to be seen with her is because she is married to Curley, a 'pugnacious' little man, who is very possessive. '"Have you seen a girl around here?" he demanded angrily'. The fact that Steinbeck never gave Curley's wife a name other than 'Curley's wife' is to show that she belongs to Curley. It shows her as his possession rather than a separate person. To get attention, she dresses up and hangs around the workers when Curley is not there. However, none of the farm
Anger and Violence Portrayed in Of Mice and Men.
Anger and Violence Portrayed in Of Mice and Men In Steinbecks Novel of Mice and Men, anger and violence is a common occurance. Anger either envoked by fear , jealousy or anxiety. Lennie is always the source of this anger, whether it be toward him , because of him , or from him. All anger revolves around him. One of the first characters to portray anger in this Novel is George, Lennies partner. From very early on anger is being shown towards Lennie. Georges anger is at the fact Lennie wants something that they do not have, yet because it is Lennie who is asking, they are expected to have it. This is probably due to the innocence of Lennie. George tells him "Well we aint got no ketchup!", his anger is clearly envoked out of frustration, as he goes on to talk about how he could do "Whatever the hell " he liked if Lennie wasn't around. "I could get my 50 bucks at the end of the month and go sit in a cat house and enjoy myself, but no, I'm stuck with you". George is almost saying the Lennie is a burdon to him, that because of Lennie he can't do what HE wants , yet he is always expected to get Lennie what he wants instead. Like a parent would do with its child, or a owner with its pet. This is the reason for the anger George portrays at Lennie, the frustration of not getting what he would like for a change. The first glimpse at violence in this novel is when Lennie is attacked by
What do the first four paragraphs of Chapter 4 in Of Mice and Men tell us about Crooks?
What do the first four paragraphs tell us about the character of Crooks? In the first four paragraphs of chapter four, we already know how lonely and broken, physically and mentally Crooks is. Yet, he is clever and proud. Crooks is a very lonely man, which we can see from the fact that his bunk is separated from the other workers', as shown in "Crooks, the negro stable buck, had his bunk in the harness room." He is isolated from the other workers because he is a black, and the only black, therefore is not considered important enough to have a living space separated from the working space, and this isolation takes away his chances of communicating to the other workers, which results in his loneliness. In the fourth paragraph, we know that it is Saturday night and sound of moving horses and feet stirring can be heard. We can understand from these that all other ranch workers had left for town, but Crooks is segregated and could not go with them. He can only stay in his bunk, which tells us that he is not accepted in the society. The imagery "a small electric globe threw a meager yellow light" also highlighted his loneliness, for the contrary between the dim, still light inside the barn and the lively noises in the dark outside created a sense of abandonment. The use of word "small" and "meager" also suggests that he is insignificant to the other workers. His loneliness can
The Slave's dream
'The Slave's dream', written in 1842 by the white man H. W. Longfellow, tells of the final dream of a black slave before his death. It is set on a plantation in America where the slave has stopped in the middle of a day's work, giving up hope of freedom in life, believing only in freedom by death. 'I, too' was written later than 'The Slave's Dream by Langston Hughes. It is about the hope for equality of a black servant after the abolishment of slavery in America. Written during the abolitionism movement, 'The Slave's Dream' helps to raise awareness of the immoral injustices black people had to face. This reflects the mood of the era as people at this time were trying to change the public's opinion of slavery and get it abolished. As the most important people at this time were whites, Longfellow must have used the colour of his skin to get people to listen to his point of view through his poems. H. W. Longfellow uses this poem to show that black people had lives before slavery, but that the white race had taken them away. The type of life that followed the taking of black people's freedom is reflected in the poem's rhyme scheme and stanza patterns. The poem has a very rigid structure. The rhyme scheme is regular and the lengths of lines have a repetitive pattern. The poet has conformed to such a rigid way of writing poetry, as a slave in America would have to conform to their
Of Mice And Men
Many of the characters in 'Of Mice and Men' have dreams. What are their dreams and how near are any of them to achieving what they want? Many characters have dreams and aspirations in the story "Of Mice and Men" and try to achieve them in different ways. Many characters have dreams and I will be discussing the dreams of: Candy, Crooks, Curley and his wife. Candy, Crooks and Curley wife all have similar dreams, which is to have freedom and equality. All three characters are treated with very little respect and are seen as lower class due to race, gender, age or disability. Dreams are very important to the characters as they help them to escape from reality even if only for a short while. Their dreams are also significant as they are hope that things will get better and are vital to keep spirits high. However, many people's dreams were affected by the economic downfall that America experienced. The story is set in the 1930's, which was when America experienced the Wall Street crash. This was when the stock market collapsed and many Americans lost thousands of dollars they had invested. This caused mass homelessness and led to the great depression. During this era there was lots of prejudice and discrimination against black people, women, the elderly and the disabled. This affected them the worst as any time when life was getting tough they were hit much worse and were the
Of Mice and Men coursework
At the end of the novel Slim says of Lennie's killing, "You hadda George. I swear you hadda." How far do you agree with him and why? In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, George's decision to kill Lennie may be considered the most prudent. One of the reasons that leads George to kill Lennie is their brother-like connection. They were so bonded and united that George's act may be measured out as being humane. Also, the end of the novel is prefigured at the beginning by the incident of Lennie with the lady at the Weed. Firstly, I am going to explain how difficult it was for George to kill Lennie near the lake while Lennie was innocently thinking about the piece of land they were going to buy. At first, George didn't manage the pressure to kill him, as this quote shows us, "George raised the gun and his hand shook, and he dropped his hand to the ground again". The tension and pressure start increasing as soon as the men start to arrive to the place where Lennie and George were, the sound of footsteps coming closer, "There were crashing footsteps in the brush now!", the voices becoming louder, "The voices came close now. George raised the gun and listened to the voices.", and Lennie begging that he wants to get the place, all this build up the tension and pressure on George so that he'll kill Lennie. Another reason for George having to kill Lennie is so that he
Of Mice & Men : Crooks analysis
Of Mice & Men: Crooks Crooks is introduced to us in a very unique way. Steinbeck describes all his belongings, creating a strong vivid picture in the readers head. Crooks the 'negro stable buck' lives alone in a small cramped room. He is someone who is treated very unfairly and unjustly, due to just his colour. When he was young he was kicked by a horse, therefore leaving him with a body which is crooked to the left. He has many things from shoes, a clock, and a shotgun; he also has a dictionary, magazines, a few dirty books, and a pair of 'gold' spectacles. Crooks keeps his room 'swept and clearly neat'. For Crooks his room is his supply of pride. Crooks room alone tells us everything about him. It tells us how he is different from many other ranch workers. His room is flocculated with boxes with various amounts of tools from his countless amounts of previous jobs. Steinbeck tries to portray to us that Crooks has been a ranch worker for a very long time and over the time he has gathered a load of possessions. Crooks is not treated as a normal human being, he is seen as almost an animal, and therefore he always tries to takes pride in himself. The 'fairly neat' room shows this. Crooks is told that he is not allowed in the bunk house, due to him being black and as any human being would do, he takes offence, as Crooks is not allowed in the bunk house, he tries to maintain
What do we learn about Curley's Wife in "Of Mice and Men"?
What do we learn about Curley's Wife in "Of Mice and Men"? John Steinbeck is an author who is effectively able to describe his characters not just through direct speech and description, but also indirectly through description. The reader is able to extrapolate and formulate ideas about the character for themselves, and this is truly an impressive tool. Curley's wife's reputation precedes her. Candy, the old swamper talks to George and Lennie about Curley's wife. His short, yet powerful sentence "Wait'll you see Curley's wife" is warning enough to George who realises that she may not be completely honest or trustworthy. Continuing the discussion, it becomes apparent that Curley's wife has "got the eye". From this, the reader can deduce that Curley's wife is coquettish, as she looks at men frequently. Thus, George's suspicions are valid as the reader finds out progressing through the story. The reader is able to get a more in-depth description of her when she physically appears for the first time in the bunkhouse. Steinbeck describes her as having "full, rouged lips", and eyes "heavily made up". This suggests that she may frequently use too much make-up creating the impression of her being a "tart" as it was so delicately put previously in the novel. Her body language is provocative as she positions herself in the doorway so that "her body was thrown forward". She
Hopes and Dreams in "Of Mice and Men"
Most people have some kind of hopes or dreams. Hopes are "desires accompanied by expectations of fulfilment, they are one that give promises to the future." (The Merriam Webster Dictionary, page 367). Dreams are "notable for their beauty, excellence, and/or enjoyable quality." (The Merriam Webster Dictionary, pages 234-235). However, these dreams are many times thwarted by many obstacles along the way, as happens to George and Lennie's in John Steinback's novel, Of Mice and Men. George promises Lennie's aunt Clara, right before she dies, that he will take care of Lennie, and that they will always be together. During the 1930's, people like Lennie, who has a mental handicap, and black's, such as Crooks, the stable man, are discriminated. During this time, also known as the Great Depression, barn workers like George and Lennie would go around looking for work at a ranch. Very few Americans owned land, and only rarely did they have any freedom. George and Lennie want to buy a piece of land. To George this symbolizes his freedom, he will then be able to control his destiny, yet to Lennie, it means he will be able to tend the rabbits, and therefore pet them as much as he likes. Steinback expresses some of man's hopes and dreams through the main characters actions. George and Lennie live in hope that there own, very particular dream, will one day come true. They hope
