To some degree, Steinbeck uses the shooting of Candy's dog as a protest against ageism. The link between the "old swamper" Candy, and the "old dog" is obvious. Both, Candy and the dog are old. Especially Slim hurts Candy, when he says that he "wisht somebody'd shoot" him if he gets "old". Through this description, Steinbeck tries to simplify the circumstances for the reader. He evokes an impression of a Candy, who is very similar to his dog. That means that Slim discriminates Candy indirectly. However, also Carlson classifies Candy. He says that the dog "stinks to beat hell". In other words, Candy "stinks to beat hell". The reader cannot miss that, because of all the similarities between Candy and his dog. All in all, Steinbeck wants to protest against ageism.
Steinbeck conveys the impression that the shooting of Candy's dog, is symbolic to the treatment of the disabled. Slim discriminates Candy because of his disability too. He says that he "wisht somebody'd shoot him" if he gets "a cripple". That is another parallel between Candy and his dog. Both, Candy and his dog are handy-capped. Carlson discriminates Candy as well, when he states that the dog "can't eat, can't see" and "can't even walk without hurting". The dog would be "no good to himself". Candy receives these statements as discriminations against him. What about him, if his dog has to be shoot? Steinbeck's protest against the discrimination of the disabled is evident from these descriptions.
To some extent, John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is a novel of protest. When he wrote the novel, Steinbeck was sad because of the horrible situation of the old and disabled during the Great Depression. The themes of ageism and the treatment of the disabled are protested through Candy. Candy does not play a very big role in the story, but he plays a very big role in the background of the novel
The Great Depression began the worst economic crisis in the history of the United States. Hundreds of thousands of people lost their jobs (including ranchers), businesses failed and financial institutions collapsed. These people stood in long lines at soup kitchens to try to get something to eat but many went hungry. The story Of Mice and Men took place during the great depression. The author, John Steinbeck, develops three characters in which come alive for us as individuals during this horrible time.
One such character would be George. George shows cleverness in this story in three ways. For one, he says " Well, look Lennie-if you just happen to get in trouble like you always done before, I want you to come right here an' hide in the brush" on page 15, which shows that he knows Lennie would stay safe there. In other words, he knows nobody will find him there in the brush, but he would know exactly where to find him. For a second way, George says "You crazy fool, don't you think I could see your feet was wet where you went across the river to get it?" on page 9, which shows that Lennie could not trick George. In other words, George knows Lennie went to go get the dead mouse that he took away from Lennie and threw across the river. For the third way, George tells Lennie "Don't you even take a look at that bitch. I don't care what she says and what she does. I seen 'em poison before, but I never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her" on page 32, which shows that George knows Curley's wife could get Lennie into a lot of trouble somehow. In other words, she could get either one of them put in jail. These are just some of the ways in which George shows cleverness.
Another one of the characters in Of Mice or Men would be Candy. Candy reflects thoughtfulness in three ways. For one, he says, "I ought to have shot that dog myself, George. I ought not to of let a stranger shoot my dog" on page 61, which shows that Candy thought of what his dog felt. Specifically, his dog would have wanted to of seen Candy last, not some stranger. Another way was when he says "S'pose I went in with you guys", found on page 59, which shows he thought of how much he could contribute to the dream house. Specifically, he had $350 to contribute towards the house. Lastly, he says, "If you was to do that, we'd tell about you framin' Crooks" which shows that he thought of Crooks before he thought of himself. In other words, he threatened Curley's wife by blackmailing her so she wouldn't get Crooks strung up. These are just a few of the times in which Candy has shown thoughtfulness.
The last character John Steinbeck has developed, Curley's wife, shows loneliness for three reasons. For one, she states, "I get lonely. You can talk to people, but I can't talk to nobody but Curley" on page 87, which shows that she has loneliness because she doesn't have anyone to talk to but Curley. Specifically, people won't talk to her because they know that Curley will get jealous and want to start a fight. In another reason, she says, "I'm looking for Curley" on page 31, which shows that she, made up an excuse to talk to somebody. In other words, she goes around telling people she's looking for Curley and then hold a conversation with them just to be able to talk to someone besides Curley. For the last reason, she states, "Sat'iday night. Ever'body out doin' som'pin'. Ever'body! An' what am I doin'? Standin' here talkin' to a bunch of bindle stiffs-a nigger an' a dum-dum and a lousy ol' sheep-an' likin' it because they ain't nobody else", found on page 78, which shows that she has loneliness because like she said, everybody's doing something and she was talking to a bunch of people that don't want to talk to her, but there is nothing or no one else to talk to besides Curley. Specifically, she likes talking to anybody, even a bunch of bindle stiffs. Curley's wife could have been in the movies, but instead married Curley, and now that she did, her life has been very lonely.
Of Mice and Men took place during the Great Depression. The characters in the story didn't lose there jobs, but were paid very little and only once a month. They would generally spend it on cathouses, which was the one of the few ways to have a good time. So, What would you do if there was a huge stock market crash and you were left with very little money or became unemployed? All of these characters went through hard times but yet each was a different individual with different traits. My grandmother is the only person that I can think of that has all three characters traits. She is lonely because she lives alone in her own apartment, she is clever because you can never sneak something past her without her knowing what you are doing and she is thoughtful because she thinks of other people or how she could help before she thinks of herself. I think I am most like Candy because I try very hard to think of ways I can contribute or help someone in someway. I think that I have learned a lot from these characters in John Steinbeck's novel, Of Mice and Men.
The book is set in southern California at the time of the Great depression. It is about two ranch workers who constantly have to move because of one's stupidity. George is a short man with strong features. Lennie is his opposite, he is a huge man with big sloping shoulders and when he walked he would drag his feet a little, "the way a bear drags his paws."
A dream is a piece of your imagination that comes to life during your sleep or something that you want in the future, that you think is of a big importance to you, a dream is something you indulge in, to escape momentarily from life.
They all have a dream, in the case of George and Lennie, that something is to own a farm. 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 George and Lennie's great American Dream, this is the idea that you can achieve anything if you have the mind and desire to do it.
George and Lennie start off walking down the road to get to the ranch. They decide to stay the night in the woods and they start to talk about their dream. George and Lennie's dream is a simple one, they want land to call their own and Lennie wants to tend the rabbits. "'Some day-we're gonna get the jack together and we're gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an' a cow and some pigs and-'"
'An live off the fatta the lan,'"
This shows how Lennie is like a big kid and how George is the parent telling the bedtime story to Lennie, the child. Lennie tells the bits that he knows like a child would do.
They work at ranches because they have no money, and to accomplish their dream they need to have enough money to buy the land. They have no money because of the depression and to a certain extent because of Lennie. George cannot get a reliable job and take care of Lennie at the same time. and because of the depression it is hard to find jobs.
The American Dream is a belief that you can accomplish your dream if you try hard enough to get it. In the USA everyone believed in this. The farm is George and Lennie's American dream.
George's dream, although identical to Lennie's, is probably more detailed and complicated. Lennie thinks as far as "tendin the rabbits", but George has to worry about whether it would be possible to really "live off the fatta of the lan", or would they starve?
Lennie, with his child-like mentality, believes whatever he hears, so when George tells him that they will really get their own land, he believes it with all his heart.
To Lennie, the question is not if, but when:
"George, how long's it gonna be till we get that little place an' live on the fatta the lan' - an' rabbits?"
Lennie is fixated on rabbits and doesn't think about anything else for a lot of the time. He didn't seem to concentrate when George told him that they didn't have to work when they didn't want to or they could have friends round or they could do what they wanted when they wanted, the most important thing for him was to tend the rabbits.
Candy does not seem to have a dream until he meets George and Lennie. He is swept up in the plausible reality of this dream, a dream he would probably be too scared to initiate by himself. Candy is not happy with his life on the ranch, but he doesn't think that there is anything else that he can do. He has one arm and is quite an old man, he used to have a dog that was also very old and someone else shot it for him.
He was very miserable after the death of his dog and he said, "I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn't ought to have let no stranger shoot my dog."
His dog was the only precious possession he had at the ranch and it was taken away from him.
He overheard George and Lennie talking about their dream and later approached them and told them his generous offer. He had more than half of the money they needed to buy some land that George heard about. He could ensure a piece of land for George and Lennie and himself. There was only one problem, they had to work for another month to get enough money and it depended on nothing going wrong.
At the beginning of the novel, there are already some doubts as to whether the pair will achieve their dreams. Before the two arrived at this ranch the two men had to leave Weed because of some trouble that Lennie caused. He likes to touch and pet things, but he is a big kid so he does bad things but he doesn't even realise it. Firstly, he held on to the girl's dress in Weed and she got the wrong impression so, she started to scream and they had to run out of Weed. Then on the way to this ranch Lennie killed a rat by petting it to hard and he killed the pup given to him as well.
He doesn't know his own strength, he crushed Curley's hand and even managed to break Curley's wife's neck and kill her without even realising a long time after.
The problem was Lennie. Something was bound to go wrong and it did eventually.
Lennie, although killed by George, really died when Curley's wife set her sights on the big man. When George meets up with Lennie after the accident, he knows the dream is over for him too. He also knew what he had to do as soon as he found out what Lennie had done, why else would he have stolen Carson's Luger?
As George is preparing to kill Lennie, he tells him one last time about "how it's gonna be." This last bedtime story for Lennie seems to describe not a little farm that they might buy, but the heaven someone might go to in their after life. As Lennie begs George "Le's do it now. Le's go to that place now", and George replies "Sure, right now. I gotta. We gotta", and then pulls the trigger, the pair seem at peace with themselves, and each other.
George knows what he is doing is right, and he knows that Lennie would agree if he had the time to explain his reasoning to him. If Lennie could comprehend the reasoning behind George's actions, he would realise that George was taking Candy's unknowingly offered advice:
"I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn't ought to have let no stranger shoot my dog."
Rather then letting Curley shoot Lennie in the guts with a shotgun, and leave him to die a slow and painful death, George decides to offer his friend one last token of companionship, a painless way out into the land of their dream.
John Steinbeck, The author of the novel 'Of Mice and Men', set the book during the Wall Street crash, where thousands of people lost or didn't know how much money they had. Many men were travelling all over America in search for work, most of these men were searching for work on ranches.
George and Lennie are searching for work on ranches in a place called Soledad in the state of California. They travel together, they have done for years. They have been chased out of their previous job because of Lennie's confusion. We meet George and Lennie as they are travelling to their new job. As George and Lennie enter the ranch, they see candy, an old man who has worked there for years as a swamper because of his injured hand.
They are then led to their living quarters- The bunk-house, as they talk
to Candy, Candy tells them about Curley's wife.
Candy tells George, "well - she got the eye." Candy means that even though Curley's wife has only been married two weeks, she is already flirting with other men as though she isn't married. Candy expresses to George "I think Curley's married . . . a tart." Candy thinks that Curley's wife is like a common prostitute. Candy is afraid of Curley because he tells George "You won't tell Curley nothing I said?",
Candy says this as though he is afraid of losing his job or afraid of getting beaten.
In the Beginning of the second chapter, we are led to expect Curley's wife as a flirty tart, who is unsatisfied with her new marriage to Curley, she tries to emphasise the fact that she is the only woman on the ranch.
John Steinbeck portrays Curley's wife as though she isn't important enough to have a name, he tries to emphasise the fact that she's Curley's property.
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When George and Lennie see Curley's wife for the first time, Lennie is transfixed by her, Curley's wife is searching for Curley. She uses this excuse lots of times in the book, George can see what Candy meant
when he was describing her as a tart. Lennie is gazing at her like a
snake glaring at it's pray. After Curley's wife leaves the bunk-house George Warns Lennie "I seen 'em poison before, but I never seen a piece of Jail-bait worse than her. You leave her be." George warns Lennie about Curley's wife because that's how they got chased out of weed, Lennie felt the fabric on a girl's dress, but as the girl screamed, Lennie held tighter and tighter because that's all he could think to do, then the girl cried "rape" and they were chased away by men with guns and dogs, and George is worried that could happen again to Curley's wife and they could lose their job due to it.
When all the men left the ranch, apart from Candy, Crooks and Lennie, Lennie entered Crooks' room- The harness room, then Candy enters,
then Curley's wife appears in the doorway, Candy and Crooks tell her that she has no right to be with the men and she should go back to her home while Lennie just gazes at her silently. Curley's wife replies by playing on sympathy by saying "Think I don't like to talk to somebody ever, once in a while? Think I like to stick in that house alla time?" Curley's wife tries to get the men to feel sorry for her.
Crooks then expresses his feelings and tells her that she has no right to
be in with a black man and the men, but Curley's wife retaliates and warns Crooks by saying "I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain't even funny." Curley's wife is abusing her power by using it to threaten Crooks and make him understand what kind of position he is in.
The men in the barn would rather listen to a white woman over a black man.
Lennie is in the barn playing with his puppy, but he accidentally kills it by petting it too hard. As he is crying over the murdered puppy, Curley's wife walks in, Lennie remembers what George told him, that he should stay away from her and not to talk to her, Lennie keeps saying that he shouldn't talk to her so Curley's wife says "I get lonely . . . You can talk to people, but I can't talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad" Curley's wife Plays on Lennie's vulnerability. Curley's wife says this as though she has been threatened by Curley. She tries to emphasise her lack of company.
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Curley's wife tells Lennie "I coudla made somethin' of myself." She explains how she could've been in pitchers, but she believes her mother tore up the letter of the man that was going make her a big star.
Then she carries on about how nice hair she has, Lennie acts to this, he says how he likes to touch silk and how he likes to touch nice things.
". . . You're a kinda nice fella. Jus' like a big baby." She says that he is like a child on how he likes to pet nice things.
Reasons to dislike her
Curley's wife gives numerous reasons to dislike her, One of these reasons are that she has only been married two weeks and she is already flirting with the other men on the ranch, she makes all of the workers frustrated toward her, she is always pestering them, she tries to impress the workers of the ranch by making herself look prettier by wearing make-up.
Curley's wife uses her power over the workers to do what she wants, she tries to make the workers feel sorry for her by saying about Curley attitude towards her.
Reasons to feel sorry for her
Curley's wife also gives equally as good reasons to feel sorry for her,
Curley's wife is being bullied into her marriage by Curley, she doesn't get to talk to anybody apart from Curley.
Curley's wife gets thrown abuse by all of the workers because of her foolish mistake of marrying Curley.
I believe that Curley's wife did not deserve her fate and therefore do not agree to the title, because she made a foolish mistake from marrying Curley in a short period of time, she tried to get the workers to see her position with Curley but no one was seeing her views. Curley's wife did not deserve her fate because she didn't anything terrible to actually cause her death.
The book is set in the time of the depression. There was no work, no benefits so the unemployed had to make do with what they could find. For many this meant travelling many miles for simple jobs with low pay. You were lucky if you could find a job. There was panic as people tried to get their money. Companies and banks disappeared overnight. At this time 14million people were unemployed. The government took many people's homes away as bills could not be paid, people were forced on the streets and many starved. There was no hope in people's lives except for the 'American Dream'. This was that someday they would be rich and famous and they would get there if they worked hard enough. Millions each with its own variation shared this dream. This stayed just a hope until a new light was shone. California 'The Golden State' brought new hope in to peoples lives. There were many jobs available, but even these were low paid with long hours. People didn't care all they knew was this was a chance for them to pull themselves up and out of poverty. Thousands of people flocked to California with high hopes but jobs went quick and pay got lower and lower. The 'Golden State' was soon swamped with refugees.
George and Lennie are two migrant workers with the same dream. They one day want their own plot so they can 'live off the fatta the lan' and not have to work for anyone else. Lennie is not the smartest person so George has to spend most his time watching out for him and making sure he doesn't get into any trouble. This puts boundaries on George's life and he often points out to Lennie how life would be so much better without him;
'I could get along so easy and so nice if I didn't have you on my tail'.
George and Lennie are so sure that their dream is different to everyone else's because it's all planned out. George claims he knows where they can buy the land and if they work for a month they'll have enough money.
Candy lives at the ranch. He is very old and his only companion is his dog. His dog means a lot to Candy. They are very alike, both old and crippled. Candy's had his dog since he was a pup. He used to be an able sheepdog but now in his old age he cannot work;
'That dog ain't no good to himself, I wish't sombody'd shoot me if I was old an' cripple'.
Candy also only has one hand. This means he can't work properly and so his only use is to clean the bunkhouse. He has no future to look forward to that is until he meets George and Lennie. When Lennie tells Candy about their dream to get a ranch, Candy jumps in;
'S'pose I went in with you guys'.
He helps them get closer to actually owning the ranch because he has a lot of money saved away in his bank and offers it towards the ranch.
Crook's is also crippled in his back and because of this he works as a stable buck. Like Candy he also has nothing to look forward to. When Lennie tells Crooks about his and Georges dream of owning a ranch, he is very cynical;
'Every damm one of 'em's got a little piece of land in his head. An' never a god damm one of 'em ever gets it'
But after a while he believes that they might actually get their ranch and decides he also wants in. His hopes are soon crushed by Curlys wife's taunts and changes his mind;
'Well, jus' forget it,' said Crooks. 'I didn't mean it jus' foolin. I wouldn't want to go no place like that.'
Curlys wife is always trying to get attention. The workers know she's trouble and keep their distance. She's referred to as a 'bitch', 'Poison', 'jail bail' and a 'rat-trap'. They know if they try anything they'll have to deal with Curly. Curly's wife is never named in the book. This is because Curly's wife is what she is to the other workers and it's all she's every going to be seen as. She is given the appearance of being the bad guy, but when she dies we see her in a new light. She's a human aswell, she has dreams like all the other migrants but she never has any companionship so she gets lonely. Curlys wife is very young, seeing as before she married Curly she was only 15 and living with her mother. Her dream is to be in the movies, she met a guy that said;
'He says he was gonna put me in the movies. Says I was a natural'.
But she never heard from him again and had to settle with Curly.
All these characters are either physically or mentally week. Even Curly's wife knows it when she says 'They left all the week ones here' she just doesn't realise she's one of them aswell. They will never for fill their dreams because there are so many people with the same dreams and not everyone will get them. There will always be setbacks that will keep on stopping them and eventually take away even the hope of their dreams.
For millions the 'American Dream' is just a myth its that last bit of hope left in their lives. That maybe someday they won't be forced to live in poverty and might actually have a decent life. America was in a really bad state, but the sad thing is the whole thing could have been prevented. If the government had introduced things like benefits it would never have got to the state it was in and hundreds of lives could have been saved. More people could have got jobs if an education system was introduced. And things like unemployment benefits could have saved families. But instead the government left the country to rebuild itself. While they sat and enjoyed their riches millions of people were suffering.
The novel Of Mice And Men is set in Soledad, California. John Steinbeck, the author of the novel grew up by the Salinas River and the setting of the story is that of his childhood memories. Steinbeck wanted to explore the social problems and hardships that existed in his native rural environment during the Great Depression years.
This essay will examine Curley's wife, Candy and Crooks. Curley's wife is the only woman in the novel who has recently got married to Curley for two weeks and already despises him. Candy is lonely and his only friend is a dog. He is disabled as he only has one hand. Crooks does not fit in as he is an African American, at that time all Negroes were despised by most white men. He lived by himself on the ranch in the barn by the horses and mules, mainly to keep check on the animals, as he is the stable buck. He is classed as the lowest form of life on the ranch, even lower than the animals by all the other characters in the novel.
All the characters in the novel have some kind of a dream, all-different in their own way e.g. why the dream, is important to the character . Curley's Wife is a very interesting character although appears a few times in the novel Steinbeck uses her to make specific points a few examples are how flirtatious she is with the other characters mostly slim, George and right at the end not exactly flirting but she is in the barn with Lennie, the way Steinbeck interprets her in these scenes is to show how lonely she is. She also dresses in the most inappropriate way for life on a ranch, she dresses in attractive clothes and plasters on make-up:
"Red dress, plastered with make up"
Which is to be in the movies as an actress as a man approached her when she was fifteen and she apparently had what it takes. The writer's intention here is to show how Curley's wife could have lived instead of being on the ranch. It can be argued that Curley's wife is not lonely as she has Curley as her husband. The reader feels sympathy for Curley's wife as all the characters in the novel are interpreted by John Steinbeck as misogynist
Candy, like all other characters, also has a dream, this dream is not entirely recognised by the reader until part four of the essay when candy becomes involved in George and Lennie's dream. Candy's first hears about this dream when Lennie asked George
'Tell it how it's going to be George'.
Lennie always asks George this quite often, as it's the only thing he can remember. Candy becomes excited and jumps into this dream almost straight away. Even though candy is to be a handy man this does not deter him from the dream as for the rest of his life he will be happy. In Candy's dream he also will be tending the rabbits, as George and Candy well know that Lennie is incapable of doing so.
Unbelievably Crooks, the stable buck, has a dream quite like Martin Luther King's dream, but Crooks wants to be white and get along with the other men on the ranch. It may be that Crooks would not like to be white but just to get along with the white people. Crooks' other dream is to get a big stake and buy a house. His dream is a lot like George and Lennies dream. As mentioned before Crooks would like to be white this is how the writer conveys how low black people where at that time regarded as
'He's the Negro'
The Negro of the ranch. If he was white he would have such a nicer life on the ranch, knowing this he is depressed therefore like many people the great depression. Crooks is a nice person but being black the reader finds it hard to see that he has feelings and also his arched back makes him look twice as bad of an outsider.
Steinbeck has written this novel in the hope that people would understand what happened back in his child years. He also wanted to convey his feelings of the violence and anger in the 1930's he had experienced. In the novel the violence mentioned is where curly exhibits himself in the bunk house because he does not like big people.
'No big son-o-fa-bitch is gonna laugh at me'
He starts this fight as Curley does not like people bigger that himself. Firstly when Curley hits Lennie he cowers and curls up in the corner and was beaten until he was bleeding all over his face and body, its at this point where George tells Lennie to start fighting back because Lennie could be killed. This scene is very dramatic mainly because Lennie is a nice person being beaten up, maybe it is dramatic because fighting is dramatic, everyone has different views of the situation but the writer's intention here is to show how the ranch workers turned to violence, in this case probably because they were bored. There is actually no reason for Curly to just come up to Lennie to start a fight is unlikely but maybe Curly thought Lennie as a threat to him or his wife!
Crooks has been involved in many scenes of violence but are not very detailed In the novel. One very sad fight is input into the novel towards the start of the novel, the ranch workers had a bit too much to drink that night and started to push the Negro around and it built into a real fight, of coarse he only picked on Crooks because crooks is black so it was a racial attack. Also Curlys wife picks on crooks but also candy at the same time so it does not seem like a intended racial abuse but still an undeserved form of adult bullying.
The Great Depression was a major issue of about this time after the stock market crashed and the companies' shares went down by a vast amount over night. People lost interest and confidence in the companies and every one lost a lot of money.
All of the shares that were worth over one hundred thousand pounds turned into nine pounds instantly making some people homeless, in need of jobs and most likely hungry. This is where Crooks and Candy come in to the story they probably lost money this way to and had to find a low aid job else where just to live. Every one had been made redundant hence the Great Depression. Most people were not used to working hard labour and tended not to stay on one ranch too long, but Crooks and Candy were different they were both disabled meaning they were entitled to stay till they die. Crooks, the stable buck was kicked in the back by a horse when he was young limiting him to the amount of work he could do and Candy also being disabled with only one hand limited him to the amount of work he could do too. Candy, in he novel tells us that he only has three hundred dollars in the bank this seems like a very little amount to have in the bank and it is that is all the capital he has raised since the start of the Great Depression
John Steinbeck was born and raised in Salinas, in 1902. Steinbeck was of German and Irish ancestry. His father was the county treasurer and his mother was a teacher. Steinbeck attended Salinas High School and went on to study Marine Biology at Stanford University, but failed to finish his course. He travelled to New York and worked as a reporter, unfortunately he was fired. After he took on many different jobs and became an apprentice, a painter, a caretaker, a surveyor and a fruit picker. He married three times in 1930, in 1943 and in 1950. During the World War Two, Steinbeck became a War correspondent. In 1960 he toured 40 states of America and was awarded with a Noble Prize in the same year. Steinbeck later died in 1968, at the age of 64.
In the 1920s share prices in the USA rapidly increased year after year. Many Americans believed that by investing money in the stocks they could make quick and easy money. The selling and buying of shares almost became uncontrollable, many people brought shares without realising that they could easily loose it. Some companies were totally false and others lied to their customers in order to take advantage of the money hungry people of the USA. On the 24th and 29th of October 1922, share prices on Wall Street fell dramatically. This fall became known as the Wall Street Crash. This crash became the main cause of the nationwide depression. The depression hit America first then spread to other countries around the world. People began to lose their confidence in the stock markets and embarked on saving as opposed to buying stock. Many banks collapsed as people withdrew their money, and saved it at home.
"Of Mice and Men" is a very famous story written by John Steinbeck in 1937. It is set in different parts of Southern California. It is a deep and poignant story, which focuses on many different controversial aspects of America in the 1930s. It is about two close friends who are migrant workers. They travel from ranch to ranch looking for work. Unfortunately one of the two, Lennie, is slow witted and has the mental age of a child. Lennie's aunt asks George, to look after him and he makes it his duty. George takes responsibilities over him and the two become very close. The two find work on a ranch together and meet people whom they either work with or share a bunkhouse.
"Of mice and Men" shows how life was hard for the migrant workers of the 1930's. The migrant workers are very lonely and travel America on their own to find work on ranches. In the story the two migrant workers, George and Lennie, have a friendship that is hard to find. All the workers and other people who come across this friendship do not understand it and question it. When they first see the ranch boss, he comments on how the two are friends and says George, "…what stake you got in this guy? You takin' his pay away from him?" This shows how people thought a friendship like George and Lennie's was hard to come across.
George and Lennie think that they are different from other workers because they have a dream, to have their very own ranch and work for themselves, the American dream. They also think they are different because they have each other, Lennie says, "…because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why". The workers were extremely poor and sometimes wore the same clothes over and over accept on special occasions. The workers had little entertainment and went to whore houses and spent most of their earnings on the women there. They had no privacy and had to share a cramped bunkhouse with over five other people. The workers only occupied a small space and kept their washing equipment and personal belongings their. Steinbeck describes their space, "Over each bunk there was nailed an apple-box with the opening forward so that it made two shelves for the personal belongings of the occupant of the bunk. And these shelves were loaded with little articles, soap and talcum-powder, razors and those Western magazines…"
The bunkhouses were small and cramped; there were over 5 people to a room. At the beginning of chapter two there is a very clear description of the bunkhouse. Steinbeck writes, "The bunk-house was a long, rectangular building. Inside, the walls were whitewashed and the floor unpainted. In three walls there were small, square windows, and in the fourth a solid door with a wooden latch. Against the walls were eight bunks, five of them made up with blankets and the other three showing the burlap ticking." This is a clear description of the room. Steinbeck adds, "Near one wall there was a black cast-iron stove, its stove pipe going straight up through the ceiling. In the middle of the room stood a big square table littered with playing-cards, and around it were grouped boxes for the players to sit on." This suggests that the workers lives were based on the ranch and if they were not working then they would be playing cards or going to a whorehouse on a Saturday night.
There was a ranking system in America that was similar to an unwritten law. This ranking was used on the ranches and unfortunately put Crooks at the bottom. In America black people were oppressed and were not allowed to prosper. On the ranch Crooks had his own bunk and kept himself to himself. In the story Crooks is inside his bunk, Lennie and Candy come to visit him because him because the other men have gone to the whorehouses for the night. Curley's wife is lonely so she comes to Crooks' bunk for some company. Unexpectedly Curley's wife enters the room, she disguises her need to be around people and asks "Any you boys seen Curley?" but Crooks and Curley rudely welcome her and says, "Curley ain't been here." She defensively calls them the weakest of the bunch. Crooks raises up to his feet and tells her to get out, but Curley's wife calls him a nigger and threatens him. She claims that she can arrange for to be lynched and says, "Well you keep your place, then Nigger. I could get you strung up so easy it ain't funny." Crooks becomes silent again and sits down on his bed. This shows how Crooks was easily discouraged by a white woman and how he hardly had any rights. Crooks is clearly one of the most intelligent on the ranch but is oppressed by the hierarchy of America and the ranch.
For most people who were affected by the Wall Street Crash were motivated by the American Dream. It was the dream that they could have the chance to excel and work for themselves and that they would be successful in whatever they do. "Of Mice and Men" shows this in George and Lennie's dream of owning their own farm and living off their land. George describes their dream to Lennie because he forgets. George says, O.K. Some day-we're gonna get the jack together and were gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an' a cow and some pigs and-." Lennie interrupts and says, "An' live off the fatta the lan'." This was even popular around the whole world. People would move to America from places like China, Russia, Italy and many more places, to own businesses like food restaurants, but some of them ended up doing organised crime and living on the dangerous streets. The story shows that the dream was popular, when Lennie let the secret of the dream slip out, Candy is quick to consider and joining and explains to George how he can help with his savings. Candy says, "I ain't much good with on'y one hand. I lost my right hand here on this ranch. That's why they give me a job swampin'. An' they give me two hundred an' fifty dollars 'cause I los' my hand. An' I got fifty more saved up right in the bank, and I got fifty more comin' the enda the month. Tell you what-' He leaned forward eagerly. 'S'spose I went in with you guys. Tha's three hundred an' fifty bucks I'd put in. I ain't much good, but I could cook and tend the chickens and hoe the garden some. How'd that be?" This shows how Candy is willing to join George and Lennie's dream and bargains with them.
In the 1930's Hollywood was an industry that was growing rapidly. Young girls would dream of becoming actors and musicians. Their heroines would be famous stars female stars. Some women and teenagers would spend most of their lives preparing for a career in Hollywood. Producers and talent spotters would spend travel and search for potential stars and actors. Some people would pretend and take advantage of the women, they would tell the women how they could make them famous and use them. The story mentions this using Curley's wife when she tells Lennie how she could have become a famous Hollywood film star. Curley's wife tells Lennie and her chance to become a film star and says, "Well, a show come through, an' I met one of the actors. He says I could go with that show. But my ol' lady wouldn' let me. She says I coulda. If I'd went, I wouldn't be livin' like this, you bet."
"Of Mice and Men" is an excellent reference for information on the 1930's. It helps us to understand what was happening in the 1930's. It gives us a clear idea of white people's attitude to black people and everyone's attitude towards The Great Depression. This story is a very good reference of oppression in the 1930's. Candy describes the bosses' behaviour to George and says; I guess the boss'll be out here in a minute. He was sure burned when you wasn't here this morning. Come right in when we was eatin' breakfast and says, 'Where the hell's them new men?' An' he give the stable buck hell, too." This shows how even though Crooks' work was good and that even though he was much liked around the ranch he did not seem to be much appreciated. The 1930's were a very hard period for black people and women of all colours. I think that "Of Mice and Men" is an excellent source for information on the 1930's.
For example many men in 1920's America had to leave their family to earn money to work on ranches because the stock market crashed and they lost their jobs. This is what George and Lennie had to go through. George and Lennie are the two main characters in the novel "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck. George in Lennie had to leave their Aunt Clara in search for work on a ranch.
Dreams are something that a lot of the characters in "Of Mice and Men" have most of them is of doing something with their lives instead of being stuck on a ranch all the time. George and Lennie's dreams are a good example of this.
"OK, Someday were gonna get the jack together and we're gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an' a cow and some pigs and…"
That shows us that George and Lennie have a dream or call it a "Fantasy" about being away from it all and relaxing on their own ranch were they make the rules"
Yet another character that has a dream or an ambition is Curley's wife:
"Cuda been in the movies an had nice clothes like they wear an I cuda sat in one of them big hotels and had pitures took of me"
Curley's wife has a dream that she could have been in the movies and she actually thinks she has the ability to be in the movies as well.
George, Lennie and Curley's wife are not the only characters that have dreams in "Of Mice and Men" Crooks has them as well. He probably has these dreams because he is coloured and at that time in the 1920's there was a lot of racial tension. So he probably wishes he could just get on with people like a normal white man would.
"If you … Guys would want a hand to work for nothing, why I would come and lend a hand.
This shows that Crooks is quite desperate to lead a normal life and he would do anything to not to be judged by his skin colour.
Dreams are not the only thing that many of the characters in "Of Mice and Men" have in common as most of them are lonely as well. This is probably for the same reason that they have a dreams; the fact that living at the ranch means leaving your family and friends. I would say that loneliness is one of the main themes throughout the novel and I also think that Crooks is defiantly the loneliest. He is a "Negro stable buck" and the only reason he does not get beaten up is because the ranch the hands are not aloud to use their feet to fight because Crooks has a bad back.
"I aint wanted"
"I can't play because I am black"
Those quotes show that Crooks is feeling lonely and un-wanted and that he was treating equally.
Another character that's lonely in "Of Mice and Men" is Curley's wife. Her loneliness stems from her being in an unhappy marriage and because she is the only woman on ranch full of men at a time of sexual equality.
"I get lonely" She said "You can talk to people but I can't talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad, how'd you like it not to talk to anybody?"
Curleys is also adding to his wives loneliness by not letting her talk to anyone so she feels very isolated.
All the characters that have dreams are lonely as well, this is probably because when your lonely and have nothing to do you think about things you could be doing if you'd thought harder about what you wanted to do. But disappointingly dreams rarely become reality and this is what happens in "Of Mice and Men" when George shoots Lennie the dreams they were both heading for faded away. This shows us that even if things look like there going to be ok they can quite often turn out badly and it's normally just by a stupid careless mistake.
Overall I think that "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck is excellent. It has a very clever story line but is easy to understand. I also got a feeling of what it would be like to live in 1920's America and how lonely and desperate people get. Im glad that times have changed since then and it's become easier to get a steady job and that there is little racial and sexual tension now. The only bad thing I can say about "Of Mice and Men" is to short and sudden. Other than that its an excellent read
Of mice and men was written by author John Steinbeck, the title of mice and men orientated from poem writing by Robert Burns.
The book "of mice and men" is based in the 1930's during the time of the "great depression" Best friends Lennie and George find themselves unemployed and unable to maintain a stable working pattern for long because of Lennie's childlike acts. When they're hired at the Tyler Ranch, they thrive on the work despite the strict supervision of Curley, the boss's son. But their world is ripped apart when Curley's unhappy wife becomes the innocent victim of Lennie's compassion, forcing George to make a compassionate decision of his own.
In "Of mice and men" dreams becomes a substantial factor in the lives of Lennie and George, through out the story we are frequently reminded about their own personal dream of Lennie's and George. This dream was a of a perfect life, it would also give them enough strength of mind and determination to keep them on trying through the hard times, I feel as if it wasn't for this dream I feel they would have given up already, and possibly their lives sacrificed.
'Of Mice & Men' by John Steinbeck is set during the depression and highlights the extreme economical and social problems through each character. We see them all aspire to live the 'American Dream', while in pursuit for this life disregard one another and do not acknowledge the importance of friendship, in the world of isolation. Loneliness and dreams are recurring themes through out the novel. Curley' s wife is a key figure with in the novel. On a social level she embodies the position of women during the depression and the way in which their emotions had been ignored.
George and Lennie are warned of her by candy when they first reach the ranch. He describes her as ' tart' because she's only been ' Married two weeks and got the eye?', we already have am instant dislike about her and we still haven't met her.
Steinbeck has purposely not given Curley's wife a name, which highlights the concept of women's social position during the depression and how they seemed to be viewed as nothing more than a mans possession. In this case she is nothing more than Curley's possession
We first meet Curley's wife in the barn house; her presence is almost striking. Her appearance seems to embody the image we had constructed from candy's description; provocative and very suggesting.
"She had full, rouged lips and wide spaced eyes, heavily made-up. Her fingernails were red"
The use of the colour red puts emphasis on the idea of her being a seductress and like a scarlet woman. However it also represents danger; and we are already aware of Lennie's attraction to red. The description of her movements is a projection of her sensuousness yet playful attitude towards men; "her body was thrown forward" her body language is very provocative. She is aware that Curly is not in the barn, and even more aware that they are new ranchers. When she hears that Curly is looking for her she becomes "suddenly apprehensive".
She is aware of her appeal and enjoys the attention she is getting from Lennie.
When she leaves, Lennie seems to have been transfixed by her presence, George however is almost to aware that she is a potential threat, he begins to call her a "bitch" "jailbait" and even "poison".
Before we are re-joined with Curley's wife we hear the same names George called her,from the other ranchers. We begin to have a more unfavourable attitude towards her; she makes us question her morals. We hear her being called the same name as Candy's dog, which is significant considering the dog has been given a name yet Curley's wife hasn't.
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This stresses on the theme of loneliness; Curley's wife begins to reflect the rancher's loneliness. Before Curley's wife's entrance, it opens in the harness room of the barn where crooks sleeps. We see him put down his guards and begin to open up to Lennie, his self-esteem grows and in the process is drawn into the dream of companionship and a better life. Yet this is destroyed by the interruption of Curley's wife. Curly seems to have abandoned his wife while visiting a brothel with the other ranchers. We question why curly who has a wife at home needs to go to a brothel?. We than begin to consider whether her suggesting appearance is to convey her sexual desires or indeed her desire for companionship:
" Think I don't like to talk to somebody ever' once in a while? Think I like to stick in the house alla time?"
Curley's wife and Crooks appear to resemble one another in their situation. They have been made outsiders and been isolated by the other ranchers in effect of their physical appearance. Their appearances stand as obstacles in their way of making companions; crooks due to his disability and the racial-prejudice of the time and Curley's wife who is female and married to the boss's violent son.
Curley's wife resents this comparison and tries to differ herself by reminding them that she could have been famous "I tell ya I could have went with shows …An' a guy tol' me he could put me in the pitchers". She becomes bitterer of the 'Weak ones' growing companionship, and uses her authority to re-establish the power of a white woman over a black crippled, by calling crooks cruel racist remarks. In her heap of envy she goes to the extent of threatening to 'Frame' Crooks. From her actions we can conclude that Curley's wife craves attention and companionship, to the extent that she would deprive someone else of it.
In the final section we see Curley's wife confide in Lennie in a ' passion of communication', although Lennie shows no interest like Crook's she feels overwhelmed by having someone to confide. We begin to see a more vulnerable and naive side to Curley's wife. She mirrors the other ranchers dreams "He says he was gonna put me in the movies" we know that the men who told her she could be famous were abusing her youth and innocence by promising her every young girls dream. She doesn't have the intelligence nor wisdom to understand the man's intentions; "I always thought my ol' lady stole it."
We learn from her short soliloquy that she is no more than a naive young girl who aspired to the glamorous life of a Hollywood actress, it is as though she doesn't want to let the dream dwindle. So in result dresses in this provocative manner to almost keep this dream alive, for without it she has nothing. Her dreams of a better life are just as those of the ranchers, however she dreams more of being recognised by the masses, she craves the attention that she lacks in the farm. She seemed to view Curley's proposal as a chance for an escape to a better life. We begin to feel sympathy for her, she is trapped in a marriage were she doesn't like her husband, and can't make friends due to his tight rein.
Although her fate is tragic, the way in which Steinbeck describes her in the moments after her death is as though she is the opposite person we met in the beginning of the novel. This is significant description in the play; it helps define what Curley's wife and many other woman of that time were, beneath the clothes and make-up. Beneath the actress and the role she played into, was nothing more than a young girl; "The ache and attention were gone form her face. She was very pretty and simple, and her face was sweet and young".
When writing "Of Mice and Men" John Steinbeck draws the reader in by mainly describing the setting. In the first two pages a very descriptive and lyrical style of language has been used to give a calm, peaceful atmosphere and to give a strong visual effect of the Willow Pool. John Steinbeck chooses to start at the Willow Pool because this is a very important setting, as the story begins and ends there even though the violent end chapter is in contrast to the calm and peaceful atmosphere of the first. The reader is able to imagine the atmosphere and feeling through the use of descriptive language and therefore immediately the author has captured the reader's interest. Also by using present tense John Steinbeck suggests a real geographical location "the Salinas river drops close to the hill-side" and also presents nature's permanence in contrast human frailty and vulnerability, which is one of the novel's themes.
John Steinbeck raises hopeful expectations in the beginning of the novel by suggesting that it is spring "…green with every spring." Spring is the first season therefore this shows the beginning of a cycle. The cycle will be of a new beginning and of hope because when George tells Lennie (and the reader) about the dream "We'll have a big vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch" This adds realism and people's expectations are raised, feelings of hope are dominant, but with an under - current of fear that the dream will never be raised.
He also uses the beginning to introduce the two main characters, George and Lennie This is mainly done to show their relationship and how Lennie is like a child "Look George, look what I done" and how George is the more dominant of the two - "For God's sake don't drink so much." There are many more examples of how the reader can relate to each character by the hints given by John Steinbeck. Expectations are again raised here about forthcoming events, in the plot for example when Lennie gets them into trouble "An you ain't gonna do no bad things like you done in Weed." This makes the reader wonder what will happen in Weed and whether it will happen again further on in the novel.
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