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The novel Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck is a gripping tale of two men and their lives during the Great Depression. George Milton and Lennie Small are two migrant workers who travel together finding work. They take on a new job “bucking barley” at a ranch in central California for the ranch owner and his son. While working at the ranch they encounter Curley the ranch owner’s son and his wife, a flirtatious woman. The story reaches a climax when Lennie unintentionally kills Curley’s wife and runs back to the Salinas River just as George instructed.
The Great Depression was a period of difficulties where people didn’t have much of anything. It was an era where many were traveling from place to place in hope of achieving the American dream. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men the two main characters, George and Lennie, are traveling to places in search of a job that would support the dream they’re after. All the characters have a dream they would like to achieve. Curley’s wife and George share a motive behind the goals they envision to one day meet.
b) The impossibility of the American dream The majority of characters from Of Mice and Men at one point during the story, dreamt of a better life. For Crooks, it was in the barn when he imagined himself hoeing on George and Lennie's farm. For Curley’s wife, it was to become a hollywood movie star. George, Lennie and Candy all fantasized a farm. What makes these dreams American is that they wished for unconditional happiness and freedom.
Of Mice and Men Literary Analysis Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” As a writer, John Steinbeck’s weapon is the written word and in his famous novel Of Mice and Men, he ventures to change the ideas and opinions of his readers. Of Mice and Men is set in 1930’s America during the Great Depression. Even though there are some instances in the novel where Steinbeck seems to mirror the attitudes of the past, there also are several instances where the author he displays the need for societal change. He uses characters in the novel, such as Lennie, to demonstrate the mistreatment of the mentally disabled.
In Mice of Men, John Steinbeck shows characterization and slang from back in the day around the Great. He present limitations for the roles of people, and the struggles of new jobs. The setting takes place in Soledad, up the Salina river. Two men named Lennie and George, leave their ranch job in Weed due to conflictions. They find a new ranch to work at with a dream in their hearts of owning their own farm one day.
Lennie and George were always a couple of clowns when it came to topics like those where they put a lot of thought into it. George and Lennie might have had their differences here and there, but they were like brothers to each other in the end. Even though John Steinbeck’s theme in his story was to show how this time period was very difficult, the American Dream brought some happiness to the American people and their
Of Mice and Men was an excellent novel about two migrant workers traveling in Southern California, trying to make enough money to fulfill their dream of attaining their own plot of land. They have trouble accomplishing this goal when Lennie, the big and clueless on of the two, consistently makes mistakes, some of them being vital. The author, John Steinbeck, uses great techniques and literary devices that build up to the climax and resolution. Throughout the story, he describes how several characters all have/had dreams or goals, but none of them truly achieved those dreams. All of these literary devices, techniques, and the entire plot lead up to my thesis statement.
Power is constantly dreamed of and strived for, but power causes corruption in society. The Great Depression was a time when only the richest of men had power and many times abused it. Throughout Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Steinbeck reveals the different ways social power affects and oppresses those around the powerful through imagery and important moments. In Of Mice and Men, Lennie, a physically powerful man with a much less powerful mind, and George, a sharp, independent man who has taken the role of caring for Lennie, arrive at a ranch in Soledad, California during the Great Depression to work on a farm. George and Lennie have a dream to live a life of independence and happiness, but the lack of power and weight of oppression they receive from Curley, the boss’s
This book presents an accurate portrayal of life during the Great Depression in which many topics are introduced such as mental and physical disabilities, the American Dream, and race. Learning about these topics through a narrative can give students an understanding of the social and economic implications during that time. As said by Allison L. Baer, an associate professor at the University of Findlay, "[b]y reading...trade books[books intended for general readership], students collaboratively gain understanding as they delve into issues and topics more broadly and deeply"(284). Reading a piece of literature that incorporates important parts of history can create more of an impact of the reader due to the storytelling nature; students may be more inclined to understand the historical context of the book when they are more connected to the characters. Although the main focus of Of Mice and Men is not on the Great Depression, the setting of the book is during that time period, so glimpses into the life of the characters, who represent men looking for work and striving for the American Dream, are shown.
In what ways did the Great Depression affect the American people? After a decade of economic prosperity, what seemed like an era that defined the concept of the American dream, quickly came to an end when the stock market on Wall Street collapsed in 1929. The aftermath of the events that occurred on Wall Street would put its heavy mark on the years to follow among the citizens of the United States. Banks closed down, unemployment rose and homelessness increased. It was a widespread national catastrophe that had its impacts on both poor and rich.
In the novel “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, two men, named George and Lennie, start a new job working on a ranch to save to buy a piece of land to achieve their American Dream during the Great Depression. Lennie is a big man who is mentally challenged who represents innocence, and George is a small man who represents conscience for his actions determine main events throughout the story. George’s enthusiasm for a farm inspires others to work towards his American Dream. Lennie’s innocence that allows him to be a friend to anyone has an impact on the outcasts of society, and his death is such an impact on George that his ‘American Dream’ was obliterated. George has a dream of owning a piece of land and growing crops on it.
John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, takes place during the Great Depression in the 1930’s, in the Salinas Valley, California. It establishes the prospect of the American Dream, discrimination,loneliness, and disenfranchisement through its characters. George and Lennie provided the value of the American Dream, to which the leading female role, Curley’s wife, represents how women are exempt from the American Dream, and appeared as less than equal to men. She developed a form of loneliness throughout the course of the novel. The novella seeks to demonstrate the way of which life was like for the characters of all different statuses and backgrounds.
In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the era of the Great Depression in the 1930’s is revealed through a simple story of ranch workers who hope to improve their lives. Migrant workers, George and Lennie, have a friendship that is based on trust and protection. The other workers lack the companionship and bond that these two men have. In the novel, the absence and presence of friendship is the motivation for the characters’ actions.
During the Great Depression, many unemployed workers moved to California to look for work on the ranches. This was because they had a dream to become successful, which is also called “the American dream”. In John Steinbeck’s book Of Mice and Men, George and Lennie, the two main protagonists, worked on a ranch chasing the american dream just like many other americans who dreamt of becoming successful. They tried to save money to buy their own land and live a life where they were successful. However, they never accomplished that, and like many others, did not realize they would never accomplish it.
Through using the farm to represent the American Dream, Steinbeck brings forward issues from difficulties the mentally ill have to prejudices against African Americans. Lennie’s illness did not take away from his quality of work, but other men’s attitudes towards him made keeping a job more difficult, hindering his American Dream. Lennie and George’s previous job had been at Weed until Lennie had gotten into trouble.
