https://www.planetpapers.com/ Many books have titles that are meaningful. The titles can be made of from the character, the theme, or the events that occurred. Of Mice and Men is an appropriate title for Steinbecks’s book because the characters are mice and men, the plot moves from mice to men, and the theme applies to unfulfilled dreams of mice and men. The title is appropriate because the characters demonstrate traits of mice and men. Lennie is one of the biggest mice in the book. He depended on George who had to always take care of him. Lennie was a quiet guy that only talked when George told him to. “Lennie twisted his neck and looked over his shoulder. Huh? What you want, George.” “I told you you couldn’t bring that pup in here.” “What pup, George? I ain’t got no pup. George went quickly to him, grabbed him by the shoulder and rolled him over. He reached down and picked the tiny puppy from where Lennie had been concealing it against his stomach.” (Pg. 40) Lennie didn’t have any of his own rights; he always had to follow by George’s rules. Also, another mouse in this story is Candy. Candy was a quiet person that tried to mind his own business. One specific incident that seemed like he was a mouse was when Carlson wanted to shoot Candy’s dog, and he couldn’t stop him. He had that dog since he was very young, and when Carlson wanted to shoot it Candy could not say anything about it. “Candy looked about unhappily. No, he said softly. No, I couldn’t do that. I had ‘im to long.” “He don’t have no fun, Carlson insisted. And he stinks to beat hell. Tell you what. I’ll shoot him for you. The it won’t be you that does it.” “Candy threw his leg off his bunk. He scratched the white stubble whiskers on his cheek nervously. I’m so used to him, he said softly. I had him from a pup.” (Pg. 42) Carlson shot the dog anyways, but Candy had to let him go, and didn’t speak up to anyone. On the other hand, there are few men in this story too. One of 2007-03-05T22:28:31-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Of-Mice-and-Men-6729.aspx Steinbeck’s novel presents the American Dream as a sad illusion. Discuss. Of Mice and Men is one of the most powerful and symbolic books of its era. It is, as Steinbeck put it, “…a study of the dreams and pleasures of everybody in the world,” examining many different aspects of human existence. A theme central to this novel is the idea of the American Dream, and of its failure as a realistic possibility. The American Dream is one of liberty, untarnished happiness and self-reliance. The protagonists, George Milton and Lennie Small, centralized their relationship over their dream. The dream was to ‘Someday…get the jack together…have a little house and a couple of acres…” (p.16) This displays George’s belief that one eventual day, their dream will come true, if they saved up their money. He also suggested to Candy that “S’pose they was a carnival or a circus come to town, or a ball game, or any damn thing…We’d just go to her.” (p.61) This indicates that George yearned after the American Dream, wishing to be free and self-reliant, able to go anywhere he’d like at anytime. However, there are hints of the impossibility of this dream. George averred that on their land, “…the cream is so God damn thick you have to cut it with a knife and take it out with a spoon.” (p.57) Also, Lennie claims that they should get different coloured rabbits, and George agrees, saying, “Sure we will. Red and green and blue rabbits Lennie. Millions of ‘em” (p.18) These ideas show that the dream was unrealistic and thus unattainable. Even Crooks claimed that “I seen hundreds of men come by on the road an’ on the ranches, with their bindles on their back an’ that same damn thing in their heads . . . every damn one of ’em’s got a little piece of land in his head. An’ never a God damn one of ’em ever gets it. Just like heaven. Ever’body wants a little piece of lan’... Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land.” (p. 73) In the conclusion of the novel, George and Lennie’s dream was shattered when George was forced to kill Lennie. Although Candy and George were resolute and worked hard in order to attempt and attain independence and their own land, they still did not succeed in doing so. Their journey, which awakened George to the impossibility of 2005-05-29T00:50:26-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/OF-MICE-AND-MEN-THE-AMERICAN-DREAM-IS-PRESENTED-AS-A-SAD-ILLUSION-6175.aspx “The best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry.” This statement explains a major theme in the novel Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck. Everyone has dreams, and the characters in the novel are no different. But sometimes these dreams and aspirations can be shattered. The theme of broken dreams reoccurs in this novel through many characters, such as Lennie, George, Candy and Crooks. Lennie and George are two migrant workers who never seem to be able to fulfill their dream of owning a little patch of land. George and Lennie cling to their belief that they are different from other workers because they have a future and each other. George and Lennie’s dream of owning a farm would enable them to work for themselves and to relinquish them of an inhospitable world. This dream of “living off the fatta the lan’” obviously cannot be accomplished because Lennie was a burden to George and anyone who was friends with him. George and Lennie’s hopes of owning a couple of acres are shattered when George shoots Lennie because he realizes that their dream will never turn to reality when he understands that Lennie is someone who is of no help to anyone, even to his lifelong companion. Another character whose dreams are ruined is Crooks. Crooks is an African-American doomed to spend his life in oppression. Crooks dreams of being recognized as a human being, just a normal person who has a place of his own. He wants to live in a world of bliss and to have the freedom to follow his own desires. Crooks’ has been robbed of his hopes for this life since the start because of the oppression of the African-American in his lifetime. A final character whose ambitions are never achieved is Candy. Candy is a sweet old man who appears to want to live in a kinder world than the one he is living in now. Candy’s latches on to George and Lennie’s dream of owning a little patch of land. Candy just wants to abandon this harsh reality, which he lives in. Candy is so strongly committed to this dream that even after Lennie kills Curley’s wife he begs to George that the both of them buy the farm. Candy’s dream can never be completed because George 2004-11-28T23:15:27-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Of-Mice-and-Men-Character-Analysis-5914.aspx George and Lennie are in every instance are true friends. I suppose that some opposition come from the book where George often say that Lennie is a nuisance and he got stuck with him because of an auntie of Lennie’s .In the novel you get an idea that this is an act and he cares for Lennie because Lennie says cause you got me George and I got you. George is a reconcile intelligent hardworking ranchman. Lennie on the other hand always manages to find trouble. He is equally as hardworking and honest as George but his simple child like minds always finds him trouble wherever he goes. However they have one thing that unites the two of them, as close as any bond can. This is that they both share the same dream of owning their own ranch, and after many hard working years Moving from rand to rand living in complete poverty and working far next to nothing they finally try to achieve this life long dream. To maintain a companion you must have thing in common you must be able to disagree with a sort of respectful understanding, and finally you must care legitimately about that person, Lennie and George’s friendship meet and implement all the needed requirements for being friends. They are a textbook example of loyal friends. They together are like two old people living there life in companionship. Lennie insight on the world and someone that will respect him even though he isn’t intelligent they more importantly give each other something to live for. If Lennie dint meet George he would have died soon after his aunt did because he would either have got himself in a bind with no one to help him on he would have simply wondered off and died of loneliness. Although no matter how much he tries George cannot make up for the huge gap in Lennies mind. Lennie is so childish it is hard to believe fore example when he sees thing he want to grab and touch them. Throughout the book the stress of Lennies retardation begins to weigh down on George because of Lennie they are nomads wherever they go Lennie gets them in trouble. But the friendship holds together and is never separated. At the last location in a town named weed Lennie grabbed a women’s dress to feel it and soon startled the women with his overwhelming strength. 2004-05-29T23:19:12-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/mice-of-men-5681.aspx "Steinbeck creates many themes in of Mice and Men, Discuss" In 2003-12-04T23:54:58-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Of-Mice-and-Men-Themes-5312.aspx Topic ¨C ¡®Of Mice and Men is more then just the tragedy of Lennie. It has shown the sadness and suffering of individuals in a disinterested world.¡¯ Discuss. The death of Lennie at the end of ¡®Of Mice and Men¡¯ seems, at first, to be the most tragic event in the novel, especially for the people directly concerned, such as George and Lennie himself. However, in actual fact, the novel is full of sad people suffering in a world where no one really cares about them. The men who worked on the ranches, the itinerant workers were sad and lonely people. As George says ¡°Guys like us, who work on ranches, were the most lonely people in this world.¡± They had no families and no homes. They moved from place to place to find work. Some had dreams of owning land, but only a few dreams came true. They tried to save up money, but spent every thing on Saturdays. They were back to nothing on Monday again. Most of the ranch hands were totally alone, they had no one to talk car of them. George and Lennie were different. They got each other, and they took cared to each other. Even though Lennie died, at least while he was alive, he had someone who cared about him. For a while, Candy wasn¡¯t so lonely because he had his dog. He had his dog since it was a pup, they companied each other until Candy¡¯s dog was killed. Candy was old and disabled, he know if he couldn¡¯t work anymore, he would be sacked. He would be put on the county on his own. For a while, he had hope again. He could go with George and Lennie and live on their own farm, where there would be love and care. But when Curley¡¯s wife died, his dream was gone. He knew he was going to face the fact, where as soon as he couldn¡¯t out no bunkhouse, he would be put on the county on his own. Candy was a sad and old man whose life was made more tragic by the death of his old dog and Curley¡¯s wife. Crooks too, was another lonely person. Unlike Candy, he was lonely because he was the only black person on the ranch. He was separated from everyone else on the ranch. He was sad and lonely as you can tell from his words with 2003-11-20T10:31:29-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/"Of-Mice-And-Men"-is-more-than-just-the-tragedy-of-Lennie_-5275.aspx Topic ¨C ¡®Of Mice and Men is more then just the tragedy of Lennie. It has shown the sadness and suffering of individuals in a disinterested world.¡¯ Discuss. The death of Lennie at the end of ¡®Of Mice and Men¡¯ seems, at first, to be the most tragic event in the novel, especially for the people directly concerned, such as George and Lennie himself. However, in actual fact, the novel is full of sad people suffering in a world where no one really cares about them. The men who worked on the ranches, the itinerant workers were sad and lonely people. As George says ¡°Guys like us, who work on ranches, were the most lonely people in this world.¡± They had no families and no homes. They moved from place to place to find work. Some had dreams of owning land, but only a few dreams came true. They tried to save up money, but spent every thing on Saturdays. They were back to nothing on Monday again. Most of the ranch hands were totally alone, they had no one to talk car of them. George and Lennie were different. They got each other, and they took cared to each other. Even though Lennie died, at least while he was alive, he had someone who cared about him. For a while, Candy wasn¡¯t so lonely because he had his dog. He had his dog since it was a pup, they companied each other until Candy¡¯s dog was killed. Candy was old and disabled, he know if he couldn¡¯t work anymore, he would be sacked. He would be put on the county on his own. For a while, he had hope again. He could go with George and Lennie and live on their own farm, where there would be love and care. But when Curley¡¯s wife died, his dream was gone. He knew he was going to face the fact, where as soon as he couldn¡¯t out no bunkhouse, he would be put on the county on his own. Candy was a sad and old man whose life was made more tragic by the death of his old dog and Curley¡¯s wife. Crooks too, was another lonely person. Unlike Candy, he was lonely because he was the only black person on the ranch. He was separated from everyone else on the ranch. He was sad and lonely as you can tell from his words with 2003-11-20T10:30:52-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/"Of-Mice-And-Men"-is-more-than-just-the-tragedy-of-Lennie_-5274.aspx The death of Lennie at the end of "Of Mice and Men' seems, at first, to be the most tragic event in the novel, especially for the people directly concerned, such as George and Lennie himself. However, in actual fact, the novel is full of sad people suffering in a world where no one really cares about them. The men who worked on the ranches, the itinerant workers were sad and lonely people. As George says "Guys like us, who work on ranches, were the most lonely people in this world." They had no families and no homes. They moved from place to place to find work. Some had dreams of owning land, but only a few dreams came true. They tried to save up money, but spent every thing on Saturdays. They were back to nothing on Monday again. Most of the ranch hands were totally alone, they had no one to talk car of them. George and Lennie were different. They got each other, and they took cared to each other. Even though Lennie died, at least while he was alive, he had someone who cared about him. For a while, Candy wasn't so lonely because he had his dog. He had his dog since it was a pup, they companied each other until Candy's dog was killed. Candy was old and disabled, he know if he couldn't work anymore, he would be sacked. He would be put on the county on his own. For a while, he had hope again. He could go with George and Lennie and live on their own farm, where there would be love and care. But when Curley's wife died, his dream was gone. He knew he was going to face the fact, where as soon as he couldn't out no bunkhouse, he would be put on the county on his own. Candy was a sad and old man whose life was made more tragic by the death of his old dog and Curley's wife. Crooks too, was another lonely person. Unlike Candy, he was lonely because he was the only black person on the ranch. He was separated from everyone else on the ranch. He was sad and lonely as you can tell from his words with Lennie. "Maybe you can see now. You got George. You knew he was going to come back. Suppose you didn't have anybody. Suppose you were black. How 2003-10-17T23:02:58-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Of-Mice-and-Men-is-more-then-just-the-tragedy-of-Lennie_-5229.aspx After reading Of Mice and Men and watching the movie, I noticed a similarity to some of the cartoons I use to watch when I was younger. I decided to investigate further and discovered that the characters Lennie and George were depicted in several Warner Brothers cartoons. One cartoon, which features a Lennie-like character, involves Bennie the big orange cat, who co-starred with Sylvester the cat. Sylvester: "Stop calling me George, my name’s Sylvester" Bennie: "But I can’t say Sylvester, George’. Bennie also acts similar to Lennie as far as his mental ability and thinking is concerned. Sylvester plays the George character that acts smart all the time. Some other cartoons that include parodies of the two include the following: Bennie and George, Ren and Stimpy, Tom and Jerry, Tweety and Sylvester, Abominable Snowman and Bugs Bunny (shown in picture above). Ren and Stimpy and Bugs Bunny and the Abominable Snowman are the best examples I have found. Ren and Stimpy features Ren as a small Chihuahua who has all the smarts. Stimpy, however, is a big cat who, like Lennie, has very little common sense. The irony is that even though Ren is very smart, he often encounters conflicts that never dawn on Stimpy. This irony is also featured in the novel, as George has to deal with the problems of two people with no help from Lennie. The Abominable snowman cartoon features a snowman called Hugo. The quote "I’m gonna hug him and pet him and call him George" is said by Hugo as he hugs Bugs Bunny in one of the episodes. This dialog and behavior is exactly how Lennie behaves and thinks in the book. Other similarities found in the novel and several cartoons are the fact that the smarter character often must repeat himself to the bigger, dumber character. This is done several times in the novel as George repeats the story about the rabbits to Lennie. Another significant characteristic of the cartoon character modeled after Lennie is that he’s always hugging other characters with tremendous force. His hugs, which symbolize his love for the character, are at the expense of the other character. The affection he shows usually brings pain on the smaller, less fortunate character. In the novel, Lennie kills a mouse and a dog because of his mental disability, affection, and strength. The cartoon parodies of the two characters in Of Mice and Men 2003-10-16T19:19:19-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Of-Mice-and-Men-Cartoon-Characteristics-5228.aspx <i>(I figure I might as well share it instead of toss it out once I'm done with the class)</i> The beginning few scenes are almost identical in the movie and the book. They let the reader know what has just happened to Lennie and George (the trouble they almost got into) and also foreshadows to what might happen in the near future. It is apparent that Lennie and George have had dreams for the future for some time because Lennie makes George tell a story of how they will eventually have their own ranch with rabbits and other animals. It is during this opening scene that the audience learns of Lennie’s mental dysfunction and how it holds George from leading a normal life. Lennie and George make their way to the ranch the next day where they were told they’d find work. Before getting hired they meet Candy, an elderly worker who lost his hand in a machine on the ranch. Candy shows the new workers around and to the boss’s office. The boss of the ranch is a fair man who is in charge of everything. Because George told Lennie to keep quiet, the boss seemed a little suspicious of the couple but still gave them a chance to prove themselves as workers. Candy shows the new workers to their bunks, during which time Curley (the boss’s son) enters. Curley soon gets angry at Lennie for no apparent reason and quickly leaves. George and Lennie find out from Candy that Curley doesn’t like big guys much because he’s jealous. To the audience, Curley becomes a conflict that George and Lennie must face. Because of Lennie’s mental handicap, George will have an even tougher time controlling Lennie’s actions of staying away from Curley and keeping out of trouble that any common sense person would know how to. Other minor characters Slim, Carlson, and Curley’s wife are introduced. Carlson is another worker on the ranch and Slim manages the workers on the field. Curley’s wife wanders in alone in a desperate attempt to get some company. Curley’s wife also becomes a conflict because George realizes that she won’t stay in her house and will try to attract attention from the guys in the bunk house. If Curley notices either of the new people talking to her, he’ll get very angry and want to pick a fight. George knows this but Lennie doesn’t have a clue. 2003-10-16T19:16:51-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Of-Mice-and-Men-Journal-Notes-5227.aspx “Of Mice and Men” – Pages 50-51 (old book) The extract I am studying is on pages 50 and 51 in the old book, where the men are trying to convince candy that his dog should be shot. This is a significant scene, as although the reader does not know it, it is depicting the death of Lennie at the end of the book; candy doesn't want to have the dog shot, but it has to be as it is physically useless and crippled, George doesn't want to have Lennie killed, but he has to be as he is mentally useless and crippled. The same gun is used and Lennie and the dog are both shot in the same manner (in the back of the head). However, there is one difference between the scenes – later, after the dog has been shot by Carlson, candy says “I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn’t ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog”. George remembers this when the time comes to shoot Lennie, the other men would shoot Lennie, but George has to make sure that he gets there first so that he can do it himself. The main purpose of this part of the story is to show how close candy is to his dog, and to show the tension in the atmosphere and candy’s unwillingness to let Carlson shoot his dog. This is achieved using varying sentence lengths, verbs and adjectives and also by repeating certain phrases. At the start of the quote (“Candy looked a long time at slim(half way down p50)…he subdued one hand with the other, and(end of p51)”) there is a lot of short sentences and a lot of dialogue. This is because the men are talking casually, and it sets a slightly tense tone, as people aren’t saying much. The mood is also sort of slow, as ‘gentle’ verbs and adjectives such as “softly and hopelessly” and “the gently-pulling leash.” Make it seem relaxed, but at the same time tense. Later on in the extract, the sentences are a lot longer and there is a lot less dialogue, as the scene is being described, and the room is in silence, which shows that the atmosphere has become a lot more tense since the dog has left. There are two phrases repeated throughout the extract: “Candy stared at the ceiling” and the fact that the 2002-11-24T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/“Of-Mice-and-Men”-–-Pages-50-51-old-book-5164.aspx Loneliness is a state of being alone in sadness, resulting from being forsaken or abandoned. Loneliness is when a person has no one to talk to, no one to confide in, nor anyone to keep companionship with. Loneliness also makes a person slip into a desolate state, which they try to conceal under a tough image, and is an emotion even the strongest cannot avoid. In the novel, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck depicts his characters as always looking for any kind of comfort in a friend; but settling for the attentive ear of a stranger. Although they seem at ease and friendly on the surface, a deep sense of loneliness lingers in the hearts of Crooks, George, Lennie and Curley's wife, to which they are desperate to find an escape from to cope with their seclusion from the rest of society. Crooks, a lively, sharp-witted, black stablebuck, who takes his name from his crooked back, lives a lonely life. He lives according to the rule that no black man is allowed to enter a white man's home. Crooks’ loneliness is a result of rejection from everyone else on the ranch. He is forced to live alone in a barn, where he lives his life in isolation because of his color. When Lennie visits him in the room, Crooks' reactions reveal the fact that he is lonely. As a black man with a physical handicap, Crooks is forced to live on the border of ranch life. He is not even allowed to enter the white men's bunkhouse, or join them in a game of cards. His resentment typically comes out through his bitter, sad, and touching vulnerability, as he tells Lennie: “‘…A guy needs somebody--to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't make no difference who the guy is, long's he's with you. …I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an' he gets sick.’” (72-73) Crooks' openness of his inner self, and his ability to speak his heart's desire to a stranger illustrates how lonely he gets, and admits that it results in sickness. Furthermore, as bitter as he is about his exclusion from other men, Crooks is grateful for Lennie's company, and when Candy enters Crook's room, it becomes difficult for him to conceal his pleasure with anger. The only relationship he can find is with his books. When Lennie talks 2002-09-29T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Of-Mice-and-Men-5020.aspx What is friendship? Friendship is having someone who you care for and have fun with. A friend will always help you both physically and mentally. The novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck exhibits many forms of friendship. Lennie, George, Candy, and Slim show the most friendship in this novel, benefit from each other's companionship and help each other in the harder times of their life. George's friendship is probably the most prevalent in the novel, directed at most of the characters on the ranch and mostly at Lennie. George always helps Lennie out in all situations, in health, safety, and mental stability. For example, when George and Lennie were walking to the ranch, Lennie stops at a dirty pond and drinks the water. “Lennie!” He said sharply. “Lennie, for gods sakes don’t drink so much”…”Lennie you gonna be sick like you was last night(3).” This quote shows that George cares for the well being of Lennie and doesn’t want Lennie to get sick and maybe become bedridden and die. He wants Lennie to be his friend and does not want to lose him. George told Slim about an incident where he almost lost Lennie because of his stubbornness, and was very regretful. He was in the bunk and was telling Slim about how he used to play tricks on George. “I used to have a hell of a lot of fun with ‘im. Used to play jokes on ‘im ‘cause he was too dumb to know.”…”Tell you what made me stop that. One day a bunch of guys was standin’ around up on the Sacremento River. I Was feelin’ pretty smart. I turns to Lennie and says ‘Jump in.’ An’ he jumps. Couldn’t swim a stroke. He damn near drowned before we could get to him. An’ he was so damn nice to me for pullin’ him out. Clean forgot I told him to jump in. Well, I ain’t done nothing like that no more (44)”. This incident made George more aware that he was more in control of Lennie then Lennie was of himself. He doesn’t do anything like that to Lennie anymore because he’s afraid that the next time Lennie will get hurt not only physically, but mentally as well. George always tries to make Lennie happy because he doesn’t want Lennie to leave him. For instance, George promised earlier that he would give Lennie a puppy. 2002-09-22T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Friendship-in-Of-Mice-and-Men-5007.aspx Loneliness is a state of being alone in sadness, resulting from being forsaken or abandoned. As I understand it, loneliness is when a person has no one to talk to, no one to confide in, nor anyone to keep companionship with. Loneliness also makes a person slip into a desolate state, which they try to conceal under a tough image, and is an emotion even the strongest cannot avoid. In his novel, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck deals with loneliness by looking for comfort in a friend, but settling for the attentive ear of a stranger. Although they seem at ease and friendly on the surface, a deep sense of loneliness lingers in the hearts of Crooks, George, and Curley's wife, to which they are desperate to find an escape from to cope with their seclusion from the rest of society. Crooks, a lively, sharp-witted, black stablehand, who takes his name from his crooked back, leads a lonely life. He lives according to the rule that no black man is allowed to enter a white man's home. Crooks’ loneliness is a result of rejection from everyone else on the ranch. He is forced to live alone in a barn, where he lives his life in isolation because of his colour, which was an issue in those days. When Lennie visits him in the room, Crooks' reactions reveal the fact that he is lonely. As a black man with a physical handicap, Crooks is forced to live on the border of ranch life. He is not even allowed to enter the white men's bunkhouse, or join them in a game of cards. His resentment typically comes out through his bitter, sad, and touching vulnerability, as he tells Lennie: …A guy needs somebody--to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't make no difference who the guy is, long's he's with you. …I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an' he gets sick. (Steinbeck 72-73) Crooks' openness of his inner self, and his ability to speak his heart's desire to a stranger illustrates how lonely he gets, and admits that it results in sickness. Furthermore, as bitter as he is about his exclusion from other men, Crooks is grateful for Lennie's company, and when Candy enters Crook's room, it becomes difficult for him to conceal his pleasure with anger. The only relationship he can find is with his 2002-07-29T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Loneliness-Man-s-greatest-enemy-4909.aspx Everywhere you look there is prejudice, you may be the wrong colour, worship the wrong God or wear the wrong thing. No-one fits into our idealistic world perfectly. This prejudice has been around for thousands of years because it is just human nature not to accept people for who they are. In Of Mice And Men there are several different levels of prejudice shown, all contributing to the failure of the American dream. The main types of prejudice shown in this novel are racial, sexual and social prejudice. This essay is firstly going to look at racial prejudice. 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 looks on as a kind of paradise. "The white kids come to play at our place, an’ sometimes I went to play with them and some of them were pretty nice. My ol’ man didn’t like that. I never knew till long 2002-03-02T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Prejudice-exhibited-in-Of-Mice-And-Men-4466.aspx My mother is dead, my father is dead, my sister is dead, and now I am going to kill myself. When reading that list is becomes obvious after the first couple of deaths that there are more to follow. In John Steinbeck’s masterpiece Of Mice and Men, the use of deaths as a motif, or a reoccurring theme, is just the opposite. As we begin our journey with George, “small and quick, dark of face,” (2) and Lennie, “a huge man, shapeless of face,” (2), we experience the death of a mouse that Lennie carries in his pocket to pet. Once the two men have reached the ranch that they plan on working on, a set of puppies are killed because their mother is unable to feed them. With the promise of a new dog Candy, a worker with only one hand, allows Carlson to shoot is old suffering dog. Lennie is also given a puppy that he accidentally kills while playing with him. Lennie also kills Curly’s wife, be breaking her neck. The final and most significant death is that of Lennie, who is shot in the back of the head, by his companion, George. After taking a serious look at all of the deaths in Of Mice and Men, it is conclusive that there is a large correlation between several of the deaths played out. The first comparison is obvious, the mouse and Lennie’s puppy. The two were both killed by Lennie, and both used to satisfy Lennie’s obsession with soft things. The death of the four puppies and Curly’s wife also seem to fit together. The puppies were killed because Lulu was unable to feed them; just as it was necessary that Curly’s wife dies because she caused nothing but trouble amongst the workers. The final set of deaths is that of Candy’s old dog and Lennie. Candy’s old dog had become useless; it was suffering “ The dog struggled lamely…” (24) Once Lennie killed Curly’s wife it became apparent that if Lennie was not killed or “put to sleep” he would indefinitely suffer. The death of the dog early on foreshadows Lennie’s death. Although Steinbeck uses death as a motif, and hints at things, the deaths at the end of the book almost come out of the blue. The reader can be left shocked or at the very least bewildered. When Lennie and Curly’s wife begin to have 2002-01-21T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Death-the-final-motif-in-Of-Mice-and-Men-4291.aspx The film adaptation of John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” opens with scenes of a woman in a red dress, running through fields in desperate escape from some undefined terror. Her flight frames the movie, as though she is running, headlong, into the nameless dread of the future. As it turns out, the woman is in fact running from Lennie, and Lennie and George are running from her protectors. In the novel, we do not become aware of exactly what happens to cause her fear until chapter three, when George is speaking with Slim, the skinner. Difference within sequence of scenes such as this help the reader to develop a better understanding of things that have happened in the storyline. Although the setting of the story may not appear to be significant, the plot could have taken place in a few other places. Migrant life is essential to the story; it must occur in a location and at a time which male migrants were used to farm the land and carry out the work at ranches. It is also essential that the ranch be relatively isolated to provide George and Lennie with their cover and escape. The movie succeeds in portraying this, the setting making a huge impact on the reader, because it lives up to all of its requirements. The men are hard working and skilled, the ranch is isolated, and the story takes place in the period during The Great Depression, which assists in exploring the theme of loneliness throughout the story. The supporting cast in the movie is what keeps the plot moving along and provides symbolic significance to the characters that each member portrays. Curley and his wife provide suspense and climax. They symbolise evil; both repress and abuse migrants, with different approaches, but achieving the affect of appearing to be superior to them all, using their relation to the boss as a threat to the men’s employment. Their threat is emphasised by their body language and the way that they treat other people on the ranch. Curley is always out to pick a fight, and his wife always ‘searching’ for him, stirring up trouble between her husband and the other men on the ranch that she comes into contact with. George and Lennie’s friendship forms the core of the story. Its sincerity is never questioned; the men are inseparable, and what keeps them together is the dream that 2001-12-10T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/How-does-the-film-add-to-your-understanding-of-the-novel-4138.aspx Steinbeck rests a great deal of blame for the murder on the victim herself. Her offer to let Lennie touch her hair may be construed as a sexual advance. She even prefaces the offer with a complaint about how she is a lonely woman who dislikes her husband and is dissatisfied with her marriage. Her complaints of loneliness are likely sincere, yet she presents them in a manipulative manner that reduces any sympathy that the reader may have for the character. Curley's Wife clearly believes that she deserves a better life. She considers herself a possible Hollywood starlet stuck in a loveless marriage because she refused what she believes were possible opportunities for greatness. When Lennie kills her, Steinbeck offers a disturbing image. He describes her with more life and vitality as a corpse than he did as a living character; her rouged face and reddened lips giving her the appearance of life even after 2001-10-05T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Of-Mice-and-Men-3810.aspx The Great Depression was a difficult time for all Americans. The economy was terrible, no one was making any money, and people were forced to live on the streets or work for food. That is exactly what George Milton and Lennie Small did in Of Mice and Men. Set in the 1930's during the Depression, Of Mice and Men deals with many moral issues such as retardation, euthanasia, and friendship. With such characters as Curley, Slim, and Crooks, this book was thoroughly enjoyable and realistic in every sense. In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck illustrates the possibilities that life has and its effects on Lennie, Crooks and George. It shows a view of two outsiders struggling to understand their own unique places in the world. Steinbeck suggests humans have the natural potential to seek happiness although the potential can be fatal or harmful. Although Lennie does not have the potential to be smart, Lennie has the potential to be a hard worker; however, Lennie's strength did not work with him and the result was fatal. Lennie is an extremely large man who had the strength of a bull. With the use of his strength, he was a great worker but did not understand how strong he was. George explains Lennie's strength by "that big b*****d can put up more grain alone than most pairs can,"(p. 34) Through his size and his enormous amount of strength, Lennie could out work the other men of the ranch by himself. By using Lennie's strength he became a great worker who knew nothing more than to work. Lennie uses his abilities to work hard, but does not understand how strong he is. Without George, Lennie does not understand what to do. Lennie, who gets frightened and uses his strength to hold on to objects, is just like a child. He will do whatever George tells him to: "Curley was flopping like a fish on a line, and his closed fist was lost in Lennie's hand"(p. 63). George slapped Lennie in the face repeatedly and still Lennie held on. Through Lennie's actions we can see that Lennie is very similar to a child. Lennie's first instinct when he is frightened is to hold on. Just as a little kid holds on to its mum or dad when they become frightened, Lennie holds on to objects. Because of Lennie's inability to understand his strength, 2001-09-23T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Of-Mice-and-Men-3761.aspx “Of Mice And Men”, being a story about two men and their struggles, however never really going into detail of the mice in which were unjustly murdered. The mice slaughtered by Lennie were never really at fault for their actions. When being harshly petted by Lennie, the mice would only try to protect themselves, thus Lennie resorted to killing the mice in his own defense. These mice, being killed constantly by Lennie, were innocent victims sent to their predator by Lennie’s Aunt Clara. Did Aunt Clara consider the consequences that would later effect the mice? These mice may have had families of their own in which they would never return to. A mother mouse may have gathered food for the next meal only to see the father of her children never return. Of course it is better that she never see what had fatally happened that day. These mice, once caught by Aunt Clara, never had a chance. After capturing this poor, innocent, little creature, it was then released into the hands of Lennie. Is it the mice’s fault that they are so soft, and touchable? If only mice were more repugnant, hideous or gruesome they would have a chance of surviving. Maybe if these minute creatures were more passive, and did not try to protect themselves they would still be alive. However, how can one be sure of that? Perhaps Lennie would have petted the creature to a more powerful extent thus killing it still while the innocent mice just took the suffering. Unknown to Lennie, the mice may have had a dream just like him. Though most mice probably would not have dreamt about owning their own land, a dream may have still existed. Maybe the mice would have wanted to live some place safe from people. Dreaming of a place in which a mouse could eat all the time not having to search for food, Lennie may have killed them. This harsh reality is exactly the same as what had happened to Lennie. It is unable to be disproved that what George had done to Lennie in his time of weakness was not the same as what Lennie had done to the mice in their time of helplessness. Possibly, that was how the mice wanted to die though, happy picturing their dreams in their heads. On the other hand, one is not to be sure that these mice did not 2001-08-11T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Character-Summary-The-Mice-3628.aspx Even from the very start of John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, the uniqueness of George, as a character, is already noticeable. He is described as “small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp strong features” and has an obvious dominance over the relationship between Lennie and himself. This lets the reader know from a very early stage in the book that George is different, and probably the essential character. George’s character seems to be used by Steinbeck to reflect the major themes of the novel: loneliness, prejudice, the importance of companionship, the danger of devoted companionships, and the harshness of Californian ranch life. George’s relationship with Lennie has made him selfless; his conversations, with and with out Lennie, are generally revolving around Lennie, although in the case of their dream-ranch George seems to find fulfilment for himself as well. Due to these altruistic tendencies that he shows throughout the novel, a danger is bestowed upon George; he tends to care for Lennie far too much, and too little for himself. In occasional moments, he escapes his sympathy and compassion for Lennie, and realises the burden that he causes. This usually results in George taking his frustration out on Lennie, which can often harm his simple mind, leaving Lennie upset and forced to confess to his own uselessness, and George feeling guilty for what he has caused. We can learn very little about George through his actual conversations, which made it necessary for Steinbeck to focus the novel on him in particular, and let the reader gain an closer insight on him through his actions. Generally, he seems to be caring, intelligent and sensible, but is greatly worn by the constant attention Lennie requires. This illustrates a major theme in Of Mice and Men, the dangers that arise when one becomes involved in a dedicated relationship. Despite the frustration that Lennie causes, without him George would probably be a lot like the other men on the ranch; simply roaming the country-side of California looking for work, and although he often prides himself on being different, he sometimes complains, usually after Lennie has caused trouble, and wishes that he could be like a normal guy and not have to live with Lennie’s hindrance. An example of this is seen when George responds sharply to Lennie's constant request for ketchup. "If I was alone I could live so easy…no trouble…no 2001-06-23T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Of-mice-and-Men-The-importance-of-George-3523.aspx “Friendship needs no words—it is a loneliness relieved of the anguish of loneliness.” - Dag Hammarskjold. Without friends, people begin to suffer loneliness and solitude. In Of Mice and Men, the characters of Crooks and Curley’s wife suffer loneliness stemmed from some form of rejection. Both of them are desperate to find an escape from their loneliness or some easy way to cope with their seclusion from the rest of the society. Crooks is a black man that experiences isolation because the society that he lives in is racist. “ A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody … I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an he gets sick.” Crooks’ loneliness is a result of rejection from everyone else on the ranch. He is forced to live alone in a barn, let to work only with the horses. Crooks spends most of his time reading. The only relationship he can find is with his books. When Lennie enters his room, Crooks is interested in Lennie’s relationship with George. “Well s’pose, jus’ s’pose he don’t come back.” Crooks wants to make people understand and maybe even have sympathy for his situation. Crooks becomes so desperate for a relationship that he offers his services to George and Lennie for free, just to escape his loneliness. Curley’s wife, Mae, is married to a man that gives her little attention and none of his time. Mae dresses and acts like a “tart” to gain attention on the ranch in order to soothe her loneliness. Because she is the only woman on the ranch, her flirting causes the men on the ranch to want to avoid her. “Wha’s the matter with me? Ain’t I got a right to talk to nobody?” The men don’t want any trouble from her husband. Mae struggles to find someone in her society to consult with. She finally seeks out someone who doesn’t know any better than to talk to her. Once she found that person, Lennie, her lonliness is sotthed permanently. Loneliness is an emotion even the strongest can’t avoid. In the story, one can find many cases of loneliness, mainly a result of discrimination or prejudice. Crooks was an outcast from society because of his race. Mae was to be avoided at all costs simply because she was a woman in a man’s world. In both cases, they tried to cope with their loneliness by taking interest in 2001-05-30T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Loniless-in-Of-Mice-and-Men-3427.aspx In the novel 'Of Mice and Men', by John Stienbeck, a mentally challenged man, Lennie, loses his innocence and his dream, of owning his own ranch with rabbits, when he accidentally breaks a woman's neck. In the novel 'Flowers or Algernon', by Daniel Keyes, another mentally challenged man, Charlie, loses his innocence and dreams, of being like everyone else, when, through the aid of an operation, realizes people were making fun of him rather than being his friends. Although, in both cases innocence and dreams were the loss, their innocence was also the underlying cause of the loss. Lennie is a very loveable character, who has hope and dreams. He wants to live on a ranch with George and raise rabbits. He looks at his plans as reachable even when it seems impossible because after he kills Curleys wife, Lennie still thinks he can have a ranch and rabbits, with the assurance of George. Although Lennie never reaches his dream, he dies with the thought of achievement. Charlie on the other hand, has dreams of being smart just like everyone else. He tries very hard in school and when offered the chance of having an operation to make him 'smart', he jumps at the opportunity. Although his teacher influences him, she had little impact. Unlike Lennie, Charlie reaches his dream but ends up broken hearted when his dream doesn't last. Lennie had a soft spot for petting animals and soft things. He is totally oblivious to the fact that he hurts almost every thing he touches. He had pet mice and ended up killing them and when he played with the 'pup' he ended up killing it too. His uncontrolled strength also caused him to kill Curley's wife. "Lennie's fingers fell to stroking her hair... he stroked harder... "Let go!" she cried... She struggled violently... and then she was still; for Lennie had broken her neck." (Page 91). With the death of Curley's wife, Lennie's innocence was taken. He had unwillingly killed. He had to pay the price, by losing his life. Charlie lived in a paradise-like world, he though he had many "friends". The only thing he felt he was missing was brains. When he was offered the chance to become 'smart' he jumped at the chance to be like everyone else. Unprepared for the changes intelligence would bring, Charlie lost his innocence. When he realizes his 'friends' don't 2001-05-27T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Lennie-and-Charlie-3411.aspx Loneliness is an inevitable fact of life that not even the strongest can avoid. In his novel, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck illustrates the loneliness of California ranch life in the early 1930's. Throughout the story, the reader discovers the many sources of solitude, primarily being discrimination and prejudice, resulting in loneliness and isolation. One of the most important things that are really needed is a friend. Without friends, people would suffer from loneliness and solitude. The characters in this novel are intrigued yet envious of the special friendship shared by George and Lennie because they do not have that in their life. All the characters are extremely lonely and unhappy with their lives (except Slim, who is the only character that seems to be confident and happy with his life), and none of them can escape this unhappiness. Economic and social forces control them, and free will seems illusory. To study the aspect of loneliness in Of Mice and Men, we will study George and Lennie’s bittersweet friendship, as well as loneliness through 3 characters who are forced to locate their happiness elsewhere to fight off their loneliness--in Crooks' childhood on the chicken farm, or Curley's wife's vision of Hollywood stardom, or George and Lennie's Eden-like dream of their own farm. And finally we will point out interesting similarities between certain characters. The setting of the novel is destined for loneliness. Soledad is short for the town's full name, 'Nuestra Senora de Soledad' which means 'Our Lady of Loneliness'. This is the town that is closest to the ranch, a place that is already full of lonely, solitary people. The name of the closest town being Soledad, we understand that loneliness is some kind of vicious circle, because on the ranch they are already lonely, and going to town to fight that loneliness wont help since its called “Soledad”. "Guys like us, that live on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world." George means that if not for each other, then he and Lennie would be all alone, with no friends, like all the men like them, who are nomads working from ranch to ranch without making any friends, and living a lonely, solitary life. Clinging to each other in their loneliness and alienation, George and his simple-minded friend Lennie dream, as drifters will, of a place to call their own. But we can attribute another meaning to 2001-05-23T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Loneliness-In-Of-Mice-And-Men-3397.aspx In Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men, He uses imagery in all sorts of manners to create a realistic setting and plot. His portrayal of migrant workers and their everyday problems during the depression are quite accurate due too his use of imagery with idioms, dreams, nature, loneliness and animal imagery. The main theme of the book although, happens to be loneliness and fate. Although George and Lennie, the main characters have a symbiotic relationship, fate steps in and destroys their dreams which were so close to being achieved. George is the small, less strong, "brains" of the operation. While Lennie is the tall, strong, lug who more or less has the brain of a 5-year-old child. He relies on a sense of touch, which makes him seem perverted, as he is a tall strong man with almost no common sense. Loneliness plays a large part in this book; the unlikely destroyer of George and Lenin's dreams is a young woman who is married to the boss's son Curley. Although she is probably one of the most important characters next to George and Lennie, Steinbeck doesn't give her a real name only referring to her as Curley's wife. Her loneliness is so detrimental to her that she becomes a flirt and still is lonely. "Why can't I talk to you I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely."(Steinbeck pg. 86) Because of her reputation for being a flirt none of the farmhands wanted to talk to her. It was the threat of getting in trouble with Curley that caused many workers to avoid her. In addition, because of Curley's insecure feelings he neglected her and forced her to seek attention anyway she could, even it meant flirting. She was ignored by both the farmhands and her own husband and because of this she was being forced into loneliness, the one thing she fought so hard against. Candy is another man who is used as an example of lonely migrant workers. Loneliness affects candy due to 2 major factors, his old age and his disability. This makes him quite different than the young fully capable farmhands on the ranch. He simply cleans the ranch up and sweeps. It's until Lennie and George arrives that he plays the outcast. With the addition of the duo, candy is asked to join them in their dream ranch. But all will not fare 2001-04-28T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Imagery-Focal-point-for-Steinbeck-3273.aspx <center><b>Lennie and George: In what ways are they 'mates'? Is this a true friendship, as you understand friendship?</b></center> George and Lennie are in every instance 'mates'. I suppose that some opposition comes from the book where George often says that Lennie is a nuisance, and he got stuck with him because of an auntie of Lennie's. In the novel you get an idea that this is an act, and he cares for Lennie because Lennie says, "'Cause you got me, George and I got you" and George agrees. George is a reasonably intelligent, hardworking ranchman. Lennie on the other hand always manages to find trouble. He is equally as hardworking and honest as George but his simple childlike mind always finds him trouble wherever he goes. However they have one thing that unites the two of them as close as any bond can. This is that they both share the same dream of owning their own ranch - and after many hard working years, moving from ranch to ranch, living in complete poverty and working for next to nothing they finally try to achieve this life long dream. To maintain a companion you must have things in common, you must be able to disagree with a sort of respectful understanding, and finally you must care legitimately about that person. Lennie and George's friendship meet and implement all the needed requirements for being friends. They are a textbook example of loyal friends. They, together, are like two old people living their life in companionship. Lennie gives George someone to talk to and someone to keep him on track. George gives Lennie insight on the world and someone that will respect him even though he isn't intelligent. They, more importantly, give each other something to live for. If Lennie didn't meet George he would of died soon after his aunt did, because he would either have got himself in a bind with no one to help him or he would of simply wondered off and died of loneliness. Although, no matter how much he tries, George cannot make up for the huge gap in Lennies mind. Lennie is so childish it is hard to believe, for example when he sees things he wants to grab and touch them. Throughout the book, the stress of Lennie's retardation begins to weigh down on George. Because of Lennie, they are nomads. Wherever they go, Lennie gets them in 2001-04-08T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Lennie-and-George-3165.aspx The main theme of ‘Of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck is fate . The techniques he uses such as the title , repetition , echoes and symbolism are very successful in putting across his very pessimistic views on this theme . The two main characters , George and Lennie , share a dream . George dreams of a piece of land of his own . Independence . A couple of acres , a cow and some pigs . Lennie dreams of tending rabbits . With the title ‘Of Mice and Men’ , Steinbeck is telling you that this dream whilst on the verge of realization , will be destroyed by fate . It relates to Robert Burns’ poem ‘To a Mouse’ . Burns and Steinbeck share the same pessimistic views on fate . In ‘To a Mouse’ Burns shows that he believes that just as your dreams are about to come true , ‘The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men ,’ fate will always strike , ‘ gang aft agley ‘. The last two lines ,’ An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain , for promis’d joy! ‘, show that Burns believes that you’re worse off after your dreams have been crushed than you were before In the story , almost anyone could be the mouse although the most obvious is George . I think this is a very well chosen title for this short story as if you know the poem you know more or less what is going to happen . Steinbeck’s technique of repetition is effective in that it builds up to the climax of the tragedy . The mouse Lennie had was dead . He had killed it unintentionally when petting it . This situation is repeated further on in the story when Lennie is given a pup by Slim . Lennie had been playing with it and had hit the puppy for biting him . You know that an incident like this is going to be the downfall of George and Lennie . The episode in Weed also hints on future tragedy . Lennie sees a girl wearing a beautiful red dress and , child-like as he is , he wants to touch it . He grabs the dress and the girl lets out a loud scream . He panics and all he can think of to do is hold on .He holds on until George 2001-03-26T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Of-Mice-and-Men-Critical-evaluation-3107.aspx The aspect of the John Steinbeck novels, The Pearl and Of Mice and Men, that is most comparable is how, in both books, Steinbeck denies the main characters of each book, Kino and George and Lennie to change their role in life or to beat fate. Steinbeck’s grim outlook of life was perhaps brought on through his early failures and poverty, because all three of the pre-mentioned characters had opportunities to change their fate or role but failed. The elements of discussion are Kino, George and Lennie, a comparison and a contrast. Kino found one of the most valuable and precious pearls in the world and being convinced of its worth was not going to be cheated by only minimally upgrading his condition of life. Instead he wanted to break the fixed life and role that he and his family had and always would live. Kino refuses the maximum offer of fifteen hundred pesos that would easily ease his and his family’s pain and suffering for the coming months. Kino is then determined to trek to the capital to find a fair and just offer. Kino continues determined through the mountains after an attempt at the pearl, his canoe destroyed and his hut set a blaze. Continuing to put his family’s life on the line. It eventually takes the death of his beloved son Coyotito to make him realize he needs to stop being so greedy, no matter how hard he tries and to shut his mouth and know his role. George and Lennie have to continue to move around the country looking for work until Lennie screws up again. The instability of work only makes it that much harder for them to complete their dream of a farm of their own. Candy’s participation in the dream of the farm upgrades the dream into a possible reality. As the tending of rabbits comes closer to happening fate curses them with the accidental death of Curley’s wife. The end of their wishful thinking is summed up by Candy’s question on page 104, “Then-it’s all off?” Things that are similar about the two novels and how both of their dreams were crushed are both are groups of people who have these dreams and each finds or meets something that can help their dreams come true, the pearl and Candy. Furthermore, the realization of their dreams coming to an end is, in both books, 2001-03-21T13:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Of-Mice-and-Men-vs-The-Pearl-3075.aspx “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck is a novel involving two extremely different main characters. George is reasonably intelligent, hard working ranchman. Lennie on the other hand always manages to find trouble. He is equally hardworking and honest as George but his simple childlike mind always finds him trouble wherever he goes. where as in The Withered Arm by Thomas Hardy the two main characters hate each other. Rhoda is old and has a child to farmer Lodge. On the other hand Gertrude is young, beautiful and is Farmer lodges new wife. In terms of emotional stability, there is only one thing in life that is really needed and that is friends. Without friends, people would suffer from loneliness and solitude. Loneliness leads to low self-esteem and deprivation. In the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ the characters, Crooks, Candy and Curley’s Wife all exhibit some form of loneliness. They are driven towards the curiosity of George and Lennie’s friendship because they do not have that support in their life. Through his novel, ‘Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck demonstrates that often times, a victim of isolation will have a never-ending search to fulfil a friendship. “A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t matter no difference who the guy is, longs he with you. I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an he gets sick.” Steinbeck writes the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ using a 3rd person narrative to show how emotionally remote the characters are and to show that they don’t get to know people intimately. This for me is enhances the success of the book as it gives an equal account of all the characters feelings. Although in The Withered Arm it does ‘use a 3rd person’ but not as conclusively as ‘Of Mice and Men’ In the opening chapter Steinbeck immediately introduces the idea of loneliness and the idea of the men living very temporary lives, with no real direction. Steinbeck cleverly uses the setting to convey these ideas. The path George and Lennie are walking on is described as “A path beaten hard by boys... and beaten hard by tramps who came wearily down from the highway in the evening to jungle - up near water” and “an ash pile made by many fires” It is a quite similar story in The Withered Arm, Hardy has introduces the concept of loneliness too, which follows on as the novel progresses. 2001-03-13T13:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Differences-between-of-mice-and-men-and-the-withered-arm-3028.aspx George is described as "small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp strong features", which immediately draws contrast with Lennie, demonstrating that where Lennie is simple and slow, George is more mentally able and has a dominant position in their relationship. Because of his rôle of Lennie's carer, and hence that much of George's conversation is about Lennie, we learn little about him through his actual conversations with people. His only extended meaningful conversations are with Slim, and certainly do centre on Lennie, a clear indicator that much of George's life is centred on Lennie. We can, however, learn a great deal about him through his actions; he is caring, level headed and sensible, but is greatly worn by the constant attention Lennie requires. Despite this, it is clear that he loves him greatly. We understand from his actions and attitudes that George is sensible and able to think quickly in a situation, he is rational and a realist. He knows from experience and understanding of the nature of others, for example, that if the boss hears Lennie talk and realises his handicap, then it is unlikely they will get work. Thus he tells Lennie not to talk during their preliminary encounter, "you ain't gonna say a word…if he finds out what a crazy bastard you are we won't get no job". He also knows, from past experience presumably, to make Lennie repeat things two or three times over to himself, to help him remember. He also knows that Lennie is likely to do things and attempt to hide them, such as when he instantly realises Lennie has a puppy with him when entering the bunkhouse. "George went quickly to him, grabbed him by the shoulder and rolled him over. He reached down and picked the tiny puppy from where Lennie had been concealing it against his stomach." The fact he is so fast and sure in his actions suggests there his little doubt in his prediction that Lennie will have a puppy with him; he knows him well. He also knows to be naturally suspicious of others he encounters for fear that they will be prejudiced against Lennie, and although this can result in the loss of potential friendships, it is unfortunately necessary as otherwise Lennie would face much more danger. Exemplification of this is his natural reaction to Curley's wife; he warns Lennie to stay away 2001-03-07T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Character-and-Importance-of-George-3013.aspx Man needs companionship and has difficulty maintaining it because no humans think the exact same or have the exact same beliefs. To maintain a companion you must have things in common, you must be able to disagree with a sort of respectful understanding, and finally you must care legitimately about that person. These three requirements to preserve a companionship are at times arduous to keep true. Some people do not have the time, concern, or the ability to sustain a veritable friendship with a companion or companions. Lennie and George’s companionship meet and transcend all the needed requirements. They are a textbook example of loyal friends. They, together, are like peanut butter and jelly in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Lennie gives George someone to talk to and someone to keep him on track. George gives Lennie insight on the world and someone that will respect him even though he isn’t intelligent. They, more importantly, give each other something to live for. If George wouldn’t have met Lennie he would be a drunk in a whorehouse dying of cirrhosis. If Lennie didn’t meet George he would of died soon after his aunt did, because he would either have got himself in a bind with no one to help him or he would of simply wondered off and died of loneliness. Crooks suffers from loneliness, because he is black, not because he is an unfriendly person. Crooks, though, may seem mean, but he is just tired of being rejected and disrespected by everybody around him. Crooks has a horrible life. He will never have a companion or anybody that will respect him unless he meets another black person. Crooks says,” I’ll tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick. (Pg. 73)” He doesn’t even have the opportunity to have a companion, and that is sad. Curley’s wife suffers from loneliness also. Her only companion is very controlling. Curley makes sure his wife doesn’t talks to anyone. She is a victim of herself because she married a man that she hardly even knew. She married him though to have a companion. She killed herself and Lennie because of her need for companionship. She craves companionship because she is an attractive woman with need for interaction. Curley’s wife says,” Think I don’t like to talk to somebody ever’ once in a while? (Pg. 77)”. Curley has two companions: his wife 2001-02-26T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Of-Mice-and-Men-Campanionship-2931.aspx The central element of this novella is its symbolism. This novella has plenty of symbolical forms, such as people, creed, and some of the animals. Candy has several terms of symbolism, for example his disability is a symbol of the migrant workers who are just literally forgotten about, they are forgotten when they are no use to the owners. Candy’s dog is a symbol of a life only for advantage to others Lennie also for shadows this, he is belittled of his mind but enormously commented for his strength. Also he is compelled to lie about the fight he had with Curley, this is a symbol of typical male society in the, “Depression era”. Crook has many symbolical items, his disability is a symbol of his loneliness. He constantly rubs his back with medicine to inoculate to himself, this is a symbol of the pain he intakes. He is extremely lonely. His book of California rights is a symbol of power and knowledge of his rights of freedom. The neatness of his stable is a symbol that he is trying to show that he has got the same things as white people. The farm is a very important symbol in the novella it is important because it is repeated throughout the novella it is reminding the reader of the comforting dream that Lennie and George have created. It is a symbol of brotherly love. The dream in some ways is like the whole “Depression era” it reminds the reader of freedom and homely pleasure. Curley and Curley’s wife both represent evil both oppress and abuse the migrant workers. Curley especially harasses Lennie because of Lennie’s strength and how enormous he is. This is a symbol of cat and mouse. The horses rattling chains are a symbol of the slavery and lack of freedom. This symbol occurs quite often. The mouse in the novella is soft, small, this is a symbol of innocence. This for shadows Lennie he is venerable. Lennie is a symbol himself in his action towards beguiling soft things. Like when he stroked that ladies dress and she cried out rape it was a symbol of the power a white woman had then. Another example of this is when crooks said to Curley’s wife to go or he would call the boss to Curley’s wife but all she did was black mailed him by saying, “Listen, Nigger, you know what 2001-02-23T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Of-Mice-and-Men-Symbolism-2891.aspx ‘Of Mice and Men’, a novel by John Steinbeck, tells a story of friendship, loneliness and aspirations. Two itinerants named George and Lennie go to work on a farm as labourers in a place named Soledad. The story then ends when George takes Lennie’s life. Almost everyone on the farm is lonely and the person that represents this the most is Curley’s (the boss’s son) wife, one of the most pivotal characters in the book. When Lennie and George arrive on the farm and are shown their quarters Curley’s wife, on one of her ‘looking for Curley’ routines, sees them both and immediately starts flirting with them. George gets angry when Lennie takes a shine to her and tell him to stay away and calls her a ‘bitch’ and a ‘rat-trap’ This view is also held by many of the workers on the farm. Curley instantly takes a dislike to Lennie when he firsts meets him just because he his much considerably larger that himself. This attitude towards Lennie results in him getting into a fight with him but he loses when Lennie crushes his hand with his own fist. Curley’s wife knows Lennie did this even though Curly was told to say he had caught his hand in a machine. Curley’s wife pursuit of company leads her to seek solace with Lennie. She pours out her pent up frustration of her unrealised dreams and ambitions. When she realises Lennie isn’t taking much interest she lets him feel her hair. Lennie being Lennie strokes harder and harder even though Curley’s wife begs him to stop. As she struggled to get out of his grasp he accidentally broke her neck. Lennie then ran off to his hiding place where he was told to go if he ever did a ‘bad thing.’ When Curley discovers his wife’s body he runs after Lennie with a mob including George. This leads to George pulling a trigger on Lennie. I feel Curley’s wife is the most despairing and lonely character in the book. She has no friends, no future, no respect; she doesn’t even deserve a name. I really feel sorry for her, all she wants is someone to talk to, to converse with but in her mind the only way she can do this is by flaunting herself to the men just to get noticed. This leads her to be perceived as a ‘floosy’ by 2001-02-08T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Of-Mice-and-Men-A-critical-look-at-Curley’s-wife-2841.aspx “ Of Mice and Men “ by John Steinbeck is a novel involving two extremely different main characters. George is a reasonably intelligent, hardworking ranchman. Lennie on the other hand always manages to find trouble. He is equally as hardworking and honest as George but his simple childlike mind always finds him trouble wherever he goes. However they have one thing that unites the two of them as close as any bond can. This is that they both share the same dream of owning their own ranch – and after many hard working years, moving from ranch to ranch, living in complete poverty and working for next to nothing they finally try to achieve this life long dream. I enjoyed this novel because I found the contrast between the two main characters very interesting and wanted to try to understand why Steinbeck has chosen main characters such as George and Lennie, as the rest of the book was mainly moulded around these two specific characters. I was very involved with most aspects of the book particularly that of the setting. However I have decided my task will be to focus on the themes of friendship and loneliness. Steinbeck writes the novel “Of mice and Men” using 3rd person narrative to show how emotionally remote the characters are and to show that they don’t get to know people intimately. This for me is enhances the success of the book as it gives an equal account of all the characters feelings. In the opening chapter Steinbeck immediately introduces the idea of loneliness and the idea of the men living very temporary lives, with no real direction. Steinbeck cleverly uses the setting to convey these ideas. The path George and Lennie are walking on is described as “ A path beaten hard by boys… and beaten hard by tramps who came wearily down from the highway in the evening to jungle – up near water “ and “ an ash pile made by many fires “ These quotes for me convey the idea of the setting and the characters living very temporary, lonely lives. Not only do these quotes describe the setting, they also give us a detailed description of the men’s tragic, isolated lives as well. For example when Steinbeck tells us about an ash pile made by many fires. He is actually making the point that the ash pile occurred from lots of men passing through 2001-01-20T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/George-and-Lennie-A-friendship-2773.aspx “Of Mice and Men” was written bye John Steinbeck and is a fictional book. “Of Mice and Men” is a book about two life long friends named George and Lennie. They go to a farm to do some farm work after having to run away from their old town Weed. In their new farm, they meet many people including Curley, a little boxer guy who hates big guys like Lennie, and Curley’s wife, who is a tart. Lennie and George have many grand adventures on the farm, but one day while George is out playing horseshoes, Lennie accidentally kills Curley’s wife. Lennie runs away but when the guys come back to find Curley’s wife dead, George is forced to kill his friend. The four people responsible for Lennie’s death are George, Curley’s wife, Lennie, and Curley. The person most responsible for Lennie’s death is George. The reasons why I think this is mainly because George shot Lennie in the end of the book. Also George left Lennie alone in the barn giving Curley’s wife a chance to come and talk to him, and that is when Lennie killed her. George should have given Lennie more instructions on what he was supposed to do while George was out with his friends. The second most responsible for Lennie’s death is Curley’s wife. The reasons why I think this is because she provoked Lennie into talking to her and into petting her hair. She was lonely and wanted someone to talk to, but she also was very flirtatious with Lennie. When she yelled she scared Lennie which made him hold on to her neck harder. Curley’s wife shouldn’t have been flirting and seeking other men while she had a husband. The third most responsible person for Lennie’s death is Lennie himself. The reason I think this is because Lennie killed Curley’s wife, which made George have to kill Lennie. He also has no control over his strength since he was retarded, which is another reason why he died. And more importantly he disobeyed George by talking to Curley’s wife, which George told him absolutely not to do. The last responsible person for Lennie’s death was Curley. Curley was very mean to Lennie and was picking on him for only the reason that Lennie was bigger than Curley. Curley was also very possessive over his wife, which lead her to look for other men. He treated his wife 2000-12-10T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Of-Mice-And-Men-2664.aspx This novel is set on the Californian Grain Farms in the 1930’s. The town is called Soledad and is four miles south of San Jose. The inspiration for the book probably came from a poem by Robert Burns. The poem was about the plans of mice and men going wrong. The book generally is about all of the migrant workers, all with their own dreams. The main characters George and Lennie go from farm to farm, trying to work up a stake and save enough to buy their own farm. The other characters in the book are also all lonely in their own way. Crooks is black and the blacks are seen as outcasts. Curley’s wife is a woman and therefore insignificant, perhaps this is why she has not been given a name. Candy has become old, and without his hand is next to useless. George is a typical migrant worker. He’s not particularly strong, but he’s smart and good at his job. The difference between him and the rest of the workers is that he has someone to call a friend. Lennie is the opposite of George in every physical way. He’s much taller and better built, and consequently an amazing worker. Unfortunately for him and George he is not very intelligent. George enjoys going to brothels, getting drunk and generally wasting his money. Lennie adores animals and he likes to pet them. He forgets how strong he is and usually kills them. They both share the dream of one day owning their own farm. George wants freedom to work how he wants, and Lennie wants to tend the rabbits. There is a very strong bond between the two. Lennie looks up to George and has a great amount of respect and admiration. Lennie could not survive without him. George feels sorry for Lennie but finds him almost impossible to deal with, because he always gets them into trouble. Although George would not admit it, he also needs Lennie. Lennie is the on who attracts the bosses, because of his capability. George is just an average worker, and only gets jobs because he controls Lennie. They both grew up in auburn. George knew Lennie’s aunt who was taking care of Lennie, and when she died, George took over. Candy is an old man who has been at the ranch for some time. He can remember people who have come and gone previously. 2000-10-07T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Of-Mice-Men-2296.aspx Of Mice and Men is one of Steinbeck’s best novels. John Steinbeck, born in Salinas, CA he goes back to that setting for this novel. There are five to six characters that Steinbeck develops and opens up to the reader through the novel. Although George, Lennie, Crooks, Candy, and Curly’s wife all seek a place to belong and someone to love as a cure to there loneliness, all their dreams for a better future are destroyed in the novel. George and Lennie are an unlikely pair of friends who are introduced in the beginning. George is “small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features.”(2) Lennie contradicts George because he is a “huge man, shapeless of face, with large pale eyes, with wide sloping shoulders, and he walked heavily.”(2) George is the more dominant of the two because Lennie is slow in the head. George and Lennie are different from the rest of the people in the same occupation because as Lennie said to George, “because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s why.”(14) They are also different because as George said, “We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us.”(14) They also share a common goal for their future together. They want to be able to live on there own and have a couple of acres so they can plant things and have animals. They are going to “live off the fatta the lan’.”(14) This single dream makes George and Lennie different from everyone else. Candy is a nice, old, handicapped man on the ranch. He lost his hand four years earlier in a farm machine while working. Candy overheard George and Lennie discussing about a small piece of land they would like to buy. Candy was compensated $250 for the lost of his hand and has a total of $350 he is willing to invest into the place with George and Lennie. Candy wants to get the place soon because he knows they are going to fire him sometime in the near future. When they fire him he will not have anyone or anything at all. Candy says, “When they can me here I just wisht somebody’d shoot me. But they won’t do nothing like that. I won’t have no place to go.”(60) So, Candy just wants to be 2000-09-08T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Of-Mice-and-Men-2228.aspx Set in Soledad, California on a typical Western Ranch, we find George and Lennie. George and Lennie come right out of John Steinbeck's novel, Of mice and men. Of mice and men is a novel which shows the trials and tribulations of true friendship. This novel, with all of its twists and turns is a great piece of American Literature. There are two main characters, George and Lennie. Lennie is a massive man with incredible strength but has a child's mind. George is a fairly sized man who is not incredibly brilliant but has good common sense. What one man lacks, the other makes up for. It is a perfect example of how opposites attract. They are a perfect match, and that is why they have a truly great friendship. Although, no matter how much he tries, George cannot make up for the huge gap in Lennies mind. Lennie is so childish it is hard to believe, for example when he sees things he wants to grab and touch them. Throughout the book, the stress of Lennie's retardation begins to weigh down on George. Because of Lennie, they are nomads. Wherever they go, Lennie gets them in trouble. At there last location in a town named Weed, Lennie grabbed a woman's dress to feel it and soon startled the woman with his overwhelming strength. So, once again George had to rescue Lennie, and with that they had to move again. George knew he could leave Lennie and have a great life, but what was a friend for. He couldn't just abandon Lennie. So on to the next ranch they went. This time it just gets worse. In one confrontation with the boss's wife, things go terribly wrong. Lennie knows he is not supposed to talk to her, but he was trapped. As Lennie tried to wiggle out of her grip, is when things turned from bad to worse. When Lennie was no where to be found, George knew where to find him. George knew that Curly's wife was bad news, but no one was going to understand Lennie like George was. What George did to Lennie is questionable, it is up to the reader to judge if George's actions were out of friendship or evil. Do you know what it is to be a good friend to another human being? I think none of us can explain it in words. It is 2000-09-06T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Of-Mice-and-Men-What-are-friends-for-2223.aspx In terms of emotional stability, there is only one thing in life that is really needed and that is friends. Without friends, people would suffer from loneliness and solitude. Loneliness leads to low self-esteem and deprivation. In the novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, the characters, Crooks, Candy, and Curly’s wife all exhibit some form of loneliness. They are driven towards the curiosity of George and Lennie’s friendship because they do not have that support in their life. Through his novel, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck demonstrates that often times, a victim of isolation will have a never-ending search to fulfill a friendship. "A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t matter no difference who the guy is, longs he with you. I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an he gets sick" (Steinbeck, 13) Crooks is a black man that experiences isolation because the society in which he resides is racist. As a result, the previous quote was his means of finding a personal connection to Lennie. Like Lennie, Crooks has a ‘relationship’ with loneliness. He knows that when people get lonely, they tend to get sick. Studies show that people who suffer from loneliness have higher incidence of health problems. This can be determined based on his emotional behavior. "A 1998 study showed that 50 percent of patients with heart disease who reported feeling very isolated were not married and had no one in whole they could communicate with, died within five years." (ub-counseling.buffalo.edu) At the rate Crooks is headed, he will probably die in a short period of time. Gerontology stated "seniors, who attend church at least weekly, live longer than those who don’t." By attending church, the attendees maintain a relationship with god and have the ability to relieve themselves of loneliness. They can deal with their severe problem of loneliness through attending church or other social events and in turn, live longer. Crooks is rejected from every group of people and cannot socially interact with others. "Loneliness can result from rejection…" (Couns.uiuc.edu/loneline.htm) Although discrimination is still present during the time period of the book (early 20th century), Crooks still attempts to make friends. Others treat Crooks unjust because he is different from others given that he is black. He does not know how to treat others because of the way others treat him; with disrespect. Furthermore, he does not know how to 2000-06-09T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Of-Mice-and-Men-Loneliness-2080.aspx <b>Part One:</b> The scene that was most memorable to me in this play was when Lenny and Curley¡¦s wife shared a conversation while the others were away. It started with Lenny moping around about the rabbit he had killed and then Curley¡¦s wife joined him. This scene ended in a surprising way, but in my opinion many interesting things were discussed about the concept of life. I was extremely surprised with the ending of this scene because when the conversation began I predicted that it was the start to a close relationship between the two of them. During this conversation they discussed issues such as life and dreams. At first Lenny refused to open-up. " ¡¥George says I ain¡¦t to have nothing to do with you-talk to you or nothing.¡¦ " He was very reluctant to talk to her or share anything with her. She was the complete opposite. Curley¡¦s wife was looking for someone to talk to. As the scene continued, Lenny relaxed and was able to talk and listen to her. Curley¡¦s wife began by asking Lenny questions. As she continued walls were torn down and she was able to get closer to him. Then she told him about her life. " ¡¦I get lonely¡¦ ¡K.. ¡¦You can talk to people, but I can¡¦t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad. How¡¦d you like to not talk to anybody?¡¦ " It was hard for Curley¡¦s wife to get Lenny to talk but eventually he told her about his rabbit and other things about his life. " ¡¥We gonna have a little place-an¡¦ rabbits.¡¦ " In the end Lenny became overly excited and ended up killing Curley¡¦s wife. From this, I gathered that Lenny had never been so close to anyone, especially anyone of this opposite sex. This gave him such a great feeling that he did not know how to deal with it. The moment he felt Curley¡¦s wife moving away, he acted on his inner feelings and he was frightened. The scene portrayed a good example of the interaction of two complete strangers, it was interesting to see how they shared things and opened up to each other. <b>Part Two:</b> This scene is related to the theme in different ways. I think that it incorporates three main aspects of the theme. It is related to belonging, loneliness and dreams. All three of these are active issues 2000-05-08T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Most-Memorable-Scene-in-Of-Mice-and-Men-1937.aspx The movie of Of Mice and Men had many differences while still giving the same message that the book was portrayed to have. One of the major differences was that Candy never came into the room when Lennie and Crooks were talking to each other. This was major because Crooks never found out that the plan was true about the little house. In the book after he heard Candy talk about it he wanted to get in on the deal. Also the movie it never showed Lennie have his illusions of his Aunt Carla and the rabbits when he was waiting by the pond. The last major difference was that George never hesitated to shoot Lennie in the movie and in the book it was very hard for him. After George shot Lennie, Slim came to comfort George and take him out for a drink. The characters in the novel and the movie had many differences. In the book George was shown to hate Curley with a passion. In the movie George didn’t seem to like Curley too much but he definitely didn’t hate him like in the book. In the movie Curley's wife seemed to be attracted to Lennie and enjoyed his presence because he was nice. In the book she talked to him only because she was amused by Lennie's stupidity. Lennie was explained as a beast in the book and, "his shoulders could fill the doorway." In the movie he was stronger and bigger than the others were but not to the extreme amount that the book portrayed him to be. Every other thing about Lennie was extremely as the book told it. I felt that the movie was wonderful and I loved it as much as I loved the book. I would give the movie a 10 because it was so great. The only parts that I didn't like were in the end it didn’t make me as sad as the book made me feel. I felt so into the dream the Lennie and George shared that I was sad when it was destroyed. I am sure that if I didn't watch the movie in a classroom I would have gotten more out of it but none the less it was a masterpiece. Unlike all of the other movies that are translated from a book this one was quite accurate to the book. It was very hard to 2000-04-15T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Of-Mice-and-Men-Comparing-the-Movie-and-the-Book-1859.aspx George didn’t run away with Lennie because he loved him too much. After all the years with Lennie, George had built a bond of love and care with Lennie. George was sick and tired of running away so many times, George wants to end all of the trouble. Since Lennie will never 1999-11-25T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Of-Mice-and-Men-1312.aspx In the book, Of Mice and Men, a duo of friends tries to reach their utopia 1999-09-28T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Of-Mice-and-Men-1021.aspx Of mice and men is a novel about two men, George Milton and Lennie Small, who go to work on a ranch in California together. Lennie is a massive man with incredible strength but has a child's mind. George is a fairly sized man who is not incredibly brilliant but has good common sense. The two men travel from town to town and job to job to just get by and survive. But they dream of saving up enough money to someday get a place of their own where they "won't have to answer to no one" and "live off the fatta the land" Lennie dreams of having rabbits of his own that he can take care of all by himself. The ranch they go to work at is in Soledad, California. When they arrive, they go to their bunk house, where they meet Candy. Candy is an old, weathered man who has been working on the ranch for years. He befriends George and Lennie and they confide to him their dreams of having their own place. Candy tells them that he has saved up a descent sum of money and asks if he can tag along in the adventure if he pays his share. Another man on the ranch, Slim, gives Lennie a puppy to play with but Lennie, feebleminded and sweet attempts to love even the gentlest of creatures, but, as he only has a childlike understanding of his enormous strength, the results are often tragic. Curly is the boss's son, and sensing Lennie's simple mind, he attempts to intimidate and antagonize him not anticipating his strength. He hits Lennie because he thinks Lennie is teasing him. Lennie tries to resist fighting as long as he can but after suffering many blows to the face from Curly, he grabs Curly's hand and squeezes it so hard it breaks every bone in it. Curly's wife is a beautiful woman who is always lonely and attempts to receive "love" through the attention of other men. In Curly's seductive wife, Lennie sees a beautiful and innocent creature, like the small animals he attempts to love. Though she seeks to take advantage of his innocence, she cannot know that his strength coupled with his naivete is, for her, a dangerous combination. She comes into the barn one day when Lennie has just killed the puppy given to him by Slim because he 1999-09-14T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Of-Mice-and-Men-911.aspx Many of you may think it was easy enough for George to pick up that Luger and shoot this man, Lennie, right in the back of the head. This, however, is not so. The internal conflict that George must have faced was no doubt greater than anything you can imagine. George, an angel of mercy to his good friend and confidant, Lennie Small, is not a murderer. He is quite the opposite. The care of Lennie had been placed into George's hands by a dying woman. George had promised that he would take care of Lennie, watch after him, make sure he was safe. Because the greatest danger to Lennie, George and this Aunt Clara must have known, was himself. His sheer strength and simple mindedness had gotten Lennie in trouble many times before, and then, suddenly, he had killed a woman. The blame can not be placed anywhere for this woman's death. Lennie had no idea what he had done, the only thing he knew was that George would be upset. George did not kill Lennie out of spite, not because his thoughtless, innocent, act had dashed George's hopes of having a small farm. George had to do this because the other choices were grim. Lennie could be hanged, bludgeoned and beaten by the group of ranch hands that were after him. Or, maybe worse, Lennie would have been ripped from George's side and been thrown into some horrid mental institution, a danger to himself, a danger to others. After all, if they had escaped that town there would be the next town, the next dead girl, and another gang to out run. Perhaps it is best if Lennie's last, simple thoughts were of George telling him of the land they would own and work together. George did not, after all, just go up to Lennie and shoot him, point blank in the back of the head. He painted a lovely picture for Lennie to gaze upon before Lennie died, of the vegetable garden they would plant and the rabbit hutch that Lennie would be in charge of. Also, had Lennie lived, he would have never understood why there would not be ranch, only that there would be no soft rabbits for him to tend. What George did was a duty to himself, to Lennie, to society, because they would have always been running from something to somewhere. George has 1999-07-07T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Of-Mice-and-Men-754.aspx Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is a story which shows how weak the human trait of loyalty can be if put through the test of time. It shows how people can turn on their family, best friend, and even their life-long companions if they are presented with the opportunity for advancement in life. This novel shows the reader the true animalistic nature of all humans through the use of highly developed characters as well a thoroughly developed story line. George is not a strong man physically, but what he is lacking physically he makes up for in his mentality. Although his abundance of mental strength does not become apparent until later in the story, it is fairly obvious from the beginning that his physical strength is lacking. Lennie, on the other hand, is physically "strong as a bull"(22), according to George, but mentally is a weak as George is physically. Together, as they travel from place to place looking for their chance at making their dream a reality, they use each other's strong points to help them complete the task. Without one another the two characters would have absolutely no chance at success, for what one is lacking the other has an ample amount of. George and Lennie are the perfect example of how opposites attract. The two of them have spent the majority of their adult lives together and know each other better than they know anybody else in the entire world. They share their hard times and the good, their victories and their defeats, but most importantly they share a common dream. That dream is of having "a little house and a couple of acres an' a cow and some pigs an' live off the fatta the lan'"(14), where Lennie can take care of the rabbits just as George has been taking care of him over the years. This is Lennie's chance to pay George back for all of the kindness that he has had bestowed upon him out of his true love and loyalty towards George. When they arrive at the ranch where they will be working the first person that they meet is an older gentleman named Candy. Candy has lived a long and hard life on the ranch and has nothing to show for it. During his time on the ranch he has lost his hand, grown old, and feels that he has become worthless. 1999-05-20T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Of-Mice-and-Men-695.aspx "A guy goes nuts if he aint got nobody. Don't matter no difference who the guy is, long's he's with you. I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an' he gets sick." A major theme in Steinbeck's novella Of Mice and Men is loneliness. The characters Crooks, Candy and Curley's wife each suffer from this although the severity of their seclusion varied. The old swapper, Candy was victimized by isolation as a result of two main factors, one being his disability and the other being his age. For example, throughout the book we find the farmhands out bucking the barley while Candy is left behind to sweep and clean the ranch. He lost his hand after getting it caught in a piece of machinery and as a result he is forced to stay behind. This being one of the major factors that leads to his loneliness. Furthermore, Candy's age adds to his feeling of uselessness. Because he thinks that he is old he puts himself in a state of mind that handicaps him more than his missing hand ever will. He looks down on himself as an old worthless man that's wasting away his last few years. Not only is it the way that others think of him but also the way he thinks of himself that forces him to find solitude. The most evident case of loneliness is Curley's wife. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't fit in. For example, when she tried numerous times to talk to George and Lenny she was either ignored or told to leave. Because of her reputation for being a flirt none of the farmhands wanted to talk to her. It was the threat of getting in trouble with Curley that caused many workers to avoid her. In addition, because of Curley's insecure feelings he neglected her and forced her to seek attention anyway she could, even it meant flirting. She was ignored by both the farmhands and her own husband and because of this she was being forced into loneliness, the one thing she fought so hard against. Crooks is a black man that experiences isolation in terms of racism. For example, he is forced to live alone in the barn. Because the setting of this book takes place during the 1930's discrimination sadly still existed. The farmhands feel that since he is black he isn't worthy of living with 1999-04-08T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Of-Mice-and-Men-649.aspx The book that I have read that has really stayed with me is Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. I really enjoyed reading it which is unusual because I usually don't enjoy reading to much. There was something about George and Lennie's friendship that really made me think. Seeing how they were and how they shared life was really interesting. George didn't have to bother with Lennie, he could have abandoned him and gone on his own way. But he did not do that, he stayed with Lennie watching over him almost like a parent to a child. Even though Lennie always got Georege in trouble, George never stopped loving him and always stood by him. The friendship they shared went beyond what was transparent they each shared a dream and both knew they meant the world to each other. I felt that if these total;y different people could get along and look out for each other, why can't we get along with people who are differnt than us. They made me realize that I could learn something from how to treat people who are different than me. What I also liked about it was the way they never stopped trying to reach their dream. This made me think that if they could work hard for there dream why can't I. It showed me that it does not matter were you come from or what you do, it is okay to dream and work as hard as you can to reach it . For all it shows for friendship and loyalty it also shows how sometimes you have to do things you never thought you would do. For example in the end when George is forced to shoot Lennie in the head you would never have thought he would do that, but you can see that under the circumstances he had no other choice. He only had two choices let the other people get to him first and watch them torture Lennie while he died a long horrible death or do it himself and get it over quick were Lennie did not know what hit him. This is also true in life, many times we are faced with tuff choices and even though they may be the hardest you will have to go through, you know that that is the only way. You come to the realization that everything 1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Of-Mice-and-Men-94.aspx