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Fate In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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In the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the entitlement Of Mice and Men reflects a central theme of person struggle with fate, shown among several of the characters. The title of the novella is an allusion to a poem “To a Mouse” By Robert Burns. This represents person vs. fate because it is about a mouse whose house got plowed over and ruined by a farmer and this house was the mouse's fate and “American Dream”. For example, Crooks struggles with his fate and being the only African American on the ranch. Secondly Curley's wife struggles with her fate not being able to have her dream of go going into show business fulfilled. Finally, George and Lennie lost their American Dream for a reason they could not prevent. Crook's fate is going to be difficult being the only African American. …show more content…

Crooks tells Lennie to, “go on get outta my room. I ain’t wanted in the bunkhouse, and you ain't wanted in my room” (68). This shows that society has not expected Africans Americans yet, which is why he struggles with his person vs fate. This is why he is put in the barn because he is not allowed to be around where the other migrant workers are. Another example of this is, is when curley's wife is scolding Crooks for bossing her around and telling her to get out of his room. She says to him, “Well, you keep your place then n*****. I could get you stung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny.” (81). This shows that they would take whatever Curley' wife says over what Crooks says. So she could say some to get him in trouble for something he did not even do, because the people would trust Curley's wife and not Crooks. This again shows. Africans Americans are not accepted in society and do not have a good fate which is why he has complications with hi person vs. fate. Curley's wife could of had a good fate if she had made it into the show

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Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck takes place in the state of California. The story tells about the journey of two migrant workers named George and Lennie. At the end of the story, George is faced with a very difficult decision. George ends up doing what he thinks is the correct choice, which leads to the death of his best friend, Lennie.

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Curley’s wife has great power over Crooks. When Curley’s wife walked into the crook’s room she was looking for conversation but when Lennie, Crooks, and candy started talking about their dream farm and Curley’s wife just all of the sudden she laughed and thought that the dream farm will never exist. Then Crooks tells Curley’s wife to leave but she then she gets mad and says “well, you keep your place then, nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t funny” (81).

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Dreams Lost, Never Found To quote a translation of Robert Burns’s poem, “To a Mouse”, “The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men often go awry and leave us nothing but grief an' pain for promised joy” (Shoomp). This quote well compliments John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, which has a universal theme of dreams being predestined to failure. Among the most prominent examples of unrealized dreams are George and Lennie’s shared dream of owning a farm to call home, Crook’s dream of being accepted as an equal to the other white men, and Curley’s wife’s dream of becoming an actress and making something out of herself. From the very beginning of the novel, George and Lennie share a dream of buying a farm on which they could belong and live harmoniously on.

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721 Words | 3 Pages

In John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses a line from Robert Burns poem “To a Mouse” to portray the theme that the main characters failure is inevitable; the forces acting upon this are Lennie’s display of his growing disability, and that nobody believes they can do it, plus the men’s inability to stay in one place. First of all, Steinbeck uses Lennie’s growing disability as a force acting on the main characters inevitable failure. After taking away a dead mouse, George said, “that mouse ain’t fresh, Lennie; and besides you’ve broke it pettin’ it” (9). This is the first time we see that Lennie is capable of hurting small things down to killing them. He did proclaim that he didn’t kill the mouse but George told the readers that this isn’t the first

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Lennie asked Crooks “Why Ain’t you wanted?” Crooks replied “Cause I’m black” he also told Lennie, “I tell ya a guy gets lonely and he gets sick.” The explanation supports the fact that Crooks was plagued by loneliness and alienation and he wanted

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878 Words | 4 Pages

Because crooks was black he was isolated and not allowed to near the other men. Lennie asks, “ Why ain’t you wanted… Cause I’m black” (Steinbeck 68). Crooks at first did not want Lennie entering his room but realizes Lennie is different and is not racist. Usually Crooks would tell people that they have not right coming into his room. He uses his isolation as a way to hide from everyone and get privacy.

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Despair Among People During the Great Depression People who face great odds will hang on to hope, however, many will lose it to the cruel reality they live in. This is the story told in the novel, Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck. In this novel, Lennie and George are traveling bindle stiffs who experience the losses that come with the Great Depression, and the hope of others that is dashed by the death of one person. This theme of hope and loss is shown through Curley's wife, Candy, and George.

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Contrasting Crooks’ somber attitude with Lennie's undying innocence makes it clear where Steinbeck stands on the matter. For example, Crooks is temporarily seduced by the idea of Lennie and George’s farm, but is almost immediately brought down by reality, and Curley’s wife. She brings him back to the reality of a black man at the time, saying: "Well, you keep your place then, Nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain't even funny" (39). After this event occurs, Crooks disregards his rare idealism, saying that he “wouldn’ want to go no place like that” (41).

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435 Words | 2 Pages

The reader is led to believe this through the author's quotes when Lennie asks, "Why ain't you wanted?”, and Crooks responds, "Because I'm black. They say I stink. Well, I tell you, you all of you stink to me.” (P. 68). The reader understands that Crooks is not accepted by the other workers on the ranch because of his race.

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668 Words | 3 Pages

Life's a roller coaster, twisting and turning, making you sick because you just ate a whole pizza and you just weren’t ready. You don’t want to scream or show your shaking hands and let people see that you are stricken with fear and anxiety. You don’t want to show vulnerability or weakness that they can use against you. You don’t want them to have a weapon and you, only with your fists, have nothing. Vulnerability shapes behavior and actions; it changes views about life, leading us to take advantage of each other.

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(87) More specifically, the other men on the ranch refuse to talk to her because Curley’s position of power on the ranch portrays him as having the ability to have any man on the ranch lose their job. Furthermore, when Curley’s wife was conversing with Lennie in the barn and confided in him, she said: “Well, I ain’t

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1644 Words | 7 Pages

Aforementioned, Curley 's wife represents discrimination towards women, she is constantly looked down upon and isn 't treated with respect. However, when she is talking to Crooks, “‘Well, you keep your place then, n*****. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain 't even funny,’”(OMAM 81). Crooks and Curley 's wife go through something similar. They are both discriminated based on a difference that the other men on the farm don’t have.

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282 Words | 2 Pages

Crooks is very lonely and solitude for being alone every day. As a result, he wants to have friends who he can communicate with. No one has come into his room except for Slim and the boss, so when Lennie and Candy come, it is difficult for Crooks to “conceal his pleasure with anger” (75). Although he wants to express anger about people coming into his room, inside he is happy about it and enjoys it. This instability and loneliness that he has leads him to say how he could work for George, Lennie, and Candy on their farm.

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513 Words | 3 Pages

Crooks was forced to sleep in a separate room next to the stable, apart from the bunks where the rest of the ranch workers resided. Crooks was unable to participate in anything that the rest of the ranch workers did. All of this was a result of his ethnicity. “ “Cause I’m black. They play cards, but I can’t play because I’m black.

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573 Words | 3 Pages

On page 72 Crooks says, “Well s’pose, jus’ s'pose he don’t come back. What’ll you do then?” Curley's wife tries to persuade Lennie to not do exactly what George always tells him to do. The characters in Of Mice and Men show many different sides of the human condition.

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