The story 'Of Mice and Men' is all about hopes and dreams, the perfect life and 'the American Dream'.
Chris Blinston 10X English-Of Mice and Men The story 'Of Mice and Men' is all about hopes and dreams, the perfect life and 'the American Dream'. Simple hopes and dreams, which aren't so simple, are the only thing that keeps a man going in this story. Hopes and dreams are the driving force of this story; they are what keep a man sane. The characters are trapped, enclosed in one big circle the migrant ranch workers keep moving from ranch to ranch earning their 'fifty bucks', but they spend that money at the nearest town as soon as they get the money. The normal ranch workers are also stuck in the cycle because they are stuck at one ranch and are constantly spending their money in town. The women in the story are possessions or 'working girls', they have no status, freedom, opinion, nothing. They only exist to be shown off, flaunted, used and spoilt. George and Lennie, these two companions also have 'the American Dream', some of their own land and to make some money. George and Lennie have a lot of compassion for each other, George is like a father to Lennie and he tells Lennie about their dream all the time to help keep Lennie going. George cares a lot for Lennie and likes to see him happy; so he talks about their dream. Their lack of money is due to George going to town and 'blowing' it, as soon as they get paid, George goes to the 'cat houses', bars and just likes to spend
There is much racial prejudice shown in Of Mice And Men towards Crooks the black crippled stable buck
There is much racial prejudice shown in Of Mice And Men towards Crooks the black crippled stable buck. Crooks is more permanent than the other ranch hands and has his own room off the stables with many more possessions than them. This room is made out to be a privilege and also because it means he is nearer to the horses but in fact it is really because the other ranch hands do not want him in the bunk house with them. As a result of this prejudice Crooks has become bitter and very lonely. When Lennie comes to pet the puppies, not even realising that Crooks' room is 'out of bounds', Crooks instantly becomes defensive and uncivil "I ain't wanted in the bunk room and you ain't wanted in my room" but Lennie in his childish innocence is completely without prejudice " Why aint you wanted" he asks. Crooks retaliates to this with: "Cause I'm black, they play cards in there but I can't play because I'm black. They say I stink. Well I tell you, all of you stink to me" This line showing that Crooks desperately wants to join in, be accepted, but because of his colour he can't and so he feels the only way he can make himself feel better is to cut himself off further, it is a vicious circle. When Crooks realises that Lennie means no harm he invites him to " Come on in and set a while" Lennie begins to talk about George and his dream, it makes Crooks reminisce to his childhood which he
English essay on Of Mice and Men
Steinbeck uses an example of symbolism in the form of Candy's dog. Re-read pages 70-76, what qualities/ values does this dog represent? Which human characteristics could be represented by these qualities/ values? Candy is the oldest man on the ranch. As he is the oldest, he has more things to worry about than the others. He has only one hand and a women's name, and through Steinbeck's writing, we know why this is, because he has lost his masculinity and pride. He also has a pet extremely old pet dog, which he loves and everyone loathes, as they think it is useless and suffering, Candy thinks otherwise and doesn't want it shot. Candy's dog, which doesn't have a name and is incredibly old in the story, represents the fact that things that are unimportant are unknown to other people. This represents Candy as an old undervalued character that is slowly loosing value like his dog. It establishes that if you're an old animal, then you're in trouble. This is why Candy is so reluctant to have his dog shot because he knows what its like to be old and unwanted, but because he and his dog share the same qualities, he feels like they are close friends that rely on each other. In the book, he says 'I'm so used to him,' he said softly. 'I had him as a pup.' This shows the closeness between the two. Candy can't bear to imagine loosing something he has been so close to for most of his life
Examine the relationship between George and Lennie
Of Mice and Men Examine the relationship between George and Lennie. Do you think it is of mutual dependence or does George have the upper hand? Throughout this novel George and Lennie have an extremely strong relationship. This is proven the whole way through the story from when they are travelling at the very start to the very last conversation they have together. We understand that Lennie appears to be totally reliant upon George for his own survival. Lennie has the mentality of a child and this is the reason he relies upon George so much. At the beginning of the novel when George is talking to Slim he says that Lennie 'ain't bright. Hell of a good worker though. Hell of a nice fella, but he ain't bright.' This could be a reason that George 'goes around' with Lennie. Lennie is a good worker and it means Gorge gets twice the money he would get if he was working on his own. George could just be using Lennie for his 'stake' rather than his friendship. But as we read on we can see that George relies on Lennie just as much for companionship on their long journeys to different ranches to work as migrant labourers. The extent of this reliance is clearly acknowledged right the way
Steinbeck creates a lot of emotion and tension in the scene where, Candy's dog is taken away to be shot.
Tom Lowe How tension and emotion are shown when Candy's dog is shot. Steinbeck creates a lot of emotion and tension in the scene where, Candy's dog is taken away to be shot. Before the dog is taken, there is mainly emotion being shown by Candy as Carlson is trying to persuade him that he should put his dog out of his misery. Steinbeck uses a lot of lines such as, "Candy looked about unhappily", "He said softly, "He said proudly" and "Candy said hopefully". All of these lines seem to magnify Candy's unwillingness to have his dog taken from him, they also make Candy sound like he is trying to plead with everyone to stop Carlson from taking his dog. Another line, which Steinbeck uses, is "Candy looked helplessly at him", which again makes Candy seem like he is trying to get people to help him get out of this situation with Carlson. Steinbeck also uses the line "he rolled over and faced the wall in silence". This line uses empathy to make the user feel sorry for Candy, and shows a lot of strong emotion. There is a lot of emotion shown when Candy finally gives up and says, " Come on then let's get on with it". This line shows emotion because the reader does not want Candy to give up his dog, and when he finally does, the reader also seems to experience the same emotions as Candy. When the dog is taken the emotion is switched for tension. Steinbeck creates most of
Of Mice And Men - review.
Of Mice And Men The novel 'Of Mice And Men' is set in the early 1930's, in the American state of California. America at this time was suffering from the effects of the depression, which followed the Wall Street Crash. This had caused many businesses to go bankrupt. Also, in this period of time America had great problems on the agricultural side of it's economy. Large areas of farmland had been lashed by hurricane winds, and this had caused much of the topsoil to been blown away, leaving vast areas of land unable to grow any kind of crops. Logically this meant that less workers were needed to tend the land, so many were laid off, and as mentioned earlier many businesses had gone bankrupt following the Wall Street Crash, the combined effect of these two events led to vast numbers of people being left jobless. This gave rise to a new group of society 'drifters'; people who would travel from place to place doing manual labour, or working in the fields. This worked to the advantage of the business owners who managed to survive the crisis, (many of these were in California, a rich state which had not been hit as badly by the depression) because it meant that there were lots of workers for few jobs. Employers could make working conditions awful, knowing that if anyone complained they could fire them and there would be five people eager to fill the place. We do not know if John
What does John Steinbeckhave to say about friendship and loneliness in "Of Mice and Men" and how do cultural, social and historical issues affect this?
What does John Steinbeck have to say about friendship and loneliness in "Of Mice and Men" and how do cultural, social and historical issues affect this? John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" was set in California during the early to mid 1930's, a time of economic depression and high unemployment. It is a famous story about the harsh realities of life for the poor and unskilled workers who were disrupted by the Depression. Large numbers of migrant workers came to California from other parts of America in search of work. Two of these workers are George and Lennie. They are two very different men, who together search for work. The action takes place at or around the ranch where they eventually find work. The main themes in the story are friendship and loneliness. Migrant workers found friendships difficult to establish at that time as they were thrown together in difficult circumstances, often competing for a single job and were not in the same place for very long. This competitiveness was a common cultural aspect amongst the migrant workers who were mostly men. Men had to leave their wives and families behind and mostly travelled alone, roaming from ranch to ranch, farm work being the only type of work available to them. Against this historical background, the friendship between George and Lennie is all the more special because it is so rare. Steinbeck often shows this by
Crooks and Curley's wife experience loneliness and isolation and in what way they try to deal with these difficulties.
In this essay I intend to write about why Crooks and Curley's wife experience loneliness and isolation and in what way they try to deal with these difficulties. Crooks is a nergro stable buck with a crooked spine. His eyes are described as the most noticeable feature on his face, brimming with knowledge of the injustice in life. ' His eyes lay deep in his head, and because of their depth seemed to glitter with intensity.' He is also slim with a lean face, en-lined with wrinkles. His lips are also described vividly as very thin and pain-tightened. He covers up his intense eyes with large gold rimmed spectacles. Curley's wife is, of course a complete contrast, and is extremely pretty, thought sometimes try too hard. 'She had full, rouged lips and wide-spade eyes, heavily made up.' She has done her nails carefully which doesn't seem very suitable for life on a ranch. Her voice is another thing that is commented on, as have a nasal, brittle quality. Crook's personality is somewhat of a mystery. His real personality is hidden by the racism of the time. He is hurt and shocked by people's opinions towards him and so he feels the only way to get through life is to push back the same disgust to the other mean on the ranch. 'This here's my room. Nobody got any right in here by me...I ain't wanted in the bunk-house, and you ain't wanted in my room. Crooks doesn't see
What do you think Arthur Miller is trying to say about 'success' and the American Dream in Death of a Salesman? Is he using the story of Willy Loman to put across a message?
What do you think Arthur Miller is trying to say about 'success' and the American Dream in Death of a Salesman? Is he using the story of Willy Loman to put across a message? Death of a salesman was published in 1949, a few years after the end of World War two. It focuses on the achievement and belief in the American Dream. During the 1940s, society was concerned with materialism and status but the 1950s was when the American Dream was at its height. America was founded by the pilgrims who were fleeing religious persecution. They wanted to create a nation where everyone was free and equal, and could be rewarded for their hard work. As America developed, these ideals continued and became known as the American dream. In other words, those who work hard will have great success and wealth. In America, anyone could achieve whatever they wanted, regardless of their class. However, in reality, the American Dream is not as straightforward as it sounds, as one could spend their life working hard and never amount to anything, but this depends on the choices made in life. Success can be interpreted in different ways. In the case of this play, money, occupation and social status measures the success or failure of an individual. For example, people believe a well paying career and having material possessions represents the epitome of being successful. However, society considers a lack of
CANDY AND HIS DOG
Candy and his Dog I think the relationship is a needful one on both parts initially, since the dog needs someone to take care of him; also Candy needs to feel he has someone to care for. It isn't a completely fulfilling relationship as the dog cannot hold a conversation with Candy, although Candy can talk more at than to the dog, since who knows what a dog understands? The dog can be the reciprocant of Candy's confidences and hopes and fears, but it isn't quite the same thing as when it is another human being you are talking too. The dog might understand Candy's moods and feelings much like a baby will understand mother's moods but not be able to put things in words or actually understand the words spoken. He cannot respond in every way Candy needs. Candy has to put a great deal more into the relationship in regards to care, he has to make sure the dog is fed and watered, doctored when ill etc. The dog is Candy's constant companion but he cannot show Candy the love and concern and care that Candy can for him. Perhaps the relationship isn't such a good one for the dog either since he is being kept alive even when he is old and decrepit and arthritic, in pain, miserable and smelly. If Candy thought more about the dog and less about his own needs he would have had the dog put down a long time ago and spared its suffering. Candy has a selfish love for his dog;
